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Eat your vitamins. My biggest takeaway from this game is that Michigan needs to get healthy. Going into the game, Michigan was missing RB Donovan Edwards and TE Erick All. And here are the players who got injured during the game: QB Cade McNamara (lower body), RB Blake Corum (lower leg), CB Gemon Green (shoulder), WR Andrel Anthony (unknown). Luckily, the Wolverines had a big enough advantage in this game that it ended up not affecting the outcome, but the toughest stretch of the schedule is coming up, with Penn State next week and Ohio State in three weeks.
Michigan’s defense won the day. The scoreboard says 38 points for Michigan, which is a good amount of points, but the Wolverines won the game with their defense. They held the Badgers to 43 total rushing yards, which is their lowest total since they had -26 yards against Northwestern in November 2015. Wisconsin’s leading rusher was freshman Braelon Allen, who ran 5 times for 19 yards. Those overall numbers were aided by -13 yards from backup quarterback Chase Wolf and -21 yards from starting quarterback Graham Mertz, who were sacked a total of 5 times. Wisconsin’s only real sustained success was a drive near the end of the first half when Mertz was 5/5 and threw a touchdown to wide receiver Chimere Dike.
Name: Dan Villari Height: 6’4″ Weight: 227 lbs. High school: Massapequa (NY) Plainedge Position: Quarterback Class: Redshirt freshman Jersey number: #4 Last year: I ranked Villari #98 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted. TTB Rating: 69
Villari was a late addition to the 2020 class after Michigan lost its 4-star quarterback commitment to a health issue. He was a project then, and I have no reason to believe he’s much less of a project now. As expected he spent the 2020 season redshirting, and word is that if Michigan had been forced to play its final couple games of the season (which were mercifully canceled due to COVID), the Wolverines would have split time with Hassan Haskins in the Wildcat and Villari in the . . . Wildkitten. It would have been ugly, especially against Ohio State.
Jim Harbaugh raised some eyebrows this off-season when he suggested Villari could be used in a Taysom Hill type of role. Despite that somewhat lofty praise, I’m not sure if Villari is ready for that type of role. Furthermore, who would be coming off the field to put Villari on it? It’s one thing to put him on the field if you’re lacking playmakers, but with three game-ready running backs and a good group of speedy receivers, I don’t know how much it helps to throw out a 6’4″, 227 lb. redshirt freshman quarterback in various spots. Plus Michigan has been prone to offering up a fair amount of off-season hype that never materializes during games. So Villari could prove to deserve a higher spot in the ranking, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
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You can take a look back at the awards for the 2019 class if you want (LINK).
Best Overall Recruit: DE Braiden McGregor McGregor lost a little bit of steam in the recruiting world when his senior season ended in a fizzle after a knee injury. That doesn’t put a damper on my excitement for him, though. Michigan does a good job of developing defensive talent – particularly defensive ends – and I expect that to continue with McGregor.
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Name: Dan Villari Height: 6’4″ Weight: 215 lbs. High school: Massapequa (NY) Plainedge Position: Quarterback Class: Freshman Jersey number: N/A Last year: Villari was a senior in high school (LINK). He passed for 1,306 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 1 interception, while running for 1,522 yards and 25 touchdowns. TTB Rating: 69
Villari was a late add to Michigan’s class due to an unfortunate development with J.D. Johnson. Johnson, as you might remember, discovered that he would not be able to continue his football career because of a heart condition. That left the Wolverines scrambling, and in stepped Villari, who took a whirlwind trip to Michigan and ended up signing in December.
Villari is an athletic quarterback whose passing acumen might not wow many, but he does offer some versatility. First of all, Michigan and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis do value athletic quarterbacks more than some other past coaching staffs. But second, Jim Harbaugh has converted a quarterback (Zach Gentry) into a draft pick as a tight end. Villari looks to me like a player who will eventually end up contributing at a position other than quarterback. He shouldn’t be any higher than #4 on the depth chart in 2020, and 2021 will see 5-star J.J. McCarthy arrive.
