2023 Season Countdown: #107 Danny Hughes

Tag: Danny Hughes


28May 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #107 Danny Hughes

Danny Hughes (#24, image via Twitter)

Name: Danny Hughes
Height: 
6’0″
Weight: 
205 lbs.
High school: 
Naperville (IL) Central
Position: 
Running back
Class: 
Redshirt senior
Jersey number: 
#24
Last year: 
I ranked Hughes #80 and said he would be a backup running back and special teamer (LINK). He played in seven games and had 6 carries for 35 yards.
TTB Rating:
 N/A

For the past two seasons, Hughes has been a big special teams contributor, playing in 20 games over that time span. Last season with a shallow running back depth chart, he managed to snag 6 carries for 35 yards across two blowout games (Hawaii and UConn).

This season I’m dropping Hughes down a hefty 27 spots for a couple reasons. First of all, Michigan returns a ton of players this season and did not lose much off the College Football Playoff team from a year ago. Second, Michigan returns everyone from the running back room and adds two freshmen, Cole Cabana and Benjamin Hall. There might be some garbage time carries to be handed out to walk-ons, but Michigan also needs to find out what it has in some of the younger backs like Hall, Cabana, and C.J. Stokes to see if they can take over the load in 2024 after both Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards could possibly be gone.

Prediction: Backup running back and special teamer

28Jun 2022
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2022 Season Countdown: #80 Danny Hughes

Danny Hughes (image via Chicago Tribune)

Name: Danny Hughes
Height:
6’0″
Weight:
200 lbs.
High school:
Naperville (IL) Central
Position:
Running back
Class:
Redshirt junior
Jersey number:
#24
Last year:
I ranked Hughes #106 and said he would be a backup running back and special teamer (LINK). He played in thirteen games on special teams and had 1 carry for 5 yards on offense.
TTB Rating:
N/A

Hughes is one of the top walk-on special teamers on the squad. He played in thirteen games last season on special teams, and in the blowout win over Maryland, he even got rewarded with 1 carry for 5 yards. Despite his contributions on special teams, I couldn’t make it make sense to place him higher. There are some freshman and sophomore players who are superior athletes, and I think they could fill Hughes’s role on special teams. Walk-ons provide an opportunity for young guys to retain redshirts, but at a time when kids can hit the transfer portal easily if they’re not getting on the field, we may be entering an era when walk-on special teamers’ importance starts to diminish.

Prediction: Backup running back and special teamer

25May 2021
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2021 Season Countdown: #106 Danny Hughes

Danny Hughes (image via MGoBlue)

Name: Danny Hughes
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Naperville (IL) Central
Position: Running back
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #22
Last year: I did not rank Hughes. He did not play.
TTB Rating: N/A

Hughes was a walk-on participant in two games in 2020, both on special teams. He also won Offensive Scout Team Player of the Week in 2019 during Iowa week. So as walk-ons go, he’s in the upper echelon. Unfortunately for him, he plays running back, a position where walk-ons almost never get playing time. Hughes will likely continue in his role as a special teamer, but anything more than that is unlikely.

Prediction: Backup running back, special teamer