Tag: Daxton Hill

2022 NFL Draft Preview: Michigan

It’s NFL Draft time! The draft starts tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. EST. Here is a look at the various Michigan players eligible for the draft.

Aidan Hutchinson, DE
Captain and all-time season sacks leader Aidan Hutchinson will be the first Wolverine off the board. At 6’7″ and 260 pounds, Hutchinson showed off good (not great) speed with a 4.75 forty at the Combine and also has elite quickness with a 4.15-second 20-yard shuttle. His arms are considered to be a little short (32 1/8″), but that doesn’t seem to be limiting his draft stock. In general, he’s considered to be nearly a lock to go in the top two to the Jaguars or Lions.
Projected round: 1st

Daxton Hill, S
At 6’0″ and 191 pounds, Hill is a little bit small for a traditional safety role. However, his speed (4.38 in the forty) and athleticism (10’1″ broad jump) are tantalizing and he’s a willing and able tackler in the open field. He could be a starter from day one, especially as a nickel corner. Scouts seem to like his man coverage abilities, and he could also be a major asset on special teams. Most projections seem to have in the bottom half of the first round, and he’s battling with Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton to be the first safety off the board.
Projected round: 1st

Hit the jump for more.

Goodbye, Daxton Hill

HIGH SCHOOL
Hill came to Michigan in the class of 2019 out of Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington. He was a 247 Composite 5-star, the #1 safety, and #14 overall. He committed to Michigan in September 2019, flipped to Alabama in early December 2019, and then flipped back on National Signing Day. I gave him a TTB Rating of 100 (LINK) and gave the following quote:

Things I dislike about Hill: *crickets*

COLLEGE
Hill started three games as a freshman and made 36 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries, and 4 pass breakups; he also caught a pass on a fake punt to gain a first down against Army. I thought that would be foreshadowing for him being a two-way player or a returner at some point in his career, but that didn’t happen. He became a full-time starter in 2020 when he made 46 tackles, 1 interception, and 5 pass breakups. We finally saw him spend a full, real season as a starter in 2021, when he was somewhat unleashed as a safety/slot corner who made 69 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 11 pass breakups. For his efforts he was named a 1st Team All-Big Ten player by the conference’s coaches.

Hit the jump for more.

8 Michigan Players Invited to NFL Combine

There are eight Michigan players who have been invited to perform at the NFL Combine:

• CB Vincent Gray
• RB Hassan Haskins
• S Daxton Hill
• DT Chris Hinton
• DE Aidan Hutchinson
• DE David Ojabo
• LB Joshua Ross
• OG Andrew Stueber

A few draft-eligible players were not invited, including WR Daylen Baldwin, S Brad Hawkins, and C Andrew Vastardis. I guess this is my time to reiterate how weird it is for Baldwin to have declared for the draft, since he did not factor much into the Michigan attack this past season. It’s also interesting that Hawkins was not invited despite being literally the most experienced player in Michigan history (by games played).

Off to the NFL: Hutchinson, Ojabo, Hill, Hinton, Ross, Gray, Haskins, Baldwin

Michigan football news was overwhelmed this week with guys announcing they were either transferring or leaving for the NFL – oh, and the Jim Harbaugh-to-the-NFL drama – so yours truly just had no chance of keeping up with all those developments.

Posts on each one of these guys will be coming down the road to summarize their careers, but I wanted to address each one here and now.

DE Aidan Hutchinson: Hutchinson played four years at Michigan and could have returned for a fifth. He was the Heisman runner-up and set the school record for sacks with 14. He has nothing else to prove and will likely be a top-5 pick in the draft, so this was the right decision for him.
Draft projection: 1st round

OLB David Ojabo: Ojabo had 11 sacks rushing the quarterback opposite Hutchinson one year after making 1 total tackle. As a redshirt sophomore, he could have come back for a couple more seasons, but he’s striking while the iron is hot. Hutchinson and Ojabo surely helped each other out, and there would be a risk in returning for 2022, considering there’s no proven pass rusher on the opposite side. He could very well have returned and put up mediocre sack numbers, hindering his draft stock. Even though Ojabo is not a good run defender, he does have outstanding athleticism and could be a year one pass rusher for an NFL team.
Draft projection: 1st round

Hit the jump for more.

Review of 2021 Season Predictions

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Now’s your chance to lambaste me for my idiocy, so you can go check out my season predictions if you want (LINK).

LEADING RUSHER
Season prediction: Hassan Haskins, 900 yards
Actual: Hassan Haskins, 1327 yards
Scoop: I thought Michigan might spread the ball around a little more – and I did not expect Haskins to get 270 carries – but Haskins got a big boost in production when Blake Corum injured his ankle. Haskins notched 27, 31, 20, and 28 carries in the wake of Corum’s injury before the latter returned healthy. The last time any running back topped 270 carries in a season was Mike Hart, who had 318 attempts in 2006.

LEADING RECEIVER
Season prediction: Ronnie Bell, 800 yards
Actual: Cornelius Johnson, 620 yards
Scoop: Bell got hurt in the first game of 2021, tearing his ACL on a punt return. He had 1 catch for a 76-yard touchdown at that point. After a two-year run as Michigan’s leading receiver, it was time for a new king, and that new king was 6’3″, 210 lb. Cornelius Johnson. Johnson made 39 catches for 620 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Hit the jump for more.