2018 Season Countdown: #61 Dylan McCaffrey

Tag: Dylan McCaffrey


10Jul 2018
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2018 Season Countdown: #61 Dylan McCaffrey

Dylan McCaffrey (image via isportsweb)

Name: Dylan McCaffrey
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 199 lbs.
High school: Castle Rock (CO) Valor Christian
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #10
Last year: I ranked McCaffrey #89 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 91

McCaffrey was Michigan’s ballyhooed quarterback in the 2017 class, an Army All-American with great bloodlines. But he was really skinny and a little bit raw. With some more experienced (and perhaps more talented) quarterbacks on the roster last season, McCaffrey wasn’t needed. Michigan went through three quarterbacks (Wilton Speight, John O’Korn, and Brandon Peters) before going back to O’Korn when Peters got hurt, but they never pulled the redshirt off of McCaffrey.

This year Speight and O’Korn are gone, but Shea Patterson was brought in from Ole Miss to be the starter. Peters remains. Early talk from the spring was that McCaffrey had passed Peters, but then Peters got out of his funk at the end of spring to retake the lead. What’s the truth about how that will shake out? I don’t know, but Peters has experience on his side, and he did play well for stretches last year. My guess is McCaffrey will be #3 on the depth chart, but that may fluctuate, just like the O’Korn/Peters thing was flexible last year.

Prediction: Backup quarterback

22Mar 2018
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Five Things to Watch During Spring Practice

Going into the beginning of spring practice, there are lots of questions about the 2018 team. Some are obvious. Some, maybe not so much. Here are the top five things I’ll be looking for throughout the spring.

1. What will the offense look like?
Michigan’s offense was, to be kind, largely ineffective in 2017. Offensive line coach and run game coordinator Tim Drevno was nudged out the door, and he was replaced by a combination of former Ohio State/Minnesota offensive line coach Ed Warinner and former Florida head coach/Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain. Furthermore, offensive tackle/tight ends coach Greg Frey left for Florida State and was replaced by Central Michigan’s Sherrone Moore. Moore won’t change the look of the offense. Warinner might switch things up a little bit, depending on what types of bodies he wants on the offensive line. McElwain is the key here. He’s not known as an innovator, but will Michigan be in shotgun? Pistol? Will the use of the fullback be dialed back a bit? Will he pack it in with multiple tight end sets, or will he spread it out more?

Hit the jump for four more questions about the spring.

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9May 2017
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2017 Season Countdown: #89 Dylan McCaffrey

Dylan McCaffrey (image via MLive)

Name: Dylan McCaffrey
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 197 lbs.
High school: Castle Rock (CO) Valor Christian
Position: Quarterback
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: McCaffrey was a senior in high school. He completed 204/306 passes (66.7%) for 2,796 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Final TTB Rating: 91

McCaffrey comes from a uniquely athletic family that has been discussed ad nauseam, so I won’t go over all that again. Michigan offered him in February of 2015, and he held off for a while, but he chose the Wolverines in February of 2016. This is nothing new in recruiting, but it’s odd to realize that we’ve been aware of him for over two years now . . . and he’s still almost three months away from starting his first fall practice. Anyway, he put up some good numbers for Valor Christian, led the team to a 10-3 record, and won a state championship without looking like a truly dominant high school player. He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, where he was third on the depth chart; however, he played well in the game, and his place on the depth chart may have been related to missing the first day of practice while receiving an award.

 

This fall I think McCaffrey will redshirt. McCaffrey has a good deal of physical development to do, including strengthening his upper and lower body, as well as simply adding mass to a 6’5″, 197 lb. frame. Additionally, Michigan has two quarterbacks with starting experience, and the third guy has arguably looked the best during the spring. Unless there are injuries on the level of Maryland’s a few years ago, McCaffrey should be spending this year soaking up everything he can in an attempt to succeed Wilton Speight in a year or two.

Prediction: Redshirt

31Mar 2017
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Pro Athletes and Their Spawn: 2017 Edition

Derrick Brooks (image via Tampa Bay Times)

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In what has become a yearly tradition, I tried to keep track of some noteworthy players’ sons in the 2017 recruiting class. Several former Detroit Lions have sons who are matriculating into the world of college football, and there are many others, too. You can also check out former years’ posts (2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012)

DeCalon Brooks – LB – Tampa (FL) Gaither: Brooks is a 5’11”, 197 lb. outside linebacker who signed with the Florida State Seminoles. He turned down offers from Illinois, Iowa, and Louisville to become a Seminole. He’s a 247 Composite 3-star, the #52 inside linebacker, and #1174 overall. He is the son of former Florida State linebacker Derrick Brooks, who was a 1st round pick (#28 overall) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995 and played through 2008. He’s now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after making 11 Pro Bowls, 1715 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 25 interceptions, and 7 total touchdowns throughout his career.

Germane Crowell – CB – Winston Salem (NC) Carver: Crowell is a 6’3″, 180-pounder who enrolled early at Virginia. He’s a 3-star, the #41 athlete, and #557 overall, and he spurned offers from the likes of Georgia and Notre Dame to attend his dad’s alma mater. The elder Germane Crowell was a 2nd round pick (#50 overall) of the Detroit Lions in 1998. He caught 184 passes for 2,722 yards and 16 touchdowns during a five-year career with the Lions. He was the head coach at Carver and amassed a 33-18 record over the past several years, but he resigned in December of 2016.

Luther Elliss (image via Detroit Lions)

Christian Elliss – LB – Littleton (CO) Valor Christian: Elliss is a 6’3″, 215 lb. prospect who signed with Idaho. He’s a 2-star, the #207 outside linebacker, and #3067 overall. For more on his bloodlines, see the Noah Elliss entry below.

Noah Elliss – DT – Littleton (CO) Valor Christian: Elliss is a 6’4″, 330 lb. prospect who signed with Mississippi State. He’s a 3-star, the #23 defensive tackle, and #344 overall. Alabama, Auburn, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and USC also offered Elliss, so the choice of Mississippi State was odd. Furthermore, Michigan was in need of defensive tackles, so I thought it was possible that the Wolverines would extend an offer, especially considering where his “dad” spent his NFL career. Luther Elliss played his college ball at Utah before becoming a 1st round pick (#20 overall) of the Detroit Lions in 1995. A two-time Pro Bowler for the Lions, he made 331 tackles and 29 sacks during a ten-year career, the last season of which he played for the Denver Broncos. Noah is actually Luther Elliss’s biological nephew, but Luther adopted him.

Hit the jump for a gaggle of more players and their dads.

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9Feb 2017
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2017 Recruiting Grades: Offense

Donovan Peoples-Jones (image via Rivals)

QUARTERBACK: A-
Commits (1): Dylan McCaffrey
Decommits (0): N/A
Why? McCaffrey was a U.S. Army All-American and there have been whispers that Jim Harbaugh believes McCaffrey is the best high school quarterback prospect he’s seen in a long time, maybe going back to Andrew Luck. So there’s that. McCaffrey has the height, the bloodline, and the athleticism to be a very good quarterback. However, there are questions about his arm strength and mechanics. So while Harbaugh really likes him, I would have preferred someone like Davis Mills, who chose Stanford instead.

Hit the jump for the rest of the offensive grades.

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