Tag: Ex-Wolverines

Taylor Upshaw, Ex-Wolverine

Fifth year senior Taylor Upshaw announced yesterday that he would be entering the transfer portal. He joins classmate and position mate Julius Welschof, announcing one day after the latter.

Upshaw was a member of the class of 2018. A 247 Composite 3-star, the #25 strongside end, and #561 overall, Upshaw is the son of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Regan Upshaw. I gave him a TTB Rating of 62 (LINK) with this to say about him:

Otherwise, I expected more from an NFLer’s son. Upshaw is a little slow and tentative out of his stance. He stands up too high and is a little stiff-legged. He does not play with a sense of urgency and seems to be a split second slow to react. He also does not run through tackles, instead leaving his feet to swing ball carriers to the ground. He’s somewhat of a finesse player when he should be dominant with his size and relative athleticism.

Overall, I’m somewhat indifferent on Upshaw’s commitment. He will get top-notch coaching at Michigan from Don Brown and Greg Mattison, who have turned non-scholarship players like Ryan Glasgow into quality players. But of all the scholarship guys currently on the roster, Upshaw probably has the least impressive film. He reminds me of former Michigan defensive end/defensive tackle Greg Banks. Banks was a 2005 signee who started 9 games (all as a fifth year senior in 2009), making 56 tackles, 8.5 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 pass breakups throughout his career.

After redshirting in 2018, Upshaw made 2 tackles in 2019 in limited playing time. Over the next three seasons, he became a rotational player, making just two starts from 2020-2022. However, he was fairly productive given his backup role, making 44 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles in his career. He also notched a memorable interception of C.J. Stroud in the 2022 Ohio State game, a play that took place right before Donovan Edwards cinched the game with a long touchdown run to make it 45-23.

Michigan has Braiden McGregor and Eyabi Okie coming back next year, along with incoming transfer Josaiah Stewart. Even though Mike Morris is expected to move on to the NFL, I think Upshaw would have been a backup piece in 2023. Even with some decent productivity as a backup, I don’t see much of a reason to stick around for year six of coming off the bench.

Julius Welschof, Ex-Wolverine

Fifth year senior Julius Welschof announced on Tuesday that he is entering the transfer portal. Welschof was a part of the class of 2018 and has the opportunity to use the 2020 COVID exemption to get a sixth year of eligibility, which he will presumably use in 2023 if he can find a new home.

Welschof was a member of the class of 2018 and I gave him a TTB Rating of 78 at the time (LINK). He was 6’6″, 248 lbs. as a recruit and earned some extra hype because he was an excellent mogul skier in Germany as a youth. He was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #28 strongside end, and #645 overall in that 2018 class.

Unfortunately, things did not play out that well at Michigan. He played some defensive end and defensive tackle, but he often played high. The one thing he did most consistently was run downfield on kickoff coverage, using the athletic skills that put him on Bruce Feldman’s “Freaks List.” After playing in the 280s for a couple seasons, Welschof slimmed down to 266 pounds to play the edge rusher position under Jesse Minter, but that wasn’t enough to get him on the field defensively with any regularity. He was passed up by younger players like Derrick Moore and Braiden McGregor, as well as a transfer in Eyabi Okie.

Altogether, Welschof made just 6 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup during his five seasons at Michigan. It will be interesting to see if perhaps Welschof rejoins Don Brown at UMass, who was Michigan’s defensive coordinator from 2016-2020.

Now five years removed from their 2018 high school recruiting class, the only players remaining on the roster (for now) are linebacker Michael Barrett, defensive end Taylor Upshaw, and defensive back brothers Gemon and German Green. Other fifth year players who are entering the NFL draft include offensive tackle Ryan Hayes, kicker Jake Moody, , wide receiver Ronnie Bell, and tight end Luke Schoonmaker

Deuce Spurlock, Ex-Wolverine

Freshman linebacker Deuce Spurlock has decided to enter the transfer portal. Spurlock played in two games this season and made 3 tackles against Hawaii.

Spurlock came to Michigan from Madison (AL) Madison Academy and was a standout receiver and linebacker in high school. I gave him a TTB Rating of 78 (LINK) and ranked him #82 in the season countdown (LINK).

The writing appeared to be on the wall for some of these backup linebackers once Michigan played freshman Jimmy Rolder over some other young guys and then recruited Nebraska linebacker Ernest Hausmann out of the transfer portal. With Junior Colson returning next year and possibly Michael Barrett, along with Rolder, there just isn’t going to be much room for playing time in 2023. The Wolverines have so many roster spots devoted to linebackers that it’s just not really tenable to keep all of them around.

Here’s a look at a possible depth chart for next season, which does not include Barrett, who could return for a sixth year:

MIKE: Nikhai Hill-Green (RS Jr.), Jimmy Rolder (So.), Ernest Hausmann (So.), Joey Velazquez (RS Sr.), Micah Pollard (RS Fr.), Jason Hewlett (Fr.)
WILL: Junior Colson (Jr.), Kalel Mullings (Sr.), Jaydon Hood (RS So.), Semaj Bridgeman (Fr.), Breeon Ishmail (Fr.)

Spurlock is the first signee from the 2022 class to hit the portal.

Alan Bowman, Ex-Wolverine

Quarterback Alan Bowman has entered the transfer portal. Bowman came to Michigan from Texas Tech in 2020 after losing his starting job for the Red Raiders, and he has spent the last two seasons competing for the starting position, albeit losing out to Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy, not to mention walk-on Davis Warren, who also passed up Bowman. While it made sense to bring him in at the time, it always seemed a bit dubious since the expectation seemed to be clear that McCarthy would be the starter as soon as possible.

Bowman completed 6/7 passes for 60 yards and 1 touchdown this season as essentially the fourth-stringer behind McCarthy, McNamara, and Warren (though the third-string guy after McNamara got injured). Last season he was 2/4 for 9 yards and 1 interception.

The most interesting thing about Bowman is that he’s going into his seventh – and presumably final – season in 2023. He redshirted in 2017, lost a season to injury, and had the COVID year not count against him, so the odd rules of the NCAA are giving him seven years to play college football when it only takes many guys three years to get a degree.

I would expect the Texas native to end up somewhere closer to home outside the Power 5 conferences, perhaps somewhere like Rice or Tulsa or North Texas. He has thrown for 34 career touchdowns between Texas Tech and Michigan, so that’s a great deal of experience and overall success if you’re looking for a veteran quarterback.

George Rooks, Ex-Wolverine

Second-year defensive lineman George Rooks has entered the transfer portal. Rooks played in six games this past season and three in 2021. He made 1 tackle and 1 fumble recovery in his career as a Wolverine.

Rooks was a class of 2021 signee and part of a much needed influx of defensive linemen. Coming out of Jersey City (NJ) St. Peters Prep, he was a 4-star, the #35 defensive lineman, and #271 overall. I gave him a TTB Rating of 80 (LINK) and here was my overall summation of his talents:

Overall, Rooks has a nice set of athletic skills but is held back by a little bit of a tendency toward finesse when taking on blockers. I believe he will make a move to the interior of the defensive line, and it will take some time to bulk up. I see him as an eventual 290- to 295-pounder playing 3-tech (outside shoulder of the guard) or 4i (inside shoulder of tackle). With proper development, he could become a quietly solid player in the mold of Matt Godin.

Listed at 6’5″ and 278 lbs., Rooks never reached the weight that I expected from him. Obviously, he never made much of an impact at Michigan, but based on what I’ve seen, I think he could still be a quality player for someone down the road.

Rooks is the second player from the 2021 class to announce an entry into the transfer portal, following tight end Louis Hansen.