Tag: Fresno State

Mikey Keene, Wolverine

Fresno State transfer quarterback Mikey Keene has committed to Michigan. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

Keene is a 5’11”, 200-pounder who spent two years at UCF before transferring to Fresno for the 2023-2024 seasons. When he was at UCF with Gus Malzahn as head coach, new Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey was his offensive coordinator for one season, a 2022 campaign that saw Keene complete 60/83 passes (72.3%) for 647 yards, 7.8 yards/attempt, 6 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

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Michigan’s 10 Longest Plays vs. Fresno State

Michigan played Fresno State in August for the first ever meeting between the two schools. It might be a long time before they play again, but here are the ten longest plays (well, twelve in this case, since there’s a tie) from that game.

1. Will Johnson 86-yard interception return for a touchdown (2024)
2. Kalel Mullings 27-yard kickoff return (2024)
3. Semaj Morgan 22-yard punt return (2024)
4. Kalel Mullings 21-yard run (2024)
5. Davis Warren 20-yard pass to Colston Loveland (2024)
6. David Warren 18-yard touchdown pass to Colston Loveland (2024)
7. Kalel Mullings 15-yard run (2024)
8. Davis Warren 13-yard pass to Colston Loveland (2024)
9. Davis Warren 12-yard pass to Colston Loveland (2024)
10. Davis Warren 11-yard pass to Kendrick Bell (2024)
11. Alex Orji 11-yard run (2024)
12. Alex Orji 11-yard run (2024)

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Michigan vs. Fresno State Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . C.J. Charleston. The Youngstown State transfer receiver only played 6 snaps on Saturday night, but I would like to see him play more. I think he’s more of a receiving threat than Peyton O’Leary, and while maybe there’s a small difference in run blocking, the receiving threat and big-play ability of Charleston is worth playing him more. Michigan needs better options in the passing game.

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Michigan 30, Fresno State 10

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PWO QB FTW. Well, it was a mild surprise when it was announced that former walk-on Davis Warren was named the starting quarterback for the season opener over Alex Orji and Jack Tuttle. Orji had received most of the hype in the off-season, and Tuttle is the most experienced. But Tuttle has been dealing with injuries and soreness, so he wasn’t really an option. Rumors started coming out a couple days before the game that Warren would be the guy. He finished 15/25 for 118 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception and graded out as Michigan’s #4 offensive player (69.7 on Pro Football Focus). Overall, I thought Warren was mostly accurate. He overthrew a deep shot to Tyler Morris, and he underthrew Fredrick Morris on an open post route that could have been a touchdown but turned into an interception. There were a lot of checkdowns and short throws, probably by design to make things easy for Warren in his first start. But overall, I thought Warren looked composed and accurate.

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Preview: Michigan vs. Fresno State

RUSH OFFENSE vs. FRESNO STATE RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan finished #55 in rushing yards (169.1 yards/game) and #52 in yards per carry (4.5) in 2023. Those aren’t the world’s most impressive numbers, but the consistency with which Michigan pulled off its run game was. Whether it was a good opponent or a bad one, Michigan was willing and able to run the ball. The guy on the cover of NCAA ’25 is senior RB Donovan Edwards (119 carries, 497 yards, 5 TD last season), who had 41- and 46-yard touchdowns in the national championship game. He struggled for much of last year and was near the bottom of the Big Ten in yards per carry until the game against Washington. The backup is former LB Kalel Mullings, a 6’2″, 233-pounder who ran 36 times for 222 yards and 1 touchdown last year. Up front the Wolverines lost their top six linemen to the NFL (four got drafted, two got signed as UDFAs); the assured starters are OG Giovanni El-Hadi, OT Myles Hinton, who transferred from Stanford prior to 2023, and OG Josh Priebe, who transferred from Northwestern this year. For Fresno State, one of the better players is fifth year senior DE Devo Bridges (6’2″, 255), who had 30 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks last year. The other bookend is former 5-star USC DE Korey Foreman (6’4″, 245), who has 24 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and 1 interception over three years in college. Both starting defensive tackles are sub-300 pounders. The leading returning tackler is weakside linebacker Malachi Langley (6’1″, 236), who made 84 tackles and 5 tackles for loss a season ago. The Bulldogs finished #97 in rush defense (166.2 yards allowed/game) and #81 in yards allowed per carry (4.33) last season.
Advantage: Michigan

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