Tag: game preview

2021 Michigan vs. Georgia Preview: Roster Notes

As two nationally prominent schools, Michigan and Georgia unsurprisingly have quite a few battles on the recruiting front. Perhaps there aren’t many true head-to-head battles, but plenty of players get offered by both schools. Michigan tries to dip into Georgia way more than Georgia tries to dip into the state of Michigan, so Michigan loses plenty of those battles, too.

Here is a list of Georgia players that Michigan pursued out of high school:

• OLB Robert Beal, Jr.
• WR Dominick Blaylock
• TE Brock Bowers
• RB Lovasea Carroll
• S Lewis Cine
• QB J.T. Daniels
• DT Jordan Davis
• TE Arik Gilbert
• TE Ryland Goede
• DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
• WR Kearis Jackson
• WR Jaylen Johnson
• CB Kamari Lassiter
• OL Warren McClendon
• RB Kenny McIntosh
• RB Kendall Milton
• OL Micah Morris
• WR George Pickens
• CB William Poole
• OL Tate Ratledge
• CB Kelee Ringo
• WR Justin Robinson
• WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint
• OL Jamaree Salyer
• OL Justin Shaffer
• CB Christopher Smith
• LB Nolan Smith
• S Ameer Speed
• OL Xavier Truss
• QB Brock Vandagriff
• LB Quay Walker
• TE Darnell Washington

The Bulldogs have zero players on their roster from the state of Michigan, but freshman safety Matthew Helow is the younger brother of Michigan linebackers coach George Helow.

On the flip side, Michigan has several players from the state of Georgia, including . . .

• Michael Barrett – LB – Valdosta (GA) Lowndes
• Chris Hinton, Jr. – DT – Johns Creek (GA) Greater Atlanta Christian
• Trente Jones – OT – Loganville (GA) Grayson
• Alexander Lidback – LB – Alpharetta (GA) Alpharetta
• Jalen Perry – CB – Dacula (GA) Dacula
• D.J. Turner II – CB – Suwanee (GA) and transferred to IMG Academy
• William Wagner – LS – Alpharetta (GA) Alpharetta

2021 Big Ten Championship Preview: Michigan vs. Iowa

RUSH OFFENSE vs. IOWA RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #9 nationally in rushing with 225 yards/game and tied for #16 in yards per carry (5.25). Hassan Haskins leads the team with 244 carries for 1,232 yards (5.1 yards/carry) and 18 touchdowns. His rushing load has picked up significantly since Blake Corum suffered a high ankle sprain, resulting in Haskins averaging 26.5 carries per game over the final four weeks of the regular season. Haskins has 8 touchdowns over the stretch. Luckily, Corum returned last week to the tune of 6 carries for 87 yards, so a little bit of lightning is back to join Haskins’s thunder. Michigan is #1 in the country in tackles for loss allowed with just 2.0 per game. Iowa averages 4.58 tackles for loss per game, which is tied for 111th in the nation. They’re led by senior defensive end Zach VanValkenburg (6’4″, 267 lbs.) with 11.5 TFLs. Nose tackle Logan Shannon (6’0″, 289) and defensive tackle Logan Lee (6’5″, 277) man the middle with technique and quickness more than brute strength. The defense is led by junior middle linebacker Jack Campbell (6’5″, 243), who has 124 tackles. He’s paired with 6’1″, 229 lb. weakside linebacker Seth Benson, who has 89 tackles. Senior safety Jack Koerner (6’0″, 204) is third on the team with 75 takedowns. It’s a relatively stationary defense, but they’re good and well coached. They’re #14 in rush defense (106 yards allowed/game) and #8 in yards allowed per carry, at just 2.97. They won’t stop you in the backfield, but they will gang tackle you shortly beyond the line of scrimmage.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

Preview: Michigan vs. Ohio State

Please do your Black Friday shopping via the Amazon links here (LINK):

RUSH OFFENSE vs. OHIO STATE RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is the #15 rushing team (218 yards/game) and averages 5.08 yards per carry, which is #30 in the country. That’s good, not great, but it’s impressive considering Michigan’s starting quarterback isn’t much of a threat to run at all. Hassan Haskins topped 1,000 yards last week and now has 216 carries for 1,063 yards and 13 touchdowns. Fellow star running back Blake Corum (778 yards, 10 TD on the ground) has missed the majority of the last three games with a lower leg injury, but he dressed for last week’s game at Maryland and I would expect him back in action against the Buckeyes. Offensive line wise, Michigan is securely #1 in the country in tackles for loss allowed with just 2.18 per game; Georgia is next best with 3.18 per contest. Ohio State is #20 in tackles for loss (7.27 per game) and #11 in rushing defense (102 yards allowed/game). They allow just 3.1 yards per carry (#12) but have faced just 363 rushing attempts, which is the 15th fewest; I guess that’s what happens when you score a bunch of points and teams have to pass to try to catch up. Safety Ronnie Hickman (6’1″, 205 lbs.) leads the team with 83 tackles, followed by linebacker Cody Simon (6’2″, 233) with 47, safety Bryson Shaw (6’0″, 195) with 44, and linebacker Teradja Mitchell (6’2″, 239) with 44. Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (6’2″, 235) is the biggest TFL guy with 5.5 in the run game this year. Michigan can’t get in a track meet with OSU, so they will have to try to run the ball and sustain drives to keep the defense fresh.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

Preview: Michigan at Maryland

RUSH OFFENSE vs. MARYLAND RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is the #14 rushing offense in the country (225 yards/game). The bell cow right now is 6’1″, 225 lb. Hassan Haskins, who has 58 carries over the past two weeks since Blake Corum hurt his lower leg. Haskins has responded with 168 and 156 yards, many of them coming after contact while pushing piles, twisting, and diving for extra yardage. Michigan will pound-pound-pound the ball inside and then get big chunks on the edges. Maryland is #77 in rushing defense (157 yards allowed/game) and #70 in yards allowed per carry (4.11). They did a respectable job against Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker last week (30 carries, 143 yards, 2 touchdowns), but that allowed quarterback Payton Thorne to average 9.6 yards per passing attempt and throw 4 touchdowns. The top two tacklers for the Terrapins are safeties Jordan Mosley (6’1″, 205) and Nick Cross (6’1″, 215) with 67 and 57, respectively. It’s not usually a great thing when safeties are leading the team in tackling. Nose tackle Ami Finau (6’2″, 320) is a decent run stuffer with 5 tackles for loss. Michigan might not be able to gash Maryland over and over again, but they should be able to move the ball consistently.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.

Preview: Michigan at Penn State

RUSH OFFENSE vs. PSU RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan’s rushing offense has dropped off somewhat dramatically from earlier in the year, which is saying something, since they’re still #6 with 234 yards/game on the ground and #15 in rushing average. Hassan Haskins leads the team in carries (165), yardage (829 yards), and touchdowns (11). He may be relied on more heavily than normal. After a career-high 27 carries last week with Blake Corum missing all but one offensive play, Haskins is the only somewhat experienced back on the roster. I do not expect Corum (who was in a walking boot by the end of the game) to play and freshman Donovan Edwards missed last week due to injury, leaving Haskins and then . . . walk-on Leon Franklin and freshman fifth-stringer Tavierre Dunlap. Penn State is #50 in rush defense (137 yards allowed/game) and #31 in yards per carry allowed (3.56). With starting defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher out for the season, the Nittany Lions’ rushing defense has fallen off; they gave up 357 yards on the ground to Illinois three weeks ago. Things have improved a little over the past couple weeks, but that may be due to playing Maryland, which is pretty inept on the ground. The leading tacklers are senior linebacker Ellis Brooks (6’1″, 241 lbs.) and junior inside linebacker Brandon Smith (6’3″, 241) with 68 and 61 stops, respectively. I think Michigan can pound the ball a little bit, but they need to be careful to keep Haskins fresh.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for more.