Tag: Ja'Den McBurrows

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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2024 Season Countdown: #37 Ja’Den McBurrows

Name: Ja’Den McBurrows
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 194 lbs.
High school: Fort Lauderdale (FL) Saint Thomas Aquinas
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #18
Last year: I ranked McBurrows #41 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He made 7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 interception.
TTB Rating: 73

I don’t know about other Michigan fans, but McBurrows has turned into a bit of a “fan favorite” of mine. As a high schooler, he was always around the ball and created a ton of turnovers despite being a little undersized. While at Michigan he has struggled at time with injuries. On top of that, he was a part of the infamous “Tunnel Incident” against Michigan State in 2022 when teammate Gemon Green was jumped by a bunch of Spartans and McBurrows tried to intervene.

He got some revenge in the 49-0 beatdown of Michigan State last year when he notched his first career interception.

McBurrows also had the unfortunate luck of playing behind Mike Sainristil, an all-time great for the Wolverines who just happened to also play the nickel spot. So his time has been limited over his first three years on campus.

His outlook is a little brighter for 2024. Sainristil is gone, and now McBurrows has a chance to step up and play some nickel or outside corner. He is unlikely to start at either position with Zeke Berry set to start at nickel and Jyaire Hill the likely #2 corner across from Will Johnson, but I expect an uptick in playing time for McBurrows as a fourth-year player. He was #20 on the team in defensive snaps last season (185) and I expect him to move up to perhaps #17 or #18 in defensive snaps this fall.

Prediction: Backup nickel/cornerback

Michigan 49, Michigan State 0

Emotional edge FTW. Going into this game, I felt like Michigan had more of a reason to win this game. I mean, aside from the fact that Michigan State sucks and surely really wanted to win because sucking isn’t fun, Michigan should have had more of a reason. This stems mostly from the fact that Gemon Green and Ja’den McBurrows were viciously attacked in the tunnel last year. But this past week’s cheating allegations probably cheesed off the Wolverines quite a bit since their accomplishments were considered to be tainted by some. But it seems like emotion sometimes forces players and/or coaches to press. So in my game preview, I predicted a 34-10 victory. I thought Michigan might come out a little slow, might get caught by a trick play, etc. But it turns out Michigan didn’t have any trick plays up their sleeve. They didn’t really have much of anything up their sleeve.

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2023 Season Countdown: #41 Ja’Den McBurrows

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Name: Ja’Den McBurrows
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Fort Lauderdale (FL) Saint Thomas Aquinas
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #1
Last year: I ranked McBurrows #51 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He did not play.
TTB Rating: 73

The year 2022 was probably one Ja’Den McBurrows wouldn’t mind forgetting, at least from a personal standpoint. He spent a good chunk of the year recovering from an injury, and then when he wasn’t injured, he was getting attacked by a bunch of idiot Michigan State players in the tunnel, along with Gemon Green. After playing four games in 2021, he didn’t see any action last year.

So this may be my biggest reach in the 2023 season countdown. It’s a player who has 2 tackles and 1 pass breakup in four career games, and now I have him at #41. What gives?

Well, the buzz for McBurrows has been steady for the past couple years. The coaching staff seems to like him, but health has been an issue. He was a turnover machine in high school, and hopefully he can continue some of that in college. Last year he was blocked by a pretty good trio of Gemon Green, Will Johnson, and D.J. Turner II, but Green and Turner are gone. Now he’s contending with Amorion Walker and UMass transfer Josh Wallace for a starting spot across from Johnson. McBurrows also has the skill set to play in the slot if something were to happen to Mike Sainristil. I don’t think McBurrows will win a starting spot, but he should be in the cornerback rotation.

Prediction: Backup cornerback

Thoughts on 2023 Spring Game

Okay, it’s time to put some thoughts about the spring game on paper.

QUARTERBACK: We know what J.J. McCarthy brings to the table, and Michigan was never going to let him factor into the run game, so whatever. This comes down to thoughts on the backups. After watching Michigan have a good 1-2 punch the past two years with McCarthy and Cade McNamara, there is a big question mark at the #2 quarterback spot in 2023. I thought redshirt sophomore Davis Warren once again outplayed the competition, which comes from Alex Orji and Indiana transfer Jack Tuttle. Tuttle had a couple decent throws and showed some decent athleticism on the run, but Warren is more accurate and probably a better decision maker, despite the fact that Tuttle is a sixth-year player. Orji has decent arm strength but leaves something to be desired when it comes to his timing and accuracy; running is the best part of his game, and he’s a change-up guy. I would put him at #4 on the depth chart.

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