4Dec 2019
2019 All-Big Ten Defense
The Big Ten released its all-conference awards for defense on Tuesday (LINK).
Hit the jump for the full list.
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The Big Ten released its all-conference awards for defense on Tuesday (LINK).
Hit the jump for the full list.
read more
IT’S A TRAP! I was expecting a relatively close battle (I predicted 28-17 Michigan), and the great and powerful Lee Corso predicted an Indiana victory. But it turns out Michigan had other ideas this year. After a slow start on defense, the Wolverines defense put the clamps on Indiana. Michigan was down 14-7 at one point and then scored 32 unanswered points the rest of the way. Indiana’s secondary was severely outmatched in this one, and Michigan took advantage to the tune of 366 passing yards and 5 touchdowns through the air.
Hit the jump.
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Emotional letdown. Watching as a fan, I did not take as much pleasure in this 38-7 victory as I normally would. Maybe that’s what happens after a big game against Penn State and a beatdown of Notre Dame in a night game. People talked about it potentially being a trap game for Michigan’s players, but I guess it was for me as a fan, too. Michigan played well overall, but there wasn’t a lot of juice. Other than the opening kickoff return, there weren’t many big plays. It was a solid beating, but Michigan didn’t exactly run roughshod over the Terrapins. It wasn’t death by a thousand papercuts, but it was close.
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Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s time! Fighting in the maize and blue corner, it’s . . . the 2019 season predictions. You can check out my 2018 season predictions and how they fared here (LINK).
LEADING RUSHER
I am not confident in this pick whatsoever, but I’m sticking with what I predicted a couple weeks ago: Tru Wilson edges out Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet is the most talented back to land at Michigan in years, if not decades, so I’m very willing to be wrong on this one. In fact, I want to be wrong. Please prove me wrong by rushing for 850 yards, Zach Charbonnet…
Prediction: Tru Wilson, 700 yards
Hit the jump for the rest of the prognostications.
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Name: Joshua Uche
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 250 lbs.
High school: Miami (FL) Columbus
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I ranked Uche #40 and said he would be a backup linebacker and special teamer (LINK). He made 15 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and 7 sacks.
TTB Rating: 82
I doubt anyone other than Uche’s family was as excited to see him blow up in 2018 as I was. When Uche came out of high school, I was excited about his ability to bend around the corner and rush the passer. Edge rushers are hard to come by, and someone with that natural ability should be valued. Uche was a bit player last year, but he still managed to lead the team in sacks – he made more (7.0) than 1st round pick Rashan Gary (3.5) and new Patriots standout Chase Winovich (5.0).
Perhaps best of all was the fact that he didn’t beat up on the patsies on the schedule. All 7 of his sacks came against solid teams like Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan State, and Northwestern. One sack against Northwestern was a huge play in a game that ended up tighter than it should have been.
It’s hard to say how much Uche will be utilized in 2019. He played less than a third of Michigan’s defensive snaps and was essentially a pass rush specialist, yet he still picked up 7 sacks in one season, which is the fifth best total in the last decade. Talk out of the spring and camp has been that Uche will be used in a variety of ways, but I don’t know that there’s too much mystery: Michigan is going to rush him off the edge as a defensive end, and they’ll blitz him from the second level. He should have a future as a 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL at some point, which doesn’t exactly mesh with how Michigan plays defense, but it’s nice to have at least one of those explosive edge rushers available.
Prediction: Backup SAM linebacker; 25 tackles, 6 sacks