TE Erick All (Iowa): All tore his ACL this past season but finished as Iowa’s leading receiver, catching 21 passes for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns. Despite having another year of eligibility if he wanted it, he declared for the NFL Draft.
WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony caught 27 passes for 429 yards and 1 touchdown before suffering a season-ending ACL injury.
QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman led Oklahoma State to a 10-4 record this season. Things started off a little rocky, but he ultimately locked down the starting job and went 304/501 (60.7%) for 3,460 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. He also ran 26 times for 24 yards and 2 touchdowns. He will return to the Cowboys in 2024 for a seventh season of eligibility.
TE Erick All (Iowa): All is now a Hawkeye and might play second fiddle at tight end to Luke Lachey, but Iowa uses multiple tight ends on a regular basis, so he should get plenty of playing time. Last year’s second tight end was Lachey, who had 28 catches for 398 yards and 4 touchdowns behind Sam LaPorta, who is now with the Detroit Lions.
WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony is slotted in as a starting receiver for the Sooners this fall. He’s listed as a 6’1″, 192 lb. junior.
QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman is in a battle for the starting quarterback job at one of the “other” OSU schools.
OG Zach Carpenter (Indiana): Carpenter is a redshirt senior who is expected to start at center for the Hoosiers.
S Damani Dent (Charlotte): Dent is a 5’11”, 196 lb. redshirt freshman at Charlotte.
CB Darion Green-Warren (Nevada): Green-Warren is a redshirt sophomore who is expected to be a backup for the Wolfpack in 2023.
TE Louis Hansen (UConn): Hansen is expected to start for the Huskies at tight end this fall. He’s listed at 6’4″ and 238 pounds.
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
Name: Julius Welschof Height: 6’6″ Weight: 266 lbs. High school: Miesbach (Germany) FOS Altoetting Position: Edge Class: Fifth year senior Jersey number: #96 Last year: I ranked Welschof #35 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He made 13 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup. TTB Rating: 78
Have you ever seen a 286-pound man sprinting downfield on the kickoff unit? If you watched Michigan in 2021, you did. Welschof may have been the heaviest kickoff squad member in the country last year, and he was getting downfield as quickly as many of his teammates. That has been the tantalizing aspect of Welschof as a player: freak athleticism for a 6’6″ non-beanpole.
Now Welschof is a svelte 266 pounds as he has made the transition from defensive tackle to edge. Gone are Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, and in steps . . . well, we’re not quite sure yet. Physically, Welschof is almost Hutchinson’s doppelganger: Hutchinson was 6’6″ and 265 lbs. Technique, effort, instincts . . . well, those tell a different story. Welschof sat out of the spring game, so the public didn’t see him in action at his new weight or get a good glimpse at where he falls in the pecking order. I expect him to be in the two-deep, if not earn a starting role, in 2022.
