Tag: Kekoa Crawford

Ex-Wolverine Player Updates: Post-2018 Recap

Keith Washington (#28, image via Zimbio)

At this point in Michigan’s program, along with the college football landscape, there are too many players to include in one post. There are at least 53 players who have either transferred or decommitted from Michigan in the last five full classes (2014-2018), plus the incomplete 2019 class. So I’m temporarily breaking up this concept into three separate posts, one for transfers, one for former commits, and one for coaches. It’s a lot easier to manage during the season when people are injured, redshirting, etc.

TRANSFERS

Devin Asiasi, TE (UCLA): Asiasi was second on the depth chart at tight end behind Caleb Wilson, who was the team’s leading receiver. Asiasi himself made 6 catches for 130 yards (21.7 YPC) and 1 touchdown. UCLA went 3-9 and missed out on bowl eligibility.

Ian Bunting, TE (Cal): Bunting was Cal’s leading tight end, finishing with 18 catches for 195 yards (10.8 YPC) and 0 touchdowns. Cal went 7-6.

Freddy Canteen, WR (Tulane): Canteen – who had injuries at Michigan, transferred to Notre Dame, had more injuries at Notre Dame, and then transferred to Tulane – missed the 2018 season with yet another shoulder injury. His spate of injuries may allow him to apply for a sixth year of eligibility in 2019 if he wants to continue playing.

Brian Cole, S (Mississippi State): Cole played in the first five games of the season for Mississippi State until a shoulder injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year. During those five games, he made 11 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 10 kickoff returns for 225 yards (22.5 yards/return). Mississippi State went 8-4.

Hit the jump for more.

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2018 Season Countdown: #43 Kekoa Crawford

Kekoa Crawford

Name: Kekoa Crawford
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Catholic
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #1
Last year: I ranked Crawford #13 and said he would be a starting receiver with 40 catches for 520 yards and 3 touchdowns (LINK). He made 17 catches for 243 yards and 1 touchdown; he also returned 8 kickoffs for 139 yards (17.4 yards/return).
TTB Rating: 81

As you can see, Crawford dropped significantly on the countdown from 2017 to 2018, from #13 down to #43. And that was before he left the team to pursue greener pastures elsewhere. Crawford played a lot last season, especially after starting wide receiver Tarik Black went down with a foot injury midway through the year. Crawford’s numbers look okay for a #3 or #4 receiver for a whole season, but he was expected to do more and never seemed to mesh with any of the three quarterbacks who saw game action.

This year Tarik Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones are both expected to be starters, and they’re a year older. Meanwhile, Nico Collins saw more action late in the year, Grant Perry is a senior, and Oliver Martin is coming off a redshirt. The arrow seemed to be trending down for Crawford. I still think he has talent and could have been a decent contributor at Michigan if he stuck around, but with only 2018 and 2019 remaining, he was destined to be overshadowed by Black and Peoples-Jones, if not others.

Prediction: None; he transferred

Ex-Wolverine Updates: 2018 Pre-Season

Vic Viramontes is going to row the boat…at Riverside City College (image via Twin Cities)

TRANSFERS

Devin Asiasi, TE (UCLA): Asiasi sat out the season due to NCAA transfer rules. From what I can gather, he’s pegged to be the #2 tight end this season.

Ian Bunting, TE (California): Bunting will be a fifth year senior at Cal this fall.

Brian Cole, S (Mississippi State): Cole is listed as a 6’2″, 210 lb. redshirt junior safety at Mississippi State and is projected to be the Bulldogs’ starting nickel player. He spent last season at East Mississippi Community College.

Kekoa Crawford, WR: Crawford will transfer, though his destination is unknown.

Kingston Davis, RB (UAB): Davis is a 6’0″, 245 lb. running back at UAB after spending last season at Independence Community College in Kansas. He looks to be one of the featured players on the upcoming season of Last Chance U on Netflix.

Ja’Raymond Hall, OG (Central Michigan): Hall announced that he would transfer to Central Michigan in the off-season, which means he will have to sit out 2018 due to NCAA transfer rules.

Elysee Mbem-Bosse, LB: It’s unknown at this point whether Mbem-Bosse will continue his football career.

Kareem Walker, RB: Walker will transfer, though his destination is unknown.

Keith Washington, CB (West Virginia): Washington, who played this past season at Co-Lin, has transferred to West Virginia, where he’s listed as a 6’0″, 173 lb. redshirt junior cornerback.

Maurice Ways, WR (California): Ways will be a fifth year senior at Cal this fall.

Hit the jump for news on former commitments and coaches.

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Kekoa Crawford, Ex-Wolverine

Kekoa Crawford

Junior wide receiver Kekoa Crawford has decided to transfer out of Michigan. His future destination is unknown at this point.

Kekoa – once known as Dylan Crawford – committed to Michigan at the Army All-American Bowl in January of 2016 (LINK). He caught 4 passes for 47 yards and 1 touchdown as a true freshman in 2016, and then he moved up on the depth chart to become a starter in 2017. In his sophomore season, he was #4 in receptions (17) and #5 in yards (243); he was also second on the team in yards per catch (14.3), out of players with 10+ receptions. Despite being used more in 2017, the writing was on the wall that younger players like Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black had passed him.

This is a bit of a blow to Michigan’s receiving corps, considering Crawford was a potential starter somewhere on the field. The upcoming season will probably see Peoples-Jones and Black start on the outside, with junior Grant Perry in the slot. Crawford is physically capable of playing any of those spots, and as we saw last season, an injury like Black’s could thrust the next guy into the starting lineup for long periods of time. However, the Wolverines have recruited well at wide receiver – including backups Nico Collins and Oliver Martin – so Crawford’s departure may not be noticed too much in the long run.

Michigan is now down to 85 scholarship players for the 2018 season (LINK), which means nobody else needs to leave to get down to the limit.

Who might not return on offense in 2018?

Ian Bunting (image via Land of 10)

As I looked at the scholarship count for 2018 (LINK), there were a number of names that stuck out of guys who don’t have a clear path to playing time. This post is intended to examine some of those players’ potential to contribute in the future. This is NOT based on any rumors, but simply logic.

QUARTERBACK: With just four players on scholarship for 2018 – including two true freshmen – it wouldn’t make much sense for anyone to leave. Brandon Peters (RS So.) should be the #1 guy, and Dylan McCaffrey (RS Fr.) would presumably be the primary backup. Both of them were recruited by Jim Harbaugh, and both of them are talented, 4-star guys. The one guy who could throw a wrench into those plans is Shea Patterson, a potential transfer from Ole Miss (LINK).

FULLBACK: Michigan loses its top two guys at fullback, but the next guy will be just a sophomore in 2018, and that’s Ben Mason. With Mason looking like the clear front-runner to start, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for Jared Wangler (RS Sr.) to return in 2018. Not only was Wangler a linebacker for his first few years on campus, but he was at least fourth on the depth chart this season. There are walk-ons who could surpass him, and so far Michigan hasn’t deployed a fullback as light as him (229 lbs.) under Jim Harbaugh

RUNNING BACK: Departures happen all the time, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if someone leaves in the next year or two. However, the running backs are spaced out pretty well, from senior Karan Higdon to junior Chris Evans to redshirt sophomore Kareem Walker to the freshmen.

WIDE RECEIVER: Drake Harris and Maurice Ways, Jr. have already chosen to depart, so that thins the ranks a little bit, but Michigan brought in four wideouts in the 2017 class. With a lot of trust being put in Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black, there seemed to be less and less emphasis on Kekoa Crawford and Eddie McDoom this year than expected. Neither one redshirted and both could go elsewhere to have two years of eligibility left. Much like the Shea Patterson situation, the potential arrival of Ole Miss’s Van Jefferson could be disruptive to their careers, too.

TIGHT END: The departure that makes the most sense is Ian Bunting (RS Sr.). I thought Bunting was going to replace Jake Butt pretty well, but instead, Bunting was passed up by every other scholarship tight end on the roster, all of whom are younger. Zach Gentry (RS Jr.), Sean McKeon (Jr.), Tyrone Wheatley, Jr. (RS Jr.), and even Nick Eubanks (RS So.) were used earlier in the season and/or games than Bunting. Bunting had just 1 catch for 6 yards on the season. Along the same lines, Wheatley is getting older and seems to have two guys ahead of him (Gentry and McKeon).

OFFENSIVE LINE: With the uncertainty on the offensive line and two seniors graduating (Mason Cole, Patrick Kugler), there are two starting spots available, and Michigan likes to use six or seven linemen a game for random formations and short yardage stuff.