Tag: Nate Schoenle

2020 Season Countdown: #57 Nate Schoenle

Name: Nate Schoenle
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 206 lbs.
High school: Ann Arbor (MI) Gabriel Richard
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #81
Last year: I ranked Schoenle #60 and said he would be a backup receiver and special teamer (LINK). He played in two games and made 1 tackle on special teams.
TTB Rating: N/A

Schoenle, Michigan’s current #1 walk-on receiver, fell off the map a bit in 2019. I suspected his role would diminish with Josh Gattis and #speedinspace, but I didn’t think he would play in only two games. What happened?

Schoenle got injured.

Schoenle was probably Michigan’s best blocking wide receiver before last year, and he was the guy Michigan would bring in to run crack tosses, letting Schoenle do the dirty work. This offense is more dependent on having receivers run RPOs rather than blocking guys straight up, but Schoenle might come in handy for a team that plans to run a lot of little guys out there like Mike Sainristil, Giles Jackson, A.J. Henning, etc. I will be at least a little interested to see how much Schoenle plays receiver when healthy, but he’s also a solid special teams guy.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver, special teamer

Nightly Roundup: January 11, 2019

Nate Schoenle says he’s coming back for a fifth year. He said in his Instagram post that he needed two surgeries, which explains his absence in 2019.

Not done yet, Year 5 on deck! #GoBlue 〽️https://t.co/DFM80IKI6s pic.twitter.com/vvmpzDdx7E

— Nate Schoenle (@NateSchoenle) January 10, 2020

Schoenle isn’t a great receiver, but he’s a heck of a blocker and special teams player, so his return will be a bonus.

Also, Ambry Thomas says he’s coming back for his senior year, which is what should have been expected.

Hit the jump for more.

2019 Season Countdown: #60 Nate Schoenle

Name: Nate Schoenle
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 202 lbs.
High school: Ann Arbor (MI) Gabriel Richard
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #81
Last year: I ranked Schoenle #53 and said he would be a backup slot receiver (LINK). He played in seven games and made 3 tackles on special teams.
TTB Rating: N/A

Schoenle was the walk-on receiver with all the hype in 2017.

That hype fizzled.

Then in 2018 it was Jake McCurry.

Now going into 2019, all the hype is about new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and #speedinspace. I’m interested to see how that plays out on the field. Michigan has the choice to play experienced guys with limited upside (Schoenle, McCurry) or inexperienced players with that aforementioned speed component (Giles Jackson, George Johnson III, etc.). Even though Jim Harbaugh has a history of playing those trusty types, he has admitted handing over the reins of the offense to Gattis.

Gattis’s former employer, Alabama, went 14-1 in 2018, and only five (5!) wide receivers caught passes, all of them scholarship guys and only one of them who wouldn’t be labeled as speedy (Derek Kief). By comparison, Michigan spread the ball out to seven wideouts, and I don’t know that the likes of McCurry, Grant Perry, and Oliver Martin would be characterized as being speedy. Granted, Alabama had more overall talent to work with, but Gattis’s history suggests that he’s going to get his playmakers the ball rather than try to involve everyone. And I think that’s the way to go.

This post got off track a wee bit, but the point is that offensive contributions from the likes of McCurry and Schoenle will probably be minimized this season. On the plus side, both players have shown the ability to contribute on special teams, so they still have value to the team.

Prediction: Backup wide receiver, special teamer

2018 Season Countdown: #53 Nate Schoenle

Nate Schoenle (image via Fan Rag Sports)

Name: Nate Schoenle
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Ann Arbor (MI) Gabriel Richard
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #35
Last year: I ranked Schoenle #48 and said he would be a backup slot receiver (LINK). He made 4 catches for 41 yards and 7 tackles.
TTB Rating: N/A

Schoenle was that rare walk-on who played as a true freshman back in 2016. Last year he stepped up his playing time, making 4 catches, including a couple spots that weren’t garbage time (Purdue, South Carolina). He was usually a sign that a running play was coming, and if you guess a toss crack sweep was coming when he was in the game, you’d probably be right 72% of the time.

Nothing against Schoenle, but somebody else could make those 4 catches and block on some toss sweeps. I’m bumping him down a few spots, even though I don’t expect his role to change a ton. If Michigan does become a bit more pass-happy with a (hopefully) improved offensive line and a new quarterback, then maybe the offense will put somebody else in who can be a little more explosive. There’s also been some buzz about fellow walk-on Jake McCurry. If McCurry takes snaps from anyone, I would imagine it would be Schoenle. After all, how many snaps for walk-ons are there when you have a bunch of highly touted receivers available like Tarik Black, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins, and others? Schoenle is a good guy to have on the team, but probably not a necessary component for team success.

Prediction: Backup slot receiver

2017 Season Countdown: #48 Nate Schoenle

Nate Schoenle (image via 247 Sports)

Name: Nate Schoenle
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Ann Arbor (MI) Gabriel Richard
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Sophomore
Jersey number: #35
Last year: I did not rank Schoenle. He played in one game.
TTB Rating: N/A

Schoenle was a bit of a revelation this spring. Not only did he play a skill position as a true freshman walk-on in 2016, but he was a reliable receiving threat in the spring game. That capped a behind-the-scenes batch of positive rumors regarding his practice performances. Schoenle is a steady route runner with decent speed, and he seems to have the trust of Michigan’s quarterbacks. Michigan is looking for someone in the slot to potentially take the spot of Grant Perry, who has had some off-the-field troubles, and Schoenle is vying for that spot. He’s not a jet sweep threat like Eddie McDoom, and he’s not a threat to take it to the house on a bubble screen, but he’s a good enough route runner to get separation in the slot, and he’s a big enough target to be a matchup issue for tiny nickel corners. In reality, he might outplay this ranking, or this might be too high for him, but his star seems to be rising a bit.

Prediction: Backup slot receiver