Defensive Tackle U. Michigan is putting together a nice crew of defensive tackles, and the least heralded one is the guy making plays most consistently, it seems. Sophomore Mason Graham made 5 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 0.5 sacks against UNLV, eating up the interior offensive line repeatedly. The Rebels ended the game with 61 rushing yards on 31 attempts, which includes sacks, but still . . . the middle was stuffed up all day. Kris Jenkins made 5 tackles and 0.5 sacks and Kenneth Grant made 4 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup. The title of this section is a little facetious, but the defensive tackle play has been terrific.
I feel really good about my predictions for 2023 and I’m nearly certain they’ll all be correct.
LEADING RUSHER Junior running back Blake Corum had 1,463 yards on the ground in 2022. Unless his surgically repaired knee doesn’t hold up, he’s a good bet to lead the team in rushing again, even with the presence of star running back Donovan Edwards. Edwards should get a lot of rushing attempts and might even top 1,000 yards himself (he had 991 last year), but Corum should still be the #1 guy. Prediction: Blake Corum, 1400 yards
Hit the jump for the rest of the prognostications.
Name: Tyler Morris Height: 5’11” Weight: 185 lbs. High school: La Grange Park (IL) Nazareth Academy Position: Wide receiver Class: Sophomore Jersey number: #8 Last year: I ranked Morris #93 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He caught 3 passes for 25 yards. TTB Rating: 83
Morris tore his ACL during the spring COVID season of 2021, which also knocked out his senior season in the fall of 2021. It was a very unfortunate way to finish out his high school career. He enrolled in the spring of 2022, but with some veteran receivers ahead of him and having missed a year of football, it was unlikely he was going to play much last season. He played in eight games and caught 3 passes for 25 yards.
There have been some rumblings this spring and summer that Morris is going to have a breakout fall. He played with J.J. McCarthy in high school, so they already have a built-in connection. Michigan lost leading wide receiver Ronnie Bell to the NFL Draft, so the team needs to replace his production. Morris has a decent chance to be the starter in the slot, but I don’t see that position turning out the numbers that Bell had (62 catches, 889 yards, 4 touchdowns) with Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson returning on the outside. It’s also possible that Michigan uses running back Donovan Edwards a little more in the passing game after he had just 18 catches for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns last season. Johnson will be gone after 2023 and Wilson could be, too, so perhaps 2024 will be a bigger year for Morris.
Name: Tyler Morris Height: 6’0″ Weight: 175 lbs. High school: La Grange Park (IL) Nazareth Academy Position: Wide receiver Class: Freshman Jersey number: #13 Last year: Morris was a senior in high school (LINK). He sat out the season with a torn ACL. TTB Rating: 83
Morris had a disappointing end to his high school career. Instead of going out with a bang, he went out with what was likely a literal whimper as he tore his ACL in the spring of 2021. Yes, as if the COVID year wasn’t already bad enough, he had to pop his ACL while making an interception and then sit out his entire senior season while recovering. I can’t think of many worse ways to finish up.
On the plus side, Morris ended up transferring to Plainedge (IL) East for his final semester of high school in the fall of 2021, graduate, and then enroll early at Michigan in January 2022. He spent the spring at Michigan wearing a non-contact jersey and just running drills. Now a full year out from suffering the injury, Morris should be well on his way to a full recovery. However, the shortened 2020 (a.k.a. spring 2021) season and then a totally missed fall 2021 season probably leaves him a little bit rusty. I think Morris has high upside as a receiver, but with Michigan’s returning players and a supposed freak in Darrius Clemons as a fellow freshman, I don’t think Morris will be counted on much in 2022.
Is Mason Graham the next Maurice Hurst, Jr.? (image via Twitter)
Thanks to Ashley, Eric, Joe, and Stephen for the recent Paypal donations.
As much as we like to get excited about every single Michigan recruit, it’s important to keep perspective and realize that not every one of these players will be destined for stardom. This exercise can give us a range of what to expect from some of these players, even though star rankings can be very wrong.
Will Johnson – CB – Grosse Pointe (MI) South 2022 ranking: #14 Historical ranking: tied for #9 all-time at Michigan Tied with: S Daxton Hill (2019) and DE LaMarr Woodley (2003) Closest positional comparisons: Jabrill Peppers (#3 in 2014) and Donovan Warren (#27 in 2007)
Derrick Moore – DE – Baltimore (MD) St. Francis 2022 ranking: #49 Historical ranking: tied for #37 all-time at Michigan Tied with: OG Kyle Kalis (2012) and RB Ty Isaac (2013) Closest positional comparisons: Pierre Woods (#43 in 2001) and Luiji Vilain (#56 in 2017)
Keon Sabb – S – Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy 2022 ranking: #84 Historical ranking: #64 all-time at Michigan Flanked by: OT Cory Zirbel (#83 in 2005) and #87 Kyle Bosch (2013) Closest positional comparisons: Michael Williams (#72 in 2007) and Demar Dorsey (#87 in 2010)
