Tag: Zach Carpenter

2020 Season Countdown: #21 Zach Carpenter

Name: Zach Carpenter
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 329 lbs.
High school: Cincinnati (OH) Moeller
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Redshirt reshman
Jersey number: #58
Last year: I ranked Carpenter #86 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 73

When Carpentered entered college, most assumed he would end up playing offensive guard. Not only was he ranked as a guard, but Michigan had highly touted interior lineman Nolan Rumler in the 2019 class, and Rumler was reportedly likely to transition to center. Anyway, Carpenter had two seniors starting at guard and a future 1st rounder starting at center ahead of him, so he wasn’t needed last year.

Fast forward one season, and all those guys are gone. Carpenter and Karsen Barnhart earned a ton of buzz last year, and the conclusion going into the spring was that Carpenter had the inside track on the center gig. The stiffest competition was thought to be coming from walk-on Andrew Vastardis.

The most recent rumors suggest that Vastardis has been getting first team reps at center, partly because Carpenter has been missing from practice due to health issues. Center is a key position, so I have Carpenter ranked here at #21, but Vastardis or Rumler could be the man if/when there’s a season.

Prediction: Starting center

Change is Coming: Offense

Every year the new season brings changes big and small. It seems that the 2020 season will bring some pretty significant changes to what we see on the field at Michigan, from players to coaches. Here’s a look at the expected changes and what we might see in 2020.

The impact is rated as being positive (+), negative (-), or neutral (=).

Out: QB Shea Patterson
In: Dylan McCaffrey/Joe Milton
Patterson was just the third quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season, but many weren’t happy with his performance. Redshirt junior McCaffrey and redshirt sophomore Joe Milton will battle it out, and the belief (on my end) is that the loser of that battle will not finish out his career at Michigan. McCaffrey is the better overall player – both passing and running – but a concussion and a collarbone injury have ended his previous two seasons.
Impact: =

Hit the jump for more.

2019 Recruiting Awards

I know this seems a little bit late, but since I just wrapped up the final TTB Ratings for 2019, I thought it would be time to share “recruiting awards” for the 2019 class. Feel free to pipe in with your own choices, and you can glance back at, say, the 2016 awards (LINK) to see how I did (what’s up, Andrew David?).

Best Overall Recruit: S Daxton Hill
It was a battle to land Hill, who was sought by everyone. Some thought he would go to the home-state Sooners; some thought he would go where his older brother did, Oklahoma State; he was committed to Alabama for a time; and he committed to Michigan twice. He was the #14 overall player to the 247 Composite, and I have him with a 100 as the best safety in the class.

Best Offensive Recruit: RB Zach Charbonnet
Charbonnet has great potential to be a stud running back. He’s fast, strong, catches the ball, and can make people miss.

Hit the jump for the rest of the awards.

Final TTB Ratings for 2019

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I know it’s a little bit late in the game, but back in the spring, I didn’t have time to review all the senior film for Michigan’s 2019 signees and give them updated TTB Ratings. I did that during the 2019 Season Countdown, so here are the final TTB Ratings for the class of 2019.

S Daxton Hill: 100
He’s the best safety in the class, though it’s an unimpressive safety class overall.

RB Zach Charbonnet: 83 90
As long as he can get/stay healthy, Charbonnet has the potential to be a high draft pick in the future.

DT Chris Hinton, Jr.: 90
He should be an early contributor with high long-term upside.

Hit the jump for more.

2019 Season Countdown: #86 Zach Carpenter

Name: Zach Carpenter
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 316 lbs.
High school: Cincinnati (OH) Moeller
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Carpenter was a senior in high school (LINK).
TTB Rating: 73

Carpenter was a recruit who largely seemed to fly under the radar. He committed to Michigan, stayed solid to Michigan, had a decent ranking (247 Composite 3-star, #33 OG, #555 overall), didn’t play in an All-America game, and just sort of…existed in the class.

Meanwhile, I have him down as the second most likely freshman offensive lineman to contribute this year. Why? At 6’5″ and 316 lbs., with his strength, he doesn’t need a ton of physical development to get on the field. Michigan shouldn’t need him this year, but any lineman with 300+ pounds on him already has a shot to see time, whether in a backup role or on special teams. I still expect him to redshirt, but a lack of size shouldn’t preclude him from seeing the field.

Prediction: Redshirt