Defensive tackle Jess Speight and offensive guard Andrew Vastardis were both given scholarships for the 2019 season. That’s because Michigan is under the scholarship limit after some guys transferred (LINK).
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Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . Zach Charbonnet. The true freshman earned the first start for a freshman in a season opener since Sam McGuffie in 2008. And let me throw out the suggestion that Charbonnet will have a better career in a Michigan uniform (McGuffie had 486 rushing yards, 175 receiving yards, and 4 touchdowns in his one season in Ann Arbor). Charbonnet had 8 carries for 90 yards and 2 catches for 9 yards. He showed some toughness, vision, pass catching ability, pass blocking ability, and a little bit of speed.
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There’s a lot that we could get into with the new offense, so I think it might be best to just go position-by-position on that side of the ball.
The two-quarterback thing needs to be nixed. Jim Harbaugh and Josh Gattis are probably trying to make Dylan McCaffrey happy by putting him on the field with Shea Patterson, but it’s a bad move. The offense isn’t in sync when both are on the field. Whoever’s behind center is late getting the play off, and then they threw an inside screen to McCaffrey, who was immediately swarmed under by big guys. Why put your lanky backup QB in a situation where he catches a ball three yards away from 250+ pound defensive linemen and linebackers?
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Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s time! Fighting in the maize and blue corner, it’s . . . the 2019 season predictions. You can check out my 2018 season predictions and how they fared here (LINK).
LEADING RUSHER
I am not confident in this pick whatsoever, but I’m sticking with what I predicted a couple weeks ago: Tru Wilson edges out Zach Charbonnet. Charbonnet is the most talented back to land at Michigan in years, if not decades, so I’m very willing to be wrong on this one. In fact, I want to be wrong. Please prove me wrong by rushing for 850 yards, Zach Charbonnet…
Prediction: Tru Wilson, 700 yards
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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.
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