Based on the first couple weeks of how the 2019 season has gone, here’s a look at what the depth chart could look like in 2020.
QB: Dylan McCaffrey (RS Jr.), Joe Milton (RS So.), Cade McNamara (So.), J.D. Johnson (Fr.)
RB: Zach Charbonnet (So.), Christian Turner (RS So.), Ben VanSumeren (RS So.), Blake Corum (Fr.), Hassan Haskins (RS So.)
FB: Peter Bush (RS Sr.)
WR1: Nico Collins (Sr.), Cornelius Johnson (So.), George Johnson III (So.),
WR2: Donovan Peoples-Jones (Sr.), Ronnie Bell (Jr.), A.J. Henning (Fr.), Roman Wilson (Fr.)
WR3: Tarik Black (RS Jr.), Mike Sainristil (So.), Giles Jackson (So.), Eamonn Dennis (Fr.)
TE: Nick Eubanks (RS Sr.), Erick All (So.), Mustapha Muhammad (RS So.), Luke Schoonmaker (RS So.), Matt Hibner (Fr.), Nick Patterson (Fr.)
LT: Ryan Hayes (RS So.), Greg Robinson (RS Sr.), Trente Jones (So.), Jeffrey Persi (Fr.)
LG: Chuck Filiaga (RS Jr.), Andrew Vastardis (RS Sr.), Zak Zinter (Fr.)
C: Cesar Ruiz (Sr.), Stephen Spanellis (RS Sr.), Nolan Rumler (So.), Reece Atteberry (Fr.)
RG: Andrew Stueber (RS Jr.), Joel Honigford (RS Jr.), Zach Carpenter (So.), Micah Mazzccua (Fr.)
RT: Jalen Mayfield (RS So.), Karsen Barnhart (So.), Trevor Keegan (So.), Jack Stewart (So.)
SDE: Aidan Hutchinson (Jr.), Julius Welschof (RS So.), Michael Morris (So.), David Ojabo (So.), Aaron Lewis Jr. (Fr.)
DT: Michael Dwumfour (RS Sr.), Ben Mason (Sr.), Chris Hinton (So.), Jess Speight (RS Jr.), Carl Myers (RS Sr.), Kris Jenkins Jr. (Fr.)
NT: Donovan Jeter (RS Jr.), Mazi Smith (So.), Phillip Paea (RS Jr.)
WDE: Kwity Paye (Sr.), Luiji Vilain (RS Jr.), Gabe Newburg (So.), Braiden McGregor (Fr.)
Viper/SAM: Michael Barrett (RS So.), Joey Velazquez (So.), Quinten Johnson (RS Fr.), William Mohan (Fr.)
MIKE: Josh Ross (Sr.), Charles Thomas (So.), Cornell Wheeler (Fr.), Osman Savage (Fr.)
WILL: Devin Gil (RS Sr.), Jordan Anthony (RS Jr.), Cameron McGrone (Jr.), Anthony Solomon (So.), Kalel Mullings (Fr.), Nikhai Hill-Green (Fr.)
CB: Vincent Gray (RS So.), Jalen Perry (So.), Andre Seldon (Fr.)
CB: Ambry Thomas (Sr.), D.J. Turner II (So.), Jaylen Kelly-Powell (Sr.), Gemon Green (RS So.)
FS: Daxton Hill (So.), German Green (RS So.), Sammy Faustin (RS So.), Makari Paige (Fr.)
SS: Brad Hawkins (Sr.), J’Marick Woods (Sr.), Jordan Morant (Fr.), R.J. Moten (Fr.)
K: Jake Moody (Jr.), Quinn Nordin (RS Sr.)
P: Will Hart (RS Sr.)
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FWIW- Ben Mason listed twice at DT.
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Also (pretty sure) more than 90 scholarship players. [Sorry, I know I’m being overly picky as that’s not the point of the exercise.]
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Any chance Hutchinson moves to the 3T spot inside? I’m no coach or anything, just a fan, but when they go with that smaller lineup with him at that spot he looks very disruptive. Almost Aaron Donaldish…
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I think there’s a chance, depending on how the rest of the guys develop. I think Hutchinson could be successful at either spot. He’s not a traditional 3-tech, but he’s strong enough to play there and has good enough technique to be okay against some bigger guys. He’s probably not a guy I would want in there against Wisconsin, but you have to consider it if the other tackles aren’t healthy. I would prefer to see Hutchinson play Anchor if possible.
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SinCityBlue, I agree. It’s worth a thought, especially on passing downs.
Also, I don’t see Anthony Solomon on the depth chart.
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Devin Gil should be eligible for a 5th year, though scholarship players who stick around for that long are increasingly rare. LB looks good either way.
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True. Sometimes I get in my head that he played (surprisingly) as a freshman, but that was Josh Metellus, not Gil.
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Funny how things can work out. Bush, Metellus, Gil all came in the same class, same school, and similar questions about size for their projected positions. Bush gone after 3 years, Metellus 4, Gil tracking for 5.
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There will be a lot more people bailing early for the NFL, among the most likely being Collins, Black, Peoples-Jones, Eubanks, Ruiz, Paye, Ross and Thomas. No one with any athleticism will stay.
And I would be very disappointed (though not surprised, given Harbaugh’s favoring of upperclassmen) if Hinton were still behind Mason next year.
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Well not all those guys are going pro but you raise an interesting topic. Some very likely will and the number going to the NFL will probably be higher than the number of 5-year players once again. Runyan is our only 5th year scholarship signee. Next year we have some candidates but also guys who are backing up younger better players and may end up elsewhere.
Good or bad this is the reality of college football for the power programs where talent continues to consolidate. The traditional model of presuming a 5-year plan for most players is obsolete for a school like Michigan. Among players who kept their 5th year eligibility option, AKA redshirts, most will transfer at some point. This may or may not change with liberalized eligibility requirements since those are counterbalanced by liberalized transfer requirements. Players have more options on all fronts.
This is part of why I like the UM roster being listed by class. The year is more meaningful than potential eligibility years into the future.It’s an interesting footnote and useful for roster projections but there’s not much reason to differentiate between a redshirt sophomore and a junior anymore.
For Michigan roster projections it’s worth noting the class first and foremost. After that one must consider equally the potential for NFL departure alongside those who have retained their 5th year of eligibility.
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“…there’s not much reason to differentiate between a redshirt sophomore and a junior anymore.”
You’ve made this point several times, and it’s just flat-out untrue. Listing them by class is more confusing, especially as the players age.
A senior and a redshirt junior are not the same thing. If you had your preferred listing, a “senior” Josh Metellus – who played as a freshman and cannot return in 2020 – would be listed with the same designation as “senior” Stephen Spanellis or “senior” Devin Gil, both of whom have one year of eligibility remaining to either stay on Michigan’s roster or transfer elsewhere.
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Which part is untrue?
Gil has an option to return to college next year and Metellus doesn’t. That doesn’t change anything about THIS season. In this season Metellus and Gil are both seniors. This is just a fact.
They came in the same class. Arrived on campus at the same time. Have gone to the same number of practices and games. The roster is accurate.
The primary job of the roster isn’t to project a future roster. If you want to go through that exercise of course you can. You can do that without pretending like a whole year didnt happen.
It’s not just semantics. It affects perception.
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It didn’t matter to Michigan that Ulizio Bunting and Peters had redshirt seasons. Yet we spent 4 years defining them in those terms.
They are not outliers either. In the MAJORITY of cases it is never relevant.
ONLY in the instance of future roster projections like what you do here is it useful to know. Even then its just a guess since a 5th year senior is less likely to be back than a 4th year senior. The NFL early entry thing is just as important for Alabama, Clemson, and Michigan so why not make THAT guess?
Back in the day when most guys redshirted and went 5 years it made sense. It was relevant mostly to note the less common cases of guys who played as freshman. These days it doesn’t make sense to define a player this way. At least at Michigan.
I think the class is the right way to do it. Give the guy an asterisk if you need to but a sophomore is a sophomore
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Ive tried to comment on this a few times without success. Turn off the no Lanknows filter please.
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2020 threads? Sooo wha we gettin at here man?…..
2 games in to 19 n we like already tankin on any worth while topix re this c-zun?? WISKY cumin up man.
Toooo much elefunt n dah room on 19 tha needs tawkin bowt dude. Lez Geh thru dis yr bro 4 ‘20….
Ain’t sayn
Jez sayn……
INTJonny Luzsha BayBee alway hav alway wil
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Ummm…it was the bye week and there are no post-game articles, awards articles, etc. to post? And there’s not much going on with recruiting?
Don’t read too much into it.
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Is it true Charbonnet’s scoped knee is injured again?
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I’m doubtful on that news
The only reason I’m not completely dismissing it is JH declaring Turner the backup. That came out of nowhere, but an injury would make the timing of such a statement more reasonable
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it didnt come out of nowhere – reporters asked harbaugh to name the #2 RB so he said turner. and that jives with breakdown of snaps and what weve seen on the field so far
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Sure, but reporters have asked JH thousands of questions that have either gone unanswered or steered into weird stories about milk, chickens, or babypoop
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Nothing I have heard corroborates that story.
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Ok. Thanks.
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Well not all those guys are going pro but you raise an interesting topic. Some very likely will and the number going to the NFL will probably be higher than the number of 5year players once again. Runyan is our only 5th year scholarship signee. Next year we have some candidates but also guys who are backing up younger better players and may end up elsewhere.
Good or bad this is the reality of college football for the power programs where talent continues to consolidate. The traditional model of presuming a 5year plan for most players is obsolete for a school like Michigan. Among players who kept their 5th year eligibility option, AKA redshirts, most will transfer at some point. This may or may not change with liberalized eligibility requirements since those are counterbalanced by liberalized transfer requirements. Players have more options on all fronts.
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Well not all those guys are going pro but you raise an interesting topic. Some very likely will and the number going to the NFL will probably be higher than the number of 5year players once again. Runyan is our only 5th year scholarship signee. Next year we have some candidates but also guys who are backing up younger better players and may end up elsewhere.
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Well not all those guys are going pro but you raise an interesting topic. Some very likely will and the number going to the NFL will probably be higher than the number of 5 year players once again. Runyan is our only 5th year scholarship signee. Next year we have some candidates but also guys who are backing up younger better players and may end up elsewhere.
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Another way I think about the eligibility nomenclature.
It would seem very goofy to call guys like Jabrill Peppers, Rashan Gary, DPJ and Daxton Hill juniors when they are in their second year. Yet if you focus around future roster projections this NFL departure issue is more relevant than retained 5th years.
Going back to Metellus Gil Bush, we could have entered 2017 calling Bush a junior since he was in his 2nd to last year, Metellus a sophomore, and Gil a freshman since he still had 4 years of eligibility. Of course here in real life they were all sophomores.
I realize this is different and doesn’t apply everywhere but it is the case at top tier programs like Alabama, OSU, Clemson, Michigan. I applaud Michigan for using accurate class labels. I think more should follow suit, including TV broadcasts.
During the game it is really not a time where you’re trying to project out future rosters unless you’re a lunatic. A guy like Jalen Mayfield is a sophomore in 2019. He’s on the field starting and it really doesn’t matter right now if he has eligibility left in 2022 or not.
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MY WAY:
Redshirt freshman = okay, he didn’t play much/at all last year
YOUR WAY:
Sophomore = he already played one year, so why doesn’t he understand?
MY WAY:
Redshirt junior = okay, he’s got one year left to play. that’s a year to improve or maybe he’ll grad transfer.
YOUR WAY
Senior = well, he’s gone next year. who do we have behind him?
It seems your way leads to a lot more confusion about eligibility/age. Everybody knows a junior and a redshirt sophomore are both in their third year of college. NOT everybody knows that a senior/redshirt junior have one year left, and NOT everybody knows that a sophomore didn’t step on the field last year.
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I think you’re saying it speaks to experience on the one end and eligibility on the other. This is a fair point.
I can’t dispute that more info is more info but I think there are far better ways of communicating experience and eligibility than changing a guy’s class.
Class doesn’t really tell you much about playing time. Runyan was a RS JR heading into last year but had less playing time and starting experience than Caesar Ruiz a SO. If we want to talk experience lets talk experience. Put their snapcount number next to their class.
The bit that it does tell you for sophomores isn’t all that relevant once you get past a couple games. It’s not particularly relevant what Hutchinson and Mayfield did last year when they’re both lining up as starters against OSU, MSU, and Notre Dame. They’re both sophomores and their play in 2019 should be judged accordingly. Mayfield’s lack of playing time last year didn’t prevent him from aging or practicing. If Mayfield does something dumb he does something dumb. Like Hutchinson, he didn’t just get here.
Same story for eligibility. Runyan a RS JR and Gary a JR lining up at OT and DE last year against OSU. I don’t need the TV announcer to tell me that Rashan Gary might go to the NFL next year but thats certainly more relevant than the fact that Runyan red-shirted back in 2015. Even if for some reason I wanted to think about next year’s roster during the Ohio State game their class doesn’t help me as much as other information would. Put a plus for redshirt and a minus for a potential early entrant.
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