2024 Wolverines and Spartans Football previews; Tigers; Lions 53-man roster

[Music] this is a huddle Sports network broadcast you can find us on Roku TV Amazon Fire TV Facebook and of course YouTube get all your NFL news here first [Music] and [Music] [Music] and welcome to another episode of the Michigan Sports truth podcast I'm Taylor Phillips he's at Smith we're on the Huddle Sports Network again as usual gonna talk gonna preview the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans football seasons for 2024 to 2025 we'll talk about some tigers and the Lions finalizing their 53 man roster after beating the Steelers in their only preseason home game at Ford Field so let's get to it the Michigan Wolverines 2024 they're home against Fresno they're home against Texas and then they the then Arkansas State and then they're home against USC their first Big 10 opponent and the schu uh goes on all big 10 from there so Ed Michigan's ranked number ninth because a lot of a lot of their star players have graduated everyone everyone should know why every Michigan fan should know why some fans won't admit it but it's the truth right yeah there are multiple things players leaving for the NFL players graduating in general some players leaving for the transfer portal and of course the big elephant in the room Jin Jim Harbaugh left as well so now officially we're in the era of Chiron Moore we're going to see how his style of Smash will be implemented um and how his style um will be taught and and be received by these players now question marks are are going to be a Plenty when it comes to the Wolverines especially at the quarterback spot I'll get to that a second but first let's talk about the fact that this team still has some returning Talent um that can keep them as a contender for all season long primarily let's go the offense they're always reloading on that offensive line whether it be um coaching up or developing their prospects or getting enough Talent from from the from the portal um maintaining uh great consistency and cohesiveness within that offensive line it starts and ends with the trenches when it comes to the Wolverines and that's why their offense has been the effective machine that it has been now for the past three years and going it also helps when you have returning talents such as Donovan Edwards who now after the past couple years of being the shadow of under Blake Corum he's going to get this chance now as the primary running back and I would not be surprised if provided that he stays healthy provided that he keeps up his production and provide that things doesn't falter for him throughout the course of the season I could see him as it likely has been Dark Horse if all things work out for him because you saw the impact that he that he brought to to the Ohio State game two years ago you saw the impact that he brought to the national championship game Edwards has that game-changing ability in more ways than one um we switch over to the defensive side things um you feel much more confident and positive about the Wolverine chances there especially the fact that yes even though guys like Mike Sanders still are gone you still have will Johnson and uh with your secondary who's going to be seen by many as the best quarterback in America just just to come just at the start of the year and also the fact that you still have a very Lively front seven primarily with your two nose tackles in the Middle with Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant Mason Graham you saw how how dominant he was in the Rose Bowl uh looking like uh potential first round if def not dare I say top 10 top five draft pick for 2025 and Kenneth Grant uh an absolute freak of nature of of of his own right him and Graham together on that defensive line will cause problems for a lot of teams this season and that defense will be a major reason as thewi the Wolverines will be in a lot of games but it'll still come down to how their offense is going to um connect and execute when it's necessary especially the fact that you are replacing certain talents you're replacing a Roman Wilson you know you're replacing a Cornelius Johnson you're replacing a JJ McCarthy yes you still have a samage Morgan yes you still have a coulston Loveland I already mentioned Donovan Edwards but still your quarterback is still the main core the main piece that's going to keep this engine running on the offense and what we've seen so far throughout the spring and throughout the summer we've seen a quarterback battle that as of this week as of this very moment is seemingly still undecided while you know Coach Ron Moore has shown praise for the likes of Jaden Davis who's likely G you know the uh highly talented freshman who's likely going to be a red shirt for this year we've Al we also seen other players like Jack Tuttle and jadden denal not really stand out particularly Tuttle who in his defense has had some lingering issues in his elbow due to the fact that he did tear his UCL last season so at this point now it comes down to two guys and these two guys have been splitting first team snabs as of late it's the front runner you would say going back back to last season since he was JJ's backup and Alex orgy and then we have on the other hand Davis Warren with orgy you you know I won't see a proven I won't say proven commodity commodity because we won't know or what his passing game is capable of but you know what he brings to the table in terms of athleticism he's the bigger the better the faster more natural athlete of the two um The Wolverine I would say that the coaches have been looking to see what improvements that he been w has been hoping to make in his passing game uh to hopefully help himself stand out more I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing that that we're we're on the eve of the season start and we still don't know for sure of how you know why who's going to be the qb1 who's going to get the first snap who's going to get that start so that may be a positive or negative depending on how you view it on how things either tighten up with competition or if orgy wasn't able to separate himself from the crowd now on the other hand with Davis Warren he's the more natural passer he may not be as athletic may not be as fast as say Orie but he's got some mobility of his own he can move around in the pocket if necessary get out of open space to avoid pressure he was a former walkon former fourstar recruit or I would say walk-on was a former fourstar recruit uh it became that walk-on status doing part of that that he's been battling cancer in the past so with his story as as inspirational as as it already has been to see him come this far come to this point to where now according to some reports that have been circulating online and on social media he may very well get the start tomorrow night against presno now just because he's going to be getting the the the opening snaap it's not necessarily mean he'll be playing the whole game from what I've been reading and what have what the general consensus has been feeling is that both Warren and orgy will be splitting snaps with the first team they'll be both getting chances um both be getting play is designed and call for them what to do um again probably still a f out process to see who's going to be your primary QB for for um the majority of the season going forward but you still want to see what you have what balances out what works well with your offense that sort of thing so again it can be seen as a good thing or a negative that you don't have this still sorted out but if Michigan is still finding ways to be as efficient as they can be and still win games I doubt going to complain about that right so we're we're going to see what happens either yeah we are going to see what happens so um and not to mention the fact that frankly before we move on we got to get the fact that they're uh record prediction so to speak because they do have excuse me they do have a much much more tougher schedule this year as compared to last year yeah foremost you know you already mentioned Texas and USC um let's also not forget the fact that uh they have Washington as well they also have Oregon oh yeah the rematch the national championship game yeah and then of course the end of the year uh tilt Ohio State on November 30th so between those five games I just mentioned I'm going to call those your swing games as to how your overall record may go for me looking at how things are standing for Michigan my ceiling for the Wolverines 10 maybe 11 wins 11 would be pushing it but if you can somehow get through this schedule we'll say a 10- two record you don't necessarily have to win the Big 10 because Ohio State's projected to win the Big 10 anyway so say for example Ohio state they're undefeated you're 10 and one going into the to to November 30th game more than likio in Columbus more than likely Ohio state they're going to go to the Big 10 title game and you're not if you beat them you go 10 and two and you likely have yourself a playoff spot ready for you as an at large at large bid because you mean to tell me that defending national champion Michigan team goes 10- two with this schedule likely beating Ohio state for a fourth straight year and even even if they don't win their their division or or not not division excuse me even if they don't win their cow Championship you mean to tell me they're not going to get a a top 12 spot especially right like I mentioned before a key word expanded field the TW is now a field of 12 so Michigan if Michigan has I'll say an okay record in these swing games that will determine whether or not as to they'll be going back to the playoff for a fourth year in a row as to how things will will go so for me I'm G to have my prediction at 10 and two um they'll split some of these swing games but they'll all come down to as always seems to be how they'll do against Ohio State all right so well I'll I'll predict 10 and two I I'll just keep it neutral right right there no blowout losses whatsoever I'll say this nine and three is possible I me Texas is no pushover you can argue that Texas should have been in that national title game against against Michigan Oregon's going to be tricky USC will might be tricky as well and of course Ohio State's gonna be looking out for blood right Mich I was gonna I was going to add Michigan would have been neither Texas or Washington in that national championship game last season anyway right I think Texas would have been would have been a bit more trouble to deal with right but still Michigan could could have won by at least a closer margin than they did against Washington well yeah that defense carried today as as we saw we saw it being manifested throughout this season it culminated in that national championship game yeah and that and the to put the cherry on top the Mikey Sandra still interception with the pass being overthrown intend for the wide receiver well the good thing is like I said before even though Sam Still's gone you still got will Johnson so yeah while I'm not trying to look past Fresno obviously you know the the game against Texas week two was go will be massive for a multitude of reasons yeah and will Johnson was an exactor in the Wolverines receiving defensive core now he can lead that receiving defensive core this season on forward yeah so expect you know the All-American uh tabs have already been bestowed upon him for the preseason we'll see how he's going to be able to live up to those expectations yeah and before we now before we uh preview the Spartan season they uh just barely held on by the hair of the chinny chin chin to beat the Florida Atlantic owl 16-1 uh Charles was uh he threw a touchdown pass he threw an interception that almost that was that almost looked like a pick six but man just turnovers Galore by both teams just mistakes Everywhere by both teams but but especially Michigan State with its new head football coach Jonathan Smith just just a lot of stuff to work on this was frankly not the prettiest way that you would want to usher in a new era with your new head coach Jonathan Smith especially with him taking over um you know from from Mel Tucker and and Haron Barnett um with the with that whole craziness of that circus of a season last year but now trying to get established himself you know fresh slate New Era new show in town and to have an opening night like this where there's turnovers there's penalties there's bad hor you know horrific QB play there's night Mayes in the Red Zone where Michigan State I believe had at least three if not four turnovers uh two of those giveaways I'm sure and then of course one was the turnover on Downs late in the game that kept Florida Atlantic in this who by the way just looking at them on Surface um they're essentially an FCS team a borderline FCS team of how they were running around how they were executing things tonight um they've only had one victory in their 11 you know now in their 11 or 12 games played against Big 10 opponents that was back against Minnesota in 2007 and there was a reason why when you see like I said I can't I got I must har back on bad QB play especially by by cam franer because I get the CH in a minute but fer was just all over the place with being so wild and Reckless with how he was moving around um sliding the issue of his sliding led to a lot of debate and I would say some controversy was some of the calls that were being made um it did not help but still Michigan State um I'll also say well that Michigan State in that regard though in regards to penalties while I do like the fact that this defense is aggressive they're not being smart they're being too emotional they're not thinking straight they're not showing proper discipline especially when you consider the fact on that fourth down where frankly I thought the rep the officiating which was horrible all night kind of bailed out the sparts there when considering the fact that apparently fer um started to give himself up with that slide but he was short on the first down which negated the fact that there was a likely targeting which again MSU probably had like two or three or four buring plays that didn't get called that was one of them um with the hit that was made by Jordan Turner on the play then of course Turner just being the absolute smart guy smartest guy in the room takes his helmet off and throws it inciting an un sportsmanlike uh conduct penalty now if those had stood not only will he have been ejected from the game but that was a 30 yards and penalties alone that would have advanced the ball on a drive to where FAU could potentially taking a lead late in the game so um MSU has got a lot to clean up I can be proud of the fact that yeah like I said their defense is hungry they're aggressive you like to see that but you don't like the fact that we got well their pass rush defense was hungry just not the receiving defensive core well there no they their second secondary still got a couple interceptions so you can't knock yeah they did they did one of them was given right to them the but the other one was well covered Hey listen you take what the offense gives you if if the quarterback is is literally throwing straight to you on the target you you it shame on you if you drop the pick I'll say that but that still doesn't negate the fact that you know you still had some bad aggressive tendencies you showed lack of discipline on both sides of the ball Aiden Childs I'm sorry I was seeing all this hype up for him throughout this past off season and he came out looking very flat missing reads missing open guys not connecting with his receivers for the most part just making bad decisions holding on to the ball too long yes he's he he may show good downfield Vision but he's not showing good internal clock um he does have his his athletic abil ability where he can get out of the pocket get out of trouble you saw how it led to him getting a touchdown for Michigan State tonight but just long term unless he takes care of his of those little issues it's gonna be a very long season for him the Spartans because I know he showcased the confidence of talk that that now that clip is starting to make waves about hey take the over because the overun was set on five and a half wins well based on what I saw Theon night I'm not surprised in fact I'm almost wishing that the over Runner would sit at four and a half because that was just putting of that was some of the worst football I've ever seen especially in that first half and it's like I said if it wasn't for the fact that they were playing a borderline FCS team they would have lost this game likely by multiple scores so they've got a lot the Michigan State spor have got a lot they got to fix up before Big 10 season arrives otherwise they're they're going to be lucky to try to get the five wins let alone six yeah I would yeah yeah which leads to our Spartan football preview I would predict like three or four wins at at minimum I will give them five wins they already got the one tonight I think you know a couple of their swing games will will vary as determ as whether or not they can be five- seven six- six or seven and five but I can put them at the five win mark because their defense is going to keep them in a lot of games uh I like the way that they seem to figure out okay until we figure out our stuff with the passing game we can still be an effective running team like Lynch Adams for example the running back Who had who had a big touchdown run of his own uh earlier tonight um he can be a focal uh option and weapon for this offense that can be effective and productive even if the off even if the pass game still has to sort itself out yeah I I I would have to agree I thought I was I thought I might uh set the bar like at a low level but but yeah I I have to agree with the the because you pointed out their pass rushing defense could keep um the Spartans in in like all those games win or lose I I would say f i I would actually saved five wins in in reality to be fair they had the potential to get the six depending on how they do depend on how they overachieve in certain games I'll say that y just gotta earn it the tigers um they lose hobbyer bias to uh hip and lumbar spine inflammation that he's back on the injured list he's hitting 184 hitting around like around a 500 o with like a 500 plus PS and he's got two years left in his contract so well I can update you on that uh in fact a few days ago it was reported that he underwent hip surgery so his season is done done he is done for the year he was having a little bit of of a I'll say spark but overall just another flat unimpressive season like you said with the two years left remaining on this deal you have to wonder how long um or how much are the Tigers going that the organization is going to tolerate uh with this ineffectiveness yeah yeah fans are clamoring him for the Tigers organization organization to buy him out while the media the mainstream media locally is uh teasing for H that Javier bu is will be ready for spring training in 2025 it it it all comes down to to the owner Chris illich like you pointed out last week let's keep that real huh exactly because Scott Harris can only do so much like if he's not if he's actually not being given the full Reign and be all puppeter by too right by the owner then that's a problem in more ways than one a big problem they did get rid of they did have grow set of balls in uh DFA Joey Wentz they designated him for assignment in order to make room for for returning Casey M from from his injury but yet Casey me gives up four earn runs on six hits and in six Innings pitched he got a no decision because Jake Rogers bailed him out with an RBI double scoring Zack mckinstry in the bottom of the ninth to tie it at four only to lose seven to four in 10 Innings because Shelby Miller although he was uh red pitching red hot until tonight it it just just wasn't consistent it just gave up wasn't consistent enough and then he gave up a two-run home run and then Tyler Holden gives up a solo home run yeah yeah that was a missed opportunity to uh to win the game and a definite missed opportunity because this is a critical this is a critical series with a Boston team that frankly they're one of your remaining roadblocks between here any a potential wild card spot because let's not forget leading up into this game and leading up to this series the Tigers have been on a tear as of late there at one point they had won what 13 of their last 16 games you know taking Series against the likes of the Mariners and the Yankees and the angels granted the white socks were there but they still you know you you play who you play on your schedule and they took they handled their business you know fact like I said I mentioned the Mariners and the Yankees those teams were division leaders at the time when they faced the Tigers and they still handle their business so you come into this series with Boston by the way after lost a a close one score game against against Anaheim uh the other day or Los Angeles Angels now right oh they still Anaheim to me but anyway um not being able to get wins like this uh make prove to be the very difference between you officially missing out yet again because I'll say this some will say the the regular the playoffs start in October for our intents and purposes and for what the tigers are are fighting for the playoffs are happening right now let's just be honest when you look at um what the schedule is going to look like for them for the remainder of the Season very favorable you know you're facing teams like the wh Soxs and the Orioles and the A's um there's also the fact that you have series like this against Boston you'd have another series coming up against the Royals which is another team that's in your way if you do what you're supposed to do and win enough games to where especially with those head to heads um it puts enough pressure on those other teams to we to where you're you're looking at yourself as a team that's going to be still in the hunt with the last few days left last few games left to go in the season but if you're not winning these crucial games if you're giving them away with um you know blowing in the bullpen or not coming up clutch the plate uh you only have yourselves to blame frankly yes and uh I want to touch a little bit more on Casey M before we move on to the Lions he he's just yeah that that performance just proved to me that he's still not ready to uh be become a starter in the major leagues because to because because to me m just keeps giving up runs just and and his injury EXC has not has nothing to do with that yeah we're past that point now yeah tiger tigers need Tigers really need to uh have more quality starting pitching but again the question is will they like we asked last week Chris illich and stuff well you could have had it with flarity I I'm just saying yeah I I could have stood Pat can't because you were lineing around the five 100 Mark Yeah man so a lot of people like I can still see why they made the move but I don't blame fans for thinking man we we we really punted a chance to where we could have made some noise for this year but you got to think long term still have that in the back of your mind of what you want of how you want things to go long term for the team yeah and then the Lions beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24 to 17 yes hen and hucker made a few few mistakes he suffered back toback sacks through an interception but he still but he still ran the ball really damn well and that still proves to me that henen hooker and that that he he won he earned that number two quarterback spot behind Jared gof while the Lions as we go to their trending truth they said their 53 man roster they ousted Nate dudfield ER sudfeld or but he's Nate dudfield anyway because he he sucked period henen hucker was the better quarterback overall and the media can media like Kyle Mikey from um M live one of the lion beat Riders was was like trolling henen hooker just not just at just at the wrong time just because he gave a back-to-back allow back-to-back sacks uh he still ran the ball damn well like I just mentioned and and he and he can still throw the ball he he can scramble made them every every quarterback makes mistakes even Jared gof right so we're gonna we're gonna preview the Lions uh next week I'll say this when it comes to Hooker um and then Dan campell's been mentioning it yeah there's been ups and downs but he's showing the Improvement he's showing showing um why and what he's doing he's need's he's needing these Reps for a reason he's need he needs these snaps for a reason you know to get his feet up underneath them shake off rush or whatever because remember the fact that he this is his first playing time in the NFL ever because he was still he had been recovering from a tourn ACL um that he had suffered during his last year in college so see him making this progression now is encouraging because you still want to see what you have in a player like this and frankly um you want have you want to have a reliable backup QB because God forbid if something were to happen to Jered go you wouldn't want to be running around in complete panic because you're thinking okay things aren't aren't where we want to be right now but we got a reliable guy it's Nick man up let's go so if you think that you have that guy in hen hooker great because like I said the Nate subfield experiment was just not working out I thought they were going to keep Jake frond maybe to to help keep you know keep an extra body in there but they let him go too yeah yeah I guess he didn't work out either yeah lot lot of notable cuts notot of notable cuts from that from from the from that trim down yeah they cut they cut Donovan people's Jones but they added them back to their practice to their practice squad at least so uh they're still nearing down that final uh number three wide receiver spot behind Alan Ross St Brown and Craig Reynolds Jam Jameson Williams Jamon William that's right yeah Craig Reynolds is the running is in the running back room a running back that's right yeah yeah so Alan Ross St Brown and Jameson Williams that's right yeah of course there's him yeah there're still looking looking for that number three wide receiver well considering the fact that they recently added Allan Robinson and Tim Patrick to the P to the practice squad uh shows you of what they're still trying to fill in with that respect so either one of those guys will be more than a capable guy that can fill in and that's in that receiver three spot uh be effective proven capable and like I said just a if someone's going to try to Double J or try to double leor or double Aban ra you know you have to be there to know when the ball when your number's going to going to be called and I I think having having a veteran in there or a guy with experience a guy that has efficient or proven efficiency and whether it goes to H Robinson or Patrick for his case um that's quite a b that's quite a bonus I would say a bonus a bonus beneficiary yeah so what all did we learn in this episode I will say we learned that the tigers um are showing that they may be on the verge of arriving sooner than we expected even though that you can debate on whether or not they did the right thing by trading Jack FL at the trade deadline um they're still at a position to where if they're if they're able to execute the right way they can make the this last stretch of the Season very much fun because it's already fun now and they don't want the fun to end um we learned that the lions are pretty much all set in terms of getting their roster trimmed down there was notable Cuts we mentioned sutfield we mentioned dpj I didn't get a chance to mention Tim Kennedy Matthew Betts Jake fro Stephen Gilmore Jamar Jefferson but some of those players that I did mention also Isaac UK Isaac uku another guy that I was rooting for um some of those players have been brought back to the practice Squad you see guys like caki and Isaiah Williams um stand out and earn their roster spots um in a way that um that might have shown hey either they were either the the coaches were very impressed with what they got or Brad Holmes knows knows how the pick out Talent you tell me um we also learned that frankly Michigan state has a lot to to clean up and fix up if they want to try to get an over on five and a half wins for this season and we also learned that Michigan is either being koi or they're being stressed as to how this quarterback situation goes because we still don't know who their starting QB is we still don't know how things are going to work out with um uh I'll say with plays being called and designed by by splitting the time between QBs uh like we saw in 2021 for example uh but we have but we but we learned that none of that will effectively be an issue as long as their defense is going to keep them in games and their running game is topnotch as it has been now so that's pretty much essentially what we learned for tonight yep and we'll see how uh well Chiron Moore their head coach on top of all that can develop the entire team back to the top all might take time all with this looming cloud we must we must acknowledge the looming cloud what the NC NCAA may or may not do with this whole um SE gate situation which considering the fact that I just watched the uh the documentary of of it on Netflix the other night um I came away with my own with my own thoughts I thought it was as as Fair of of a presentation as possible you know it really didn't so much as paint him out to be some typ of Saint it acknowledges the fact that hey yes he did this operation yes he was ahead of the curve but also let's not let's not forget that there's been also some shady stuff being implemented by other people and other teams and other factors that frankly aren't being talked about because everyone wants to make Michigan the bad guy so exactly leave that up to y'all on that one yeah and it's no wonder the university is uh coming up with this Michigan versus everybody moniker yeah they've that mentality full full force and trust me they needed it to because um guess what Michigan beat everybody last year exactly that's what that they gave them that fuel to do what they need to do to power through the rest of that schedule beat Penn State beat Ohio State beat Alabama and the Rose Bowl and then finish off with a national championship yep adapt and overcome and it's time to do that once again in a new in a new chapter a new slate of Michigan Wolverines football New Era yes so that is what we've learn that is all we've learned in this episode of the Michigan Sports truth podcast on the Huddle Sports Network I'm Taylor Phillips he's at Smith follow the Michigan Sports truth podcast on X Instagram and Tik Tock at Michigan truth and like 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