Michigan Roster Review w/ Jake Singer

[Music] welcome to the quacko podcast the most official unofficial Oregon Ducks podcast on the web foot isphere be sure to follow us on Twitter at quack2 podcast or visit our website quack2 podcast.com if you like what you hear please leave us five stars on your listing device and if you'd like to support the show please visit the quack 12 patreon page where for a easly $5 a month you can become an official quacky and unlock hundreds hours of orgegon duck content on to the show quack quack quack quack quack part 11 of this roster review series for this new Conference of ours the Big 10 getting bigger every year it seems like uh part 10 and we just crossed the uh halfway mark we used to be part of a conference where there was there was 10 schools and full stop at one point oh I missed the pack 10 days but they're gone they're dead it's like Latin Gone Forever um H day how you doing today I'm well how are you I'm doing good because we got to talk about a school well it's one of my favorite schools in this whole damn world because they made sure that Washington didn't win a National another National Championship uh so truly they'll always have a special part in my heart because I could not have stood for that honestly that would have been just a bit too much so uh you absolutely could I'm stoked for their National Championship that they just won um and honestly I'm stoked that Jim Harbaugh is now Justin Herbert's coach so here's a school that I mean we all know this is an absolutely legendary college football school and now they're a conference opponent so to cover them we had to get someone who really knew their stuff so who else but Jake singer that is Jake singer of ma and Brew um also of he's a sports radio broadcaster for wcbn FM and a TV broadcaster for Big 10 Network plus which is something we all have to have now how's it going Jake I'm doing fantastic thank you both for having me still living on cloud definitely from that National Championship I'm really excited to talk about that Michigan football roster I bet what a what a flip it was from like I don't know like Harbaugh should we get rid of this guy he can't beat Ohio State to we've got a National Championship uh yeah pretty pretty amazing run and and like I said the finale made a whole lot of duck fans very happy it was it was unbelievable to be part of it the entire season my whole life growing up a Michigan fan and now covering the team it's been a complete change of Direction a complete turnaround and I still literally I think to to my last breath we'll be so happy that I was able to say that I was there for the national championship H well maybe one day one of us duck fans will be able to say that uh but let's just get right into this roster h l because I'm pretty intrigued yeah definitely let's uh start up with the coaching changes in some ways it's an all new staff in other ways you could make an argument that not a lot has changed it's kind of both at the same time so Jim Harbaugh has left for L Angeles and taken much of the staff though not all Chiron Moore who was the offensive coordinator and the offensive line coach was throughout much of the year for one reason or another actually coaching the team has been promoted to head coach the the quarterback's coach there was sort of an independent quarterback's coach uh Kirk Campbell he has been promoted to offensive coordinator he retains the quarterback's coach remit let me stop there and ask what was exactly the play calling situation in 2023 and what's it going to be in 2024 who was really designing the offense and is that going to change in 2024 yeah so Chiron Moore really was the main offensive play caller in 2023 he and Kirk Campbell worked together to scheme the offense going into 2024 it's gonna be interesting that chomore hasn't come out officially and said that either he or Kirk Campbell would be calling plays he said in his inory press conference that he would most likely not be calling plays and it'll probably be Kirk Campbell as the one calling plays but the way they did it with Jim Harbaugh the way they probably are going to continue to do it with chirom Moore is it's going to be a team effort the whole offensive staff is going to be meeting together every single week to discuss the game plan but on game days starting with the spring game we really saw a lot of Kirk Campbell as the one who was making those play calls are you expecting significant minor anything at all changes to the structure of the offense or like emphases in the offense definitely I I think it starts with the roster which we'll get to in a little bit but with the mentality of this Michigan football team especially on offense it's very interesting because you kind of have a tale of two sides you have Chiron Moore who's always preached smash football he was the offensive line coach you he was Notorious against Penn State for running the ball consistently down their throats and then you have Kurt Campbell who is the quarterback's coach and he's been working with these quarterbacks he worked with JJ McCarthy but he's also worked with Jack Tuttle and Alex or Jane denle and he's more known for the air attack so right now it's really unclear what the actual identity of this offense will be I am leaning towards thinking they're probably going to run the ball more than they throw the ball which is how Jim Harbaugh worked last season but given that Kirk Campbell will be the one actually calling plays on game days I can definitely see going both ways ways going kind of a mixture of both but for right now I'm leaning towards saying they're going to run the ball a lot more they throw the ball yeah it was a you know on First on first down and pretty much overall it was about a 60% run P you know run versus pass splits um and then I don't know I've charted the team for the last three seasons and at least in 2023 I it's one of the more interesting things about the team the offense was actually not spectacularly efficient in fact it's sort of an outlier in terms of national championship winners of which I've charted quite a few National Championship winners over the years as well as quite a few Runners up quite a few semi-finalists you know Etc you I've been doing this for a long time I've charted quite a few teams at this level and Michigan in 2023 was actually uh something of an outlier in terms of its offensive numbers not really hitting the what in my experience is the championship you know threshold in terms of the the metrics that I chart from or the metrics that I track from charting with one exception which was their explosive pass number like really more than I mean their defense obviously is what led them to National Championship but if there's one stat on offense that leads them to to you know out the door it's it's explosive passing you know it you know really more than anybody else credit the na you know on offense any way credit the national championship to JJ McCarthy and Kirk Campbell's work with him so I'm interested to see how how that aspect of the game evolves running backs uh mikart is out Tony Alford from that team down south or whatever you I understand that's a Frau relationship is in can you give me the brief and hopefully not anger filled uh version of what's up with that yeah I mean this this running back room is stacked they probably have way too many bodies in that room Tony Alford yes comes from Ohio State he's been very successful in his time at Ohio State developing some really amazing backs like Ezekiel Elliott Mike Weber JK Dobbins Tron Henderson this room is lost Blake Corum but they really have everybody else already in place everybody kind of just moves One Step Up in the depth chart and I think it's GNA be really exciting to see what Tony Alfred can do with this running back R Mike Hart was great at building strong relationships with these guys knowing their skill sets last season you saw that Thunder and lightning kind of combo with Blake corm and with Donovan Edwards even kle mullings kind of the bigger body guy former linebacker moving over to running back as a short yard guy and now this season you know you still have Donovan Edwards you still have CLA mullings you still have some of your younger guys like Cole Cabana who are moving their way up the depth chart but you really have guys who can fill all the skill sets of a running back in different ways and I'm really excited to see what Tony alfer can do with with all the different guys in the room because there's probably my opinion too many guys for this running back room but I think you can really mix and match it and while Donovan Edwards is the work horse you will definitely see other guys like even Benjamin Hall getting some touches in gamees some big moments because they all have something to prove and they all are really really good at what they do I guess my question I mean we'll talk about the players when we get there my question was more like did they see a management problem and what was Alfred brought in to do yeah you know it's still unclear why Mike Hart officially really left Alfred I think number one his ability to develop guys was a really big thing this Michigan team really for the last five or six years has brought in guys and they've kind of had a system in place where the the really good players their freshman year kind of get some touches sophomore year you kind of become like the number two maybe number three back junior senior year you kind of blossom into the 1 a1b rooll and I think they were looking for someone to compliment what Mike Hart was able to do with this team the last few years and just even take that to a Next Level these Michigan backs you know have done very well in college some of them have done pretty well in the NFL but Blake km right now is probably one of the first ones I'm really excited to see in the NFL Hassan Haskins a few years ago too but I think Tony Alfred was brought in because he's proven to develop guys into NFL caliber running backs and in Chiron Moore's offensive system of Smash football you need a guy many guys honestly in the back field that can take the Rock and do something with it and I think Tony Alfred was brought into to develop these guys and just really turn them into that next Cali running back that is not just a great College R but maybe even a great NFL back in the future uh Ron Bellamy the wide receivers coach uh stays in place um can you explain how the I think there's sort of a three-way switch here going on between the tight ends the offensive line uh so you've got uh shiron Moore's giving up the offensive line duties to I think uh Grant Nome Nome was I think wearing two different hats last year and Steve coula is taking over the tight end unit how does that work yep so coula is taking over the tight end unit which used to be Grant news you have Ron Bellamy who stays as the offensive pass game coordinator and the wide receivers coach Chiron Moore is kind of part of all that but this next upcoming season Grant Newsome is going to stick with just the offensive line so he's moving from pretty much solely the ends coach to now the offensive line coach sh Mo will probably have his head in all the different rooms but yes it's it's a very separate system where you have a guy like Steve coula who's there to just work with the tight ends pass catching and blocking Ron bellam is there to just work the wide receivers and then Grant Newsome's just there to work with the offensive line the defensive coaching staff is all new however Jesse Minter and Rick Minter are are both gone Elston is the longtime defensive line coach being replaced by Lou ESP bazito the linebackers being replaced by Brian G Marie they had two defensive backs coach last year Jay harb and Steve cling scale it's going to be just one this year Lamar Morgan and of course the coordinator is being switched out with uh to to Don wink Martin Dale who's been in the NFL for like a million years do I have all that right correct okay quarterback losing JJ MCC McCarthy who's drafted in the first round by the Vikings they've got quite a a choice in front of them in the spring game I was seeing Alex orgy in the spring game they it looked like they split up the team it did not look like a very strict the the blue team is the ones the yellow team is the twos or anything like that on the other hand it didn't look exactly like right down the middle either so I instead I'm sort of making inferences about like who was in earlier versus who was in later in terms of the the pecking order so earlier in the game I was seeing Alex orgy with one team and Davis Warren with the other team orgy doesn't surprise me I had been seeing him in on like Gadget plays last year and also Jack Tuttle who was getting a bunch of garbage time reps last year I believe was being held out with an injury so you know I didn't really get any data about where he stands in the pecking order I was a little surprised however that Jaden denle who was the high three star in the 2022 cycle I didn't see him until fairly late he was also getting you know garbage time reps along with with Tuttle instead the guy that I saw early in the game was the walk-on Davis Warren is that really what the competition is uh for for the starter in the fall between Warren and orgy do you in your opinion Jake no so it it's really deceptive this team loves being deceptive and they're going to keep their cars close to their chest until probably Texas in week two there is still a fourman quarterback competition going on right now I'd say it's probably closer between orgy and Tuttle than necessarily Warren Tuttle was held up with an injury but with this depth chart pretty much similar to last season Tuttle was named the actual backup he was the guy that was playing in those actual backup reps Alex orgy still had a role and he's definitely going to have a role next season whether that's the starting quarterback is yet to be seen in my opinion I've been really thinking that it's gonna be Jack tuttle's job to lose he wasn't really expected to come back for a seventh season but he got the the waiver from the NCAA and he's now back and because of that I think with his experience and where he was last season I think he has a slight leg up but Alex orgy is an exciting player denle is an exciting player you have a really cool freshman in Jaden Davis Davis Warren the thing with all of them is they all have completely different skill sets orgy is the physical Big R run type quarterback there's always been questions about his arm we saw it a little better in the spring game it wasn't amazing so that's just kind of the a big question mark about him jack Tuttle is the game changer kind of the the game manager he'll make his throws he doesn't have great legs but he can run but he definitely has the IQ of a starting quarterback Jaden denle is a pocket passer really big body six foot five he can stand in the pocket but it just questions about his accuracy and consistency Davis Warren's been with the program for a while and can kind of do what Jack tutle does just about consistency and Jaden Davis is this very raw product who should be the starting quarterback in two years for Michigan football so with all of these guys they really still haven't decided on one or even three guys to cut out from this Pro from this competition I still think it's anyone's position to win but if I had a pecking order right now I think orgy and Tuttle are tied for like 1 a1b of the competition and then you have Warren then denle and then Jaden Davis but it just kind of depends on how much time they have because what they had a few years ago with Kade mcamera and JJ McCarthy being able to change them on and off for the first three games season like a preseason you don't have that anymore you have Texas week two coming to Anon Arbor and you probably need a guy by then and so you just have Fresno State week one and it's gonna be really interesting to see what they decided to do with that first game if they split reps or they already choose one because right now from what it looks like they don't have a starting quarterback which QB do you think uh most replicates McCarthy's skill set I think Jaden Davis most replicates McCarthy's skill set but he's not going to be ready to go he's not ready to go this week this year which is fine okay so of quarterbacks not named Jaden Davis who most replicates none of them are like JJ McCarthy that's the thing JJ had this interesting unique ability where he had a lot of velocity in his throw and he could make the throws a consistency obviously was still a question even nowadays I mean they all are bits in pieces of JJ but they're not JJ orgy could be a JJ McCarthy um if he can get his throws much more consistent but he really hasn't gotten it to that point yet Tuttle doesn't have the agility of JJ but he definitely can can throw and Davis Warren if you gu if you want to say has the closest skill set maybe is him but he really hasn't gotten that many reps in his time at Michigan to really show what exactly he can do and Jane denle isn't um fast enough to really replicate jjj's skill set so of the guys is jayen Davis who's not really going to play this year but that's the things like to figure out is you're not just ch finding a new quarterback you're trying to also create a new scheme possibly for a quarterback who's a completely different skill set I mean the thing that the thing about JJ McCarthy that there was really two things number one is I thought that he processed the field pretty well which is a skill that is like impossible to quantify or even figure out whether the guy's got until you watch the dude play live football against a real defense for like six games which like we don't have that for any of these guys even Jack Tuttle who's been in college since like the Obama Administration for God's sakes like we still don't have because like no one ever lets him play football I don't know why he's been at like three different schools now um and like I seriously don't know why I'm not trying to put him down I genuinely have no idea why this guy keeps coming back for years in school and not playing but then number two about JJ McCarthy who like thought he was really good at improvising plays outside the pocket I mean we're going to talk about the offensive line we get to the offensive line thing about McCarthy and kind of folks didn't want to talk about with this you know offensive line was that he had to scramble a lot and the don't numbers don't really show it in terms of McCarthy's you know uh on the hoof you know like like running for for to pick it up but he was he was making throws outside the pocket that dudes shouldn't make like uh you know throwing back across his body late and it's like oh JJ don't do that don't do that oh okay that worked out and I mean you know lots of third Downs I mean it's I mean that's like I was saying with the explosive play number if you check out it's the third and long conversion number like it's way higher than the rest of Michigan's stats would predict and it's that it's he's buying time outside the pocket and then making throws that shouldn't happen and it's like oh boy I feel like and again we're GNA talk about the offensive line when we get to the offensive line but spoiler alert everybody there's a lot of changes that are happening on the offensive line I I really feel like that's the other aspect of the equation in the quarterback room that they got to find somebody who can replicate is the ability to improvise and make plays out of the pocket let me ask you that before we move on if you had to make a pick on that question and that question alone improvisational uh ability Jake how would you make the pick I would say Jack Tuttle I think I've seen more from him being able to improvise org's first thought is to run the ball and that's great every now and then but as you just said with JJ's ability to improvise wait till the very last second we saw against Alabama in the Rose bow you know being able to stay there and take a big hit and make a big throw I would say Jack tuttle's probably the closest to that ability right now and so that's why in my mind as much as the media and everybody else keeps saying oh it could be orgy it could be Davis Warren I still say yes it's possible but from what I've everything I've seen I jack Tuttle is as much of that conversation as anybody and I think his experience being that backup quarterback at Michigan being a starter Indiana before Michael penx Jr you know having those game reps in Big 10 games specifically too which is a whole other Beast of a of a kind of football style as a lot of other conferences I think Tuttle right now is the best at improv improv improvisation okay running backs well you kind of jumped the gun on me and and gave the rundown of this room already you're absolutely right it was duffed to the gills last year there were 10 different players who got carries out of the running back room last year I mean three of them were Walk-Ons but still I mean substantial number of carries they lose Blake corm of course who's drafted in third round by the Rams they let me just recite who else Leon Franklin who I think was the fourth back in the room or fifth transferred out they also lost Danny Hughes and CJ Stokes also transferred out they bring back the other six guys the most notable of course is Donathan Edwards they bring back the Third back in the room khle mullings who you mentioned he was uh uh like a mid low to mid three star or four excuse me four star in the 2020 class so he's been around for a long time this might be his chance they bring back Benjamin Hall who was pretty low in the rotation but as a true freshman last year and then a few other names too who I think are just depth pieces but tavier Dunlap Cole Cabana although I didn't see him in the spring game he was a true freshman last year I think he was injured and and then walk-on got a few carries Henry Donahue did I miss anybody in the returners no that sounds completely right they have two true freshman Jordan Marshall who was a uh mid high four star and high three star Micah kapana I think those are the two additions they didn't take any transfers right correct you know we know what Edwards can do I don't everybody in the country was watching that guy all year not really interested in talking about him or or the way that like Blake Corum would vulture all of his touchdowns the poor kid um How do you you think the rest of the room plays out you know is this mullings year is what do you think yeah I I think if there's really a lot of opportunity here with this running back room especially with chirom Moore's offensive play style from what he's shown in the past you're right Donovan Edwards is probably still going to be taking a lot of the carries but like the quarterback room all these guys can kind of do something very differently kle mullings is that short yardage guy he's a big body he can kind of just get thrown right in the middle of the pile kind of like a full back but we have a different guy for that um col mullings definitely can do that but they also let him you know catch a few passes and they also let him you know take some carries before third down too so I think he's a really big threat especially on third down as a third down back Benjamin Hall is a lot of fun to watch he's really shined when he's gotten his moments he really shined in the spring game last season where he rushed for almost 100 yards and a lot of people got really excited about him during for his fresh campaign he didn't play a ton um he rested for 58 yards and N were they I'm sorry to interrupt you Jake were they deliberately conserving his red shirt is that the reason why he only played in a few games or did he get hurt he didn't get hurt it was definitely either conserving red shirt or just again too many bodies in the room okay so it was one of the two but he did play more than the others of the guys who didn't play a lot which again for the way Michigan has worked in the depth chart for a number of years it's always about the next man up and just kind of developing guys on the down low until they're ready for the next season so all the next guys up like was as you were saying with coabana and Jordan Marshall um all those guys I think Benjamin Hall has the best chance of getting a lot of carries because he can be in every down back which kle mullings hasn't really been able to show yet so I think he's really exciting and then you have a guy like K Cabana who didn't play a lot in the spring game which I was really surprised about because he was a four star in high school he had a 5,781 allpurpose yard s out of Dexter High School in Michigan so I thought he was going to come in sophomore year come out swinging and he didn't really do much and again I think it's because of an injury but that really I think hurt his ability to show the coaching staff what he was capable of in a in a real game setting and then you got Jordan Marshall who is this guy on a lot of teams could be a a starter as a true freshman but he's coming into this running back room right that's six or seven deep but he also ran for over 1500 yards 17 touchdowns his senior season just last year it was named Mr Ohio football so I like the room I I I love it actually I love discussing it I think it's fascinating that all these guys can bring something completely different to the table but it just depends on are they gonna give Donovan Edwards 20 25 carries a game are you going to divide it up to keep guys healthier longer that's kind of what they did last year at the end of the season because they lost Blake km two years ago they lost out of Edwards some injury time as well so do you try to divide up a little bit I think if they did Benjamin Hall is would probably be the first one up next behind um Edwards and mullings to get some substantial carries and some games yeah I mean the thing is you the I only got enough data on three guys Corum Edwards and mullings in order to come to you know serious you know database conclusions on on any of them I you know I I I think that you know Hall and Cabana and are are wild cards because I you know I haven't really seen them but they're talented guys and Marshall of course you know is a true freshman who wasn't enrolled early so you know that's another wild card I sort of think the ship is sailed on on Dunlap um but you know what's or do you want to push back on that no no no no that I I know he's he's one of my good friends and um I think it's you know yeah I I I think he got kind of dealt a tough hand um coming in at a really big room he stayed through all the kind of changes in the run back room but I I would probably have to agree you they have so many options I mean like it's not even really meant as disrespect towards them I think it it's just like I'm kind of curious why he didn't transfer out there's lots of teams that could use you know good running back and just like at his level at Michigan you know it's just like it's hard to break into this room the thing that's really strange to say about Michigan is you know what the what the data tells me you know restricting it to to meaningful play only like you know throwing at the garbage time really changes these guys numers mullings is by far their most effective back like by far and it's strange to hear you describe him as a short yardage back because he's the only guy who's cracking five yards per carry of the guys that I have he's the only guy with an over 60% success rate um the uh and in fact you know who the least effective back that they had on the team was was Donovan Edwards uh Donovan Edwards success rate was pathetic it was 37% like if they were if Michigan were perfectly rational they would stop giving Donn Edwards the ball um and they would hand the ball to kle mullings and they would see what these young backs could do but of course Michigan will never in a million years stop giving Donovan Edwards the ball that would be like the least Michigan thing of all time to do you know what I mean yeah yeah I think just I I think pushing back on a little bit I think it's about context and in terms of like looking at donov Edward's career for example when Blake km got injured two seasons ago and Ed became that lead back where he was receiving 20 25 carries a game he was as explosive as ever I mean he almost single-handedly helped Michigan beat Ohio state two seasons ago he was great against TCU when they lost in the fiesta ball and I think last season he had a lot of expectations to repeat all that but the problem for him is is about momentum and for him it's about getting a lot of carries and when you're behind Blake corm who obviously is Blake corm and you're not going to take the ball from Blake corum's hands unless you need to it was hard hard for him at least what he was saying in the press conferences at times to just get out there two plays and then just go back and sit for like five and it's hard to get in a rhythm and get a momentum so for him that was tough for K mullings I agree with you that yes he he's very efficient it also is about when he's getting put in situations because he was the change of pace back you had Donovan Edwards and Blake km who were these explosive players who would try to bounce the outside use their moves use their agility and then kle mullings is a bigger body guy who can has a lot of speed but can just run right up the middle and it can catch defenses by surprise so I think because those different skill sets and how they were used last season it'll be again very interesting to see how they're utilized next season without play corm there when Dom Edwards becomes the one guy again CL Mullin can get a lot more carries and then these guys kind of behind him as well so all of it is still very much up in the air as a lot of this team is outside of a few positions on defense and it'll be again very interesting to see what they decide to utilize with these guys because some are better every single down and others are better which is kind of getting you sparingly okay tight ends we basically saw three guys last year although in different roles the guy that I would describe as sort of the starter and do it all tight end was AJ Barner he was drafted in the fourth round by the Seahawks the other tight end that we saw was Coulson Loveland he was PR like he they would have him block but he was more often used split out sort of a big wire receiver in fact a lot of teams once you understood their defensive substitution rules would treat Loveland like a wide receiver like they would they considered him not to be a tight end and would substitute in their defense as though he were a wide receiver like that's how wide receiver he is if that I made up a word uh anyway the third guy that we would see like has basically no catches but I swear to God he was playing all the time and that's Max brison who was sort of used in like a fullback h-back role he was you know he's an effective blocker I think a former walk-on I think he got a scholarship didn't he correct and then we basically didn't see anybody else do do I have all do I have that recitation correct yeah that's correct okay in addition to Barner leaving they also had a guy transfer out Matthew hibner who had been around for a while I just never seen him he transferred out but I think those are the only departures right yes okay they bring back guys that we didn't see or maybe I saw like only briefly the one that I think maybe they're excited about is uh kleene I saw him early on in the spring game he was a 2022 High three star they also bring back Deacon tonelli I saw him early on he was a true freshman last year who red shirted he was a low four star another high three star from the 2023 class was Zach Marshall I saw him early on in the spring game I also saw um a couple of Walk-Ons I don't know I figured I'd mention them as no house and Jaylen Hoffman I saw them earlier in the spring game than I saw the two true freshman early enrol Le who were um who were both fairly highly rated those were Brady prorn and hoden H Hogan Hansen I figured I'd mention that because I I figure that the the true freshmen are gonna red shirt I was making that inference from the Walk-Ons playing before them before we go any further what do you think about that inference that the the true freshman are going to red shirt yeah the way this team is you might see them get put in some garbage time to preserve their red shirt but I think how this room is made up that's probably the perfect inference for it right now so I assume that Coulson lovelin and Max bres will simply continue in the same jobs that they had last year and the reason that I you know noted that Lind had played in a different way than Barner is because I expect him to continue in that way and not sort of move o over to the Barner role and suddenly develop a bunch of like you know bruising blocking stuff that that I wasn't really seeing out of him in 2023 or do you think I'm wrong about that Jake no I I think they're going to use him definitely in some more blocking packages they're going to continue to try to improve his abilities but his skill set is definitely largely in the pass catching range and I definitely you know want I I definitely expect him to use him in a very similar light um as that why kind of tight end slash wide receiver role so who's the new AJ burner in the AJ Barner role or are they going to go without yes they're going to do Marlon Klein Marlon Klein's going to become AJ Barner Barner was kind of a surprise for them to see how much production he was able to give this team last year they recruited him from Indiana and he just kind of blew it out of the water he was a perfect kind of blocking tight end who also could pass catch Marlin Klein I think is GNA slide into that H tight end role what Barner was last year and you could say that Loveland and Barner were kind of 1 a1b in the tight end depth chart and that's just kind of how they utilize their tight endend so between Loveland and Klein loveland's going to be again using more as a receiver threat Klein will still go out for routes but will block and then Max brison's going to pretty much be that fullback that they were so happy they could find in him last season how do you think Tony Ellie and Marshall fit in you know right now probably not really they're going to be fitting in to this team um if the team gets into garbage time again they'll probably be able to utilize them the thing is I know what have B if somebody gets hurt is where like I mean like what body types do they fit like so tonelli and Hansen are more AG body tyes like Marlin Klein Marshall and prorn are more like holson Loveland they're more taller more agile quicker and have better hands so they probably fit the why um and then behind max breson if he ever gets H Jaylen Hoffman brison's been saying he's kind of Taken under his wing again that other walk- on and he he's eventually GNA kind of morph into a fullback role gotcha okay let's talk about wide receivers so this team surprised me a little bit in that during meaningful play everything was going to four guys really of those four guys almost everything was just going to two guys so it was Roman Wilson Cornelius Johnson number one number six who were mostly playing on the outside and then the other two guys were you know shorter you know built like slot receiver guys those were samage Morgan and Ty Morris and then I know other guys were getting catches but I swear it was only during garbage time Roman Wilson was drafted in the third round by the Steelers cornelus Johnson was drafted in the seventh round by the Chargers um there was some flexibility like you know you would see Wilson line up inside at times and to mess with defenses because they would foolishly like put a linebacker or something on him I was just like what are you doing guys but anyway so those guys are out in addition to that they've had quite a few guys transfer out of the room let me recite them Darius Clemens transferred out he was a A fourar in the 2022 cycle Carmelo English transferred out he was a fourstar in the 23 cycle Christian Dixon transferred out he was a fourstar in the 21 cycle and Eman Dennis transferred out he was a high three star in the 2020 cycle have I got all that right correct uh Morgan and Morris um who were you know uh so Wilson and Johnson both got during meaningful play about 60 targets a piece Morgan and Morris during meaningful play each got about 20 targets a piece so it's about three to one ratios there Morgan and Morris both return but like I say they're both I think they're both sort of slot guys I think they're both kind of redundant with one another and neither really provide what uh Wilson or Johnson provide like I don't think you can slide either one of those guys out and have them become the new Wilson or the new Johnson let me pause for a second you agree with that yeah I I think definitely with with Morgan you he's probably going to primarily be a slot guy Morris definitely can play the outside he played some in high school so that's probably really yep so he that's that's definitely something that he's also been saying in the press conferences since the off season started they've been trying to work him as more like the Z starter on the out side you could definitely probably see him playing some Outside Inside Stuff ESP if samage Morgan has to come off the field you can move Morris the slot and bring one of your backups on which we'll get to I'm sure in a second but right now it's looking like it's going to be Morris and and Fred Moore on the outside really that's interesting okay so Fred Frederick Moore that that's uh number three he got you know a little bit of garbage time play I mean I think he was playing on special teams because officially He's listed as burning his red shirt and playing in 13 games as a true freshman last year but I you know I don't have him you know on my Tally sheet at all during meaningful play I don't start garbage time I've got too much to do but I I just didn't get to see him at all the first time I saw him was during a meaningful or was was during uh uh the spring game when I saw him you know playing on the outside that dude's like 61 certainly looks long enough I you know I'd believe you there the other guy that I was seeing and I I I thought you were gonna say to be perfectly honest was was pton oir who was a walk-on but I thought was sort of the story of the spring game um what do you think about oi yeah o is in an interesting spot because they definitely want to utilize him and I think yes you're completely right last season it was really just those three guys they were pretty much targeting at all times I think they're going to have to change things up completely going into next season because you really don't have a lot of playing time between your one through three starters right now on the offense so o is definitely someone to look out for he's an exciting guy they love developing some of these walk- on that can eventually turn into something he's kind of an interesting body type but you're right he definitely came through in the spring game I don't see him as a starter right now on the offense between more Morris and Morgan but definitely is one of those rotation pieces you might be seeing this Michigan team using more of a rotation in the wide receiver room next season what do you think about Kendrick Bell he was a mid three star in the other let me pause for a second the other reason that I was thinking about o is that he like Towers over the rest of this unit like it's they lost a lot of height especially when when Clemens transferred out and Dixon transferred out oir 63 and and frankly some of the other guys I think are being a little generous in their listing so the other guy who's pretty tall and I was thinking about as potentially an option but then like I don't know I haven't really seen him that much is Kendrick Bell he was a a mid- three star in the 2023 class you haven't really mentioned him I don't think he got his feet wet at all last year what do you think about him yeah he's he's interesting he he is Michigan Legacy his brother Ronnie Bell was was a star wide receiver here at Michigan again these guys o Bell it was awesome to see them shine in the spring game um it they definitely can bring different skill sets to the table I think with this team the fact that they only went out and really brought in like one guy from the transfer portal is interesting to me believing in that depth with pton o Kendrick Bell that they probably have a good opportunity to least at least get some playing time this season but from what we've heard from the coaching staff they're still probably going to stick with three to four guys maybe five with pton o as like the fifth right now but they've really been able to they they like their their talent that they have right now and it is a pecking order and I think especially with the wide receiver room from what they've done in the P past Kendrick Bell definitely had shown some bright spots in the spring game but really hadn't done much else outside of that so far so because of that I think they're just going to keep trying to develop him and see if they can ever use him in a game situation but right now I really don't see him getting any playing time last question about returner that I have well actually maybe not it's interesting yes uh Dale CH well there's two guys that are you know I don't know if returner is the right word for them but anyway Dale chessen who CA who like initially was playing college ball in 2019 initially went to an FCS School uh Dale chessen um now I understand there was sort of hurting for bodies in the spring game so maybe this is the only reason why but I was seeing him play uh ex receiver with the ones um in the spring game um now of course we only saw six guys total play uh in wide receiver in the spring game because I think they only had six bodies correct first of all sort of a housekeeping question is he on scholarship I couldn't tell I actually have no idea I have to assume not okay but I don't know is he a serious part of the rotation or is he just like oh boy we need bodies that was that's no we need bodies um because after the spring game brought two other guys in and I think those are both going to going to jump so then on the subject of is this guy a returner question mark uh amorian Walker let me see if I get this one right he was recruited in Michigan 2022 I believe as a wide receiver but uh and he played that a little bit but then in 2023 they converted him to a defensive back and he played defensive back a little bit didn't think very well he then transferred to Old Miss in Janu anuary played Spring ball with the rebels but then transferred back in Michigan I think because Michigan said we need wide receivers zorian please come back so he did but he wasn't available in Spring that dude 63 so he's tall uh I kind of think all he is is tall what do you think Jake yeah he actually I think is more than that now I think a year or two ago I think that was a great kind of probably description for his skill set I think they've really tried to develop him at first you know he's playing both sides of the ball right he was going why receiver quarterback then it was full-time quarterback now he's coming back to Michigan as a full-time wide receiver and I think that's partly because they've been able to see something in him that they were able to convert him to a wide receiver I think honestly um compared to a guy like Kendrick Bell chanet Goodwin Dale chessen I think amorian Walker is higher than them on the depth chart he can definitely play an X um that a lot of these guys couldn't maybe pton o as well can play X but I think a Moran Walker's up there as well so in terms of playing time I actually expect a Moran Walker to be playing I don't think he would leave Old Miss after just committing if he didn't think he actually had a chance on this roster as a wide receiver so I think because of his height because of what he's been able to do with his agility his speed the glimpses he did in high school I actually am excited to see what they do with a morian walker because I think they have a plan for him or they wouldn't have brought him back H okay that's interesting I mean it could be the they just run out of bodies though it's it's possible I just feel like Amore Walker goes to miss in January and then comes right back and I think pulling him away from that obviously there are a lot of factors involved but from what I've been at least reading through the tea leaves is they do see something in him where they they actually could contribute even if it's just special teams he could at least do something for this team next season the transfer if Walker doesn't count as a transfer uh is CJ Charleston he was an FCS player he I believe he was unrated out of high school but he's been assigned to 087 transfer value by their scouting Services he was I modestly productive at the FCS level he had like 503 receiving yards last year I think he came in after spring so I didn't get a chance to see him in the spring game where or if do you think he figures in the rotation yeah I think he's probably back up at at the Z behind Tyler Morris right now I mean Kirt Campbell did say before they they recruited char that they did need bodies as a lot of these guys there if you couldn't tell the the kind of pattern of just they need bodies in this room they need guys to compete Charleston was productive at least at the Collegiate level yes it was FCS but it was something compared to a lot of these other guys who really haven't played at all um that is something I think notable I don't think he's a starter but I think if you're looking for like a four or five a guy on the depth chart to possibly come in and play outside of Payton no and maybe a morian walker I think Charles up there as well is one of those guys you can definitely get some some playing time at least in garbage time which we'll see how much garbage time there actually is this year with the expanded Big 10 but for right now there's I think there's a possible position for him as a backup to one of the wide receivers there's two true freshman a low fourstar am Maran Stewart and not to be confused with a Moran High three star Channing Goodwin uh I don't think they early enrolled I think they're fall enroll Le Stuart I think is a slot guy but Goodwin's like 61 I I think he could play on the outside do you think they'll burn the red shirts what do you think I I think they're going to keep the red shirt um it's possible there's more competition than what meets the eye for the media right now but we really haven't heard much about them which could be a good thing um it could be a bad thing really don't know but for right now I think both guys were very productive in high school both guys can come here and compete but I think from what we've seen last year was kind of an anomaly with Michigan letting freshman play as much as they did with Fred Moore and Sage Morgan Carmelo but I think with next season they might just kind of stick with the guys they have been able to develop and these guys will be kept in in secret okay offensive line all right let me see if I can get this recitation correct at the very beginning of the year they start out with Carson barart is on the left side of the line at left tackle Trevor Keegan is at left guard where he plays the entire year Drake Nan is at Center where he plays the entire year he had transferred in from Stanford Zack zinter is at Right Guard where he played until he got hurt and Miles Hinton who had also transferred in from Stanford was starting the year at right tackle before any go any further I got that right correct okay so then it's like three weeks into the year they play Bowling Green JD McCarthy throwing a bunch of picks they were sort of letting pressure through in my interpretation just like I've been watching my I thought that Drake nent was a really good Center at Stanford I'm not a big fan of offensive line transfers but I was like nent you're okay Hinton on the other hand I have no idea why Michigan took this guy I have no idea why Michigan's been taking so many offensive line transfers period they sort of broke the seal the year before with with a Virginia guy Olan olini and then they kept going like they went hard at the transfer portal anyway I I sort of got taking nent but I really thought taking Hinton was a mistake because he sucked out loud at Stanford and he continued to stuck at Michigan so they benched him three drives into the ruter game in week four they benched him and their solution to that was was they they moved barnhard from left to right to replace Hinton they pulled larius Henderson Off the Bench he was the left tackle from Arizona State uh another pack 12 transfer although I always liked Henderson he had a kind of weird career he was by far their best player but then he got hurt uh and so like kind of had a a checkered 2022 but then Arizona State fans were real happy that he was going to come back in 2023 but then Michigan pulled the rug out for from under them and stole him way to go guys anyway uh so then Henderson winds up uh uh playing um uh for for basically the rest of the season except for the Maryland game which was weird anyway the uh uh and then then it gets real weird zinter gets injured against Ohio State um so the way they solve that is they move barnhard in board and have him switch from right tackle to Right Guard to fill in for ziner and they take not my Hinton Off the Bench but rather they have trente Jones who has been their Sixth Man all year he's been the guy when they go to their jumbo sets you know like their big ey formation goal line package or whatever you know he's been their sixth man they take him uh in and have him play right tackle for all their postseason games and you know he finishes out the season that's their configuration to finish the season Jake did I get all that right I know I sprinkle in some opinions you don't have to endorse the opinions but the uh the the the fact ual matters did I get the factual matters all right correct Okay the reason that I was sprinkling in those opinions about Hinton and also the trying to track assiduously about when he did and did not play is that all those guys are gone Henderson uh was drafted in the seventh round by the Texans Keegan was drafted in the fifth round by The Eagles zenter was drafted in the third round by the Browns nent signed to udfa with the 49ers barnhard signed to UD with the Chargers Jones Jones the sixth man who played three games signed to udfa with the Packers and the only guy who comes back who played last year was Miles Hinton and I took pains to note that he played like three games plus the Maryland game because Henderson was sitting it out which I didn't understand and I don't think is any good and I still don't think he's any good okay now Jake you can unload if you want yeah yeah I mean this the you know the basic idea of this offensive line configuration from last year to this year is fascinating uh the fact that they won a national championship with as you just said all those different configurations in the offensive line and how a lot of them weren't homegrown talent and some didn't play a lot and they just kind of got thrusted into a starting role and now you have guys who are kind of all over the place with you know their experience um playing at Michigan but also at the Collegiate level and I think with Miles Hinton I understand you know the the negative comments towards him from last season I think recruiting him I think partially was about for last season oh like we want someone then they also found L Darius Henderson but also I think he was a Michigan Legacy his brother Chris went to Michigan was very successful here he was looking to transfer um Chris hon did very well the NFL as well playing the NFL um so he comes in he has this Michigan background and yes they tried him at left tackle but I also think from these previous years Michigan didn't play anybody real for the first few games the last three years at least and I think they really just treated all those games as like preseason games they wanted to see what they had I think they liked Hinton in terms of the scheme more to start those three games but as you said right with boring green you know JJ kind of got put Under Fire a little bit and they had to make a decision larius Henderson who I thought should have started from the first game Jake are you are you suggesting that they their plan all along was for Henderson to be the real starter and they were just sort of like letting hint and play to see to see something because they knew that they had weak opponents uh not necessarily I think they tried they wanted to see what Hinton was made of and they knew that they had time and they knew that they could develop him and that he played a lot you know he played daryus Henderson played I don't exactly know why they started Hinton over Henderson to begin with but I think the context of those three games were kind of like you know startup games was why they pulled that parachute then after bowling green because they realized okay now we're getting into it you know real games we now had three weeks of real practice we had the whole offseason we had the fall camp now we know who the best player is for our team I think with Darius Henderson they were like that's the guy we're gonna go with and then they just kind of had it hints and S on the bench for for whatever reason for the rest of the season but that was last season and I think that's just kind of what I've been able to find I've been very skeptical of this offensive line for a long time um you know just kind of deciding what they were going to do with you know with Miles Henton with Greg kripp and with these other guys I I think from what from talking with Hinton himself and the other players and the coaching staff Hinton really took that to heart and I think he kind of needed that wakeup call because he said he wasn't always very Ser serious about football really up until maybe sophomore year of high school and then he was just like okay this is what I want to do and I think last season was another really big wake up call for him where he was like this is actually what I want to do I don't want to get benched again so he's put a lot of work in this off season he's become more of a leader as well which I think is important on the offensive line especially at the left tackle position and I think for next season I have no qualms with Miles Hinton starting at left tackle right now I think he has played at Michigan now long enough he's been under this coaching staff he worked with Chiron Moore as the offensive line coach now chiron's the head coach and also with Grant Newsome too and I think they they really do see something in him and I'm excited to see what they do they they even listed him as like one of their look you know look to breakout candidates because they're really excited about what miles Hinton can bring boy I'd be concerned now I'm not sure how much I can make inferences from the spring game the first I mean literally the first left tackle that I was seeing was the true freshman Blake Frasier I think they were kind of mixing things up so the fact that I didn't see Hinton until a little later I'm not really making an inference about that I think they were sort of like kind of playing around with stuff a little bit but uh let's let's stick with the tackles before we get to the centers and then do guards last I mean I think that you're probably right that they will go with Hinton to as one of the tackle starters kind of cuz why wouldn't they he's definitely the most experienced one that they have I kind of don't think that they're going to go with the true freshman Frasier I mean he was highly recruited but he's a true freshman this doesn't strike me he's that type of program I'll pause for a second do you want to push back on either of those no I I agree they're not they will most likely not go with Frasier to start the season if I had to bet okay let me list guys who I think are tackles next and you tell me if you you think I should move any these guys to different positions the guys who I think are tackles are Andrew Gentry Tristan bounds Evan link Connor Jones and the true freshman who haven't enrolled yet but this is where I think they're GNA go Andrew sprag Luke Hamilton Ben robuk I agree with all those I would add Jeff Percy to that group as well oh really I saw him playing guard in the spring game I know he's played tackle in garbage time in pass but you think he's more likely to play tackle than guard I I think he's That Swing kind of all way on the offensive line I mean he's 68 320 he played guard at the spring game but since he did play tackle in the past I wouldn't put it okay past this team to work him in at both I well that's interesting about Percy because my guess for the other starting tackle was going to be Andrew Gentry because I had seen him playing tackle in the past and I basically have never seen any of these guys even get their feet like I haven't seen Tristan bounds or uh Conor Jones you know play before and those guys have been on the team for a couple years like not even like see the field in garbage time Evan link will be a red shirt freshman and I think think this team would probably prefer a more experienced guy and the rest of the guys are are true freshman so that you know that's why I sort of just defaulted to Andrew Gentry what do you think Jake I agree I think even without defaulting I think Andrew Gentry right now now has like the I don't even know I would say leg up I think realistically speaking from my experience working with this team I would think it's Andrew Gentry so I would agree with that um Tristan bounds I I think is definitely he is a right tackle does not play left tackle he's not gonna start but he's been with his team now for three seasons and he's been working very hard and I could we could see him you know making a push not to the start but at least getting maybe some playing time and garbage time but I think it'd probably go Gentry one and then Tristan bounds and Jeff Percy like 2 a 2B right now if you wanted to actually have like legitimate depth chart but for right now I would say jentry would be the starting right tackle okay Center I've been hearing for a long time it's Greg krippin it's Greg krippin we love Greg krippin and then they've recruited to transfer guys over him in successive years um is it Greg krippin it's Greg krippin yeah I know this is tough I I wrote an article about this about a month ago and he's not had the greatest uh you know luck I think on this team Michigan itself has had great luck with transfer centers um I think the fact that they didn't recruit another Transfer Center this season means in my mind that Greg krippin is a starting center I think he would say he's a starting center and I believe a few the other I think Miles Hinton said he believes Greg krippin right now is been getting most of the Reps at the starting center position so I think it's finally his time I don't know why they didn't believe in him in the past it's worked out for them but right now it it should be Greg kin's job to lose I I could guess behind him I would think Raheem Anderson like there's there well let me let me I think there's two other dudes who could snap the ball and those are Raheem Anderson and Dominic guice and I think simply because he was higher rated out of high school it'll be Anderson although I I haven't seen either one of those two guys like at all and that's the entire basis of my guess GIS was like a low three star Anderson was a low fourstar that's it yeah yeah I would say right now Anderson and then probably Gio but you're right this at the center position there hasn't been a lot of playing time and snaps amongst them in real game situations outside of Greg krippin so that's the tough thing that they're going to have to figure out is with this depth chart you know where's the leash and and are you confident enough in a guy like Greg krippin but even after Greg krippin you know as you said with like with Anderson and geod where is the line and how much have they been working the offseason to try to be a starting caliber player so guards um this is the situation is a little confused by two factors one is that Amir Herring uh played guard in the spring game but then transferred out after the spring game and then Gian elhadi um who I think a was the highest rated dude in the room and B was the guy like I saw he he didn't play I think in 2023 but I saw him getting several starts in 2022 when I charted That season um so I think the staff probably likes that guy but I think he was injured and unavailable in the spring game is that is that right yeah that that that's what it appears right now so I would actually pencil him in pretty high it's just I didn't get to see him in the spring game so I I don't know what do you think yeah he right now he's going to start at one of the Guard positions um okay he can play both sides and same with some of the other guards so I keep going back and forth in my mind which side he's gonna go on I right now to assume Right Guard but he also played a lot of left so it's tough to decide which side he's actually gonna play if it were me I would go with Percy here um a and because the the other guys are well I I might have gone with herring but he transferred out the other guys are phobe who's a red shirt freshman Gua uh who's a true freshman and then the transfer in Josh prie from Northwestern I didn't get to see him in the spring game um I think he had enrolled by them but I think they were just holding him out because of an injury but I wouldn't go with him a because he's a transfer and B because I watch northwestern's film that wouldn't be a good idea I don't know why they took him I don't know why they're addicted to transfers like do your job shiron more or whoever's the offensive line coach now it's been working for him it's been working as much it's like drawing to an inside straight man I had a I had a roommate in college who we we would play a weekly poker game and my roommate like the first time the first time we had our weekly poker night successfully Drew to an inside straight and it ruined this person for every subsequent Game of Poker that we ever had because was just convinced that this was a smart thing to do and it was like man I worry about this for Michigan like winning a national championship with three transfers on the offensive line now they're just convinced that oh this is is something that works when like seven years of portal data indicates that it doesn't anyway uh don't play preb trust me on that go with Heidi and Percy uh anyway do you think that's how it's gonna go or do you think I completely disagree pre it's pre's the one who's going to start at left guard Bo um I think he's they going to start him he yes like the film in general Northwestern yeah you could take them for what you for what it may but if you look at all the other guys they brought in I I agree I think they have this mentality of if it ain't broke don't fix it like it's been working for them and they've been able to pull guys from not great programs and made them into very solid offensive lineman and so I think pre um as I said pre started at left guard but also alotti has played left guard too so that's the tough part about which side they're going to play but I as for all the new guys coming in at all the different positions I think I'm the most confident in the offensive line that it's going to be Hinton pre krippin El hotti and gentry on week one and if it changes then it changes but I think right now on June 25th I would say that that's going to be offensive line was that your order left or right that was from left to right yeah I buy it I mean I buy that's what it'll be I don't think that's a good idea I think there's two guys on that line I wouldn't play but okay well the job here was predictions uh the uh what do you think about this line compared to last year's line you know it's it's definitely it's tough because last year's line you're anchored by your guards I mean you you you know you had ziner who was you know before he got hurt and even after he got hurt he was still so highly regarded but you had this you know this these fantastic guys in the offensive line you know you it worked for your Center nent and it worked Olu the year before you know larius Henderson it worked out for them Carson barnhard was the Swiss army knife on the offensive line he wasn't great in at times you know especially at left tackle that they really couldn't play him at left tackle and he got beat sometimes at right tackle but once they B to move him inside I think he was actually really able to find his spot um and you got really lucky with Trent Jones too coming in once Zin got went down against Ohio State I mean I know being in the crowd and and when zenter went down you you had this big gasp of oh my gosh this this offensive line is not going to be the same they're going to give up all these you know sacks they're not goingon to run the ball the same and it really didn't change much for what they wanted to do and especially against Washington the national championship game it it worked to Perfection so from that from last year to this year yes team on paper doesn't look great from what I've been able to do a lot of research there still is a lot of experience with his offensive line miles hin has played a lot of football PR's play a lot of football and started a lot of games crippin's been with this program for so long he's been able to sit behind a lot of guys he would even tell us in the press conferences like a month ago that you know as much as it sucked to have to be the backup he still was able to learn from these guys and the fact that Olu and Drake Nan are now in the NFL is definitely very helpful for him and in the experience he learned from them El has been with this program Gentry's been with this program so yes they like to bring in transfers but they've also been developing guys for a long time and I think now finally they're like okay we had to fulfill a a guard spot but everybody else is homegrown um at least for over a year being at Michigan I mean I count miles Hinton now as like a Michigan guy so because of that I really think they're they should be just fine now this could all change against Texas week to and we're going to be like oh wow okay we are not ready for this but but from right now from what the the team has been saying the fact that our head coach was an offensive lineman and is an offensive line Guru in afficionado and same with Grant Newsome now being also an offensive lineman coming and now actually being able to coach the offensive line I really feel like they're in great hands the coaching staff and I'm really not that worried um especially and you have to give them some some flak because they just won the National Championship so you really I I I don't think it's right to question um their talent until I see them week one because it worked last season switch over and talk about the defense the the first thing I want to ask you about is the structure of the defense the what I was seeing uh last year at a minor well in the year before as well was you know it's structured like a 4 to3 but they uh were pretty exclusively playing out of a nickel with Sr still the you know the nickel playing in sort of a you know this the classic star safety or what is now a classic star safety role uh you know replicating a a third linebacker they would against some heavy configurations from the offense uh go to a three down tackles two standup ends configuration but so in other words like a 52 524 although interestingly a lot of times they' leave SRA still on and they'd pull a corner back in order to make that happen but it was five defensive linemen across the the line for for heavy looks but even then it was not a it was far from a strict defensive rule that they would do that on they only did on about I have the number on about 36% of heavy Personnel snaps they actually one of the things that I really appreciated about Michigan's defense is they really rather than just like strictly matching offensive Personnel for their defensive substitution rules they actually really tried to crack what they're the offense was going to run or pass although some people I'm guessing are jumping in right now with some suggestions about how could they have cracked that and were putting in they would only go to their five down five defensive linemen look when they were pretty certain it was going to be a run and stayed in their you know their nickel four down configuration even against heavy Personnel the other you know 60s something percent of the time um you know even against against heavy configurations when they were more certain it was going to be a pass you know be it on down in distance conf you know or or you know whether they have the tight end and who's real oh that's really more like the passing tight end Etc so I wanted to register that or actually let me ask you first were you observing the same thing Jake I was yeah I think they showed a lot of different looks and I think you're completely right about how it was able to be successful in that respect so I completely agree with what your analysis of what youve seen the reason that I'm asking you about that is that in the spring game with new defensive coordinator Martin Dale I was exclusively seeing the five down configur you know the the three defensive tackles two standup defensive ends configuration and I know from watching his games you know with the Giants which I maintain a passing interest in because there's a couple Ducks players on it that dude plays a three4 defense um now it's not a you know it's not a five down you know those are classified as obbs but you know still it's a you know it's a it's a it's a it's a f man on the line of scrimmage look and I'm like is this guy changing the defense especially because unlike last year in which when they would put in that third guy and go to an odd front with a nose it was all DTS the the three dudes who were fist down it would be like Graham Grant and and Jenkins or or Graham good and and Benny you know something like that whereas when I was watching him in the spring game it' be like Grant Brandt and and then you take another end like one of the the the bigger ends like you know ETA and they'd have that guy put his fist down and then put a couple of standup ends to either side of him and I'm like this really and they were doing that every snap now I know the offense was often in 12 Personnel snaps but you know sets but like that's why I was talking about in 2023 they didn't have strict substitution rules like this really looked like in the spring game they were going to a three4 defensive structure so that's my question for you Jake like are they going to a three four defensive structure I I saw that too in the spring game I can't obviously say 100% from what it looked like it it's possible I think he's recognizing the Personnel that he has as well and and see you have Grant and Graham you definitely you want to play and then you have these these strong you know you got these edges that have also been really you know really great I think from what we've seen in the past what we saw in the spring game I wouldn't exactly take for like 100% for what we're going to see in the fall I think these last two defensive coordinators with Mike McDonald Jesse Minter still come from Wink's system and I know Wink's gonna want to put his own sprinkle on it but I I really honestly see them doing a lot of different looks and changing a lot of different things up but I think the three4 structure from what this personnel has right now might be the most consistent H that's pretty interesting do do you think it's appropriate to continue talking about this in a you know just split up tackles and ends or do we need to invent a couple other configuration like uh uh position assignments like is there is there a separate nose tackle for this team is there a difference between a standup end and a fist down end you know I think you probably talk about them separately we can still talk about them separately I think I've seen like Kenneth Grant for example as like the primary nose tackle yeah Mason Graham as the primary DT yeah um and then you have rayan Benny and Trey Pierce cam Brandt right as you were saying all them are capable of kind of playing a lot of your positions I think Kenneth Grant's probably the most capable playing at knows tackle specifically it comes to the edges right you have your own completely different group of people so I don't see so much overlap aside from you know ETA who can play I think both at DC and Edge um you just have all these different guys who who've really been proven um who can some guys can play inside have been in you know really really good inside you got these other guys at Edge I probably still keep them separate in terms of discussing them well let's start with the big guys so three big guys leave they were they were basic well it was a big rotation among guys that I would characterize as defensive tackles last year I think I would characterize it as a fiveman main rotation unless you want to push back on that those five guys being Mason Graham Kenneth Grant raan Benny Chris Jenkins and cam good yeah that was pretty much what it was like yes correct two of those guys leave uh Chris Jenkins was drafted in the second round by the Bengals and cam good just graduated and is done I was a little surprised he didn't sign like a udfa contract like I was thought he was pretty good no pun intended they lose one other guy who I would see like in garbage time as Rees attenbury he transferred out uh I think that's for the departures I know there's there's two other guys who left the end room but they were pretty clearly ends so I'll talk about them later anybody else that I missed no that sounds right the guys who were coming back again from the primary rotation uh Graham Grant and Benny uh although Benny I didn't see in the spring game I think he was just being held out with a like a ding or something two other guys I saw just a little bit of last year um because I think they were still red shirting there these are 2023 guys they were both like High three star like almost fourstar guys in the composite those were Cameron Brandt and Trey Pierce and I that was it for guys that I saw I didn't see and I'm curious about what their status is uh like because I literally didn't see him in the spring game allesandro lorenzetto and Brooks Bar what's the story with those two do you know yeah I actually really don't know they're definitely depth pieces but very much further down the depth chart and I think you're probably not going to see them okay in actual game situations they're really just going to stick with as you said probably that fiveman rotation and just kind of roll with it the last guy and I'm a little curious about in part of this discussion about nose versus like DT is Ike ianua um who I I haven't really seen before like he was a 2021 guy a mid three start he's like a 085 in the the composite didn't really see that guy but he's real big you know he's like 313 pounds but in the spring game uh with the ones I was seeing him play that nose you know position he was pretty much the only guy other than Kenneth Grant I was seeing play that nose position and if I'm on to something here about Martin Dale kind of switching up the defensive structure hey maybe we see a lot more of that guy you know what I mean no I do and I and I've already myself had him listed as a back of nose tackle um given his size given as you said what they do with him the spring game and kind of his his specific skill set you're right he really hasn't seen any game action at all last season he was named a scout team defensive player of the week against Eastern Carolina University was like really the only thing that he was really kind of awarded for but I think you're right they have all these skilled guys in the defensive tackle position but in terms of nose tackle specifically you can't play Kenneth Grant every snap so you're still going to need some rotation I think Ike is the next guy up who they've been really trying to mold into the backup nose tackle what about Trey Pierce I didn't get I think he was also like Benny being held out of the spring game with a minor injury I think like he's 300 like I think what do you think is that guy potentially in nose or not where do where do you think he fits yeah so I thought he'd be like they would mold him into a nose tackle I've really been seeing him at the D the DT position specifically behind Mason Graham so okay from what I've seen probably not the nose tackle but it obviously could change but they haven't really worked him in much the nose tackle and then how about brand I did see in the spring game he was playing he was playing uh basically Mason Grahams role but for the other team the the yellow team not The Blue Team um so I figured he'll just continue doing that he's he's like the I was going to say the slimmest guy with a weird thing to say about a guy in this anyway the uh I figure he continues that role what I don't know is what about ran Benny what do you think does does he continue playing the same role that he did last year do you think he if this is a new defense do you think he has a new role I I think they liked what they got from him last year you lost Chris jains which you know is is a big loss and you still have Kenneth Grant Mason Graham you're really looking for the next guy up I think because they do like playing with the three DTS at times or at least having rotation they said they like having rally groups which is to try to preserve energy they really are trying to get guys in and out so expect I guess you know Kenneth Grant and Mason Grant to play together but then when you want kind of that that next group up or even R you know a guy like raan Benny to come in and more Downs I definitely can see like a cam Bren and raayan Benny being the next two or Trey right or Ike and rayan Benny being there so I definitely see him increasing his snaps even from last season because there is kind of a vacancy right there in the defensive tackle room they just want to keep seeing him improve but he really has a lot of flexibility on the defensive line which they like about him and I definitely see him just continuing to improve in what he's been doing for this team there are four true freshmen well okay they recruited eight true freshmen in the defensive line group of whom I think only one was an early enroll Lee and so I could see him in the spring game uh that was dominant Nichols who was playing off the edge but I mean just look at his body type he's obviously an edge I didn't need any help with that one the other guys I'm gon to ask for your help categorizing them I think four of them are going to be defensive tackles uh I think those four are Ted Hammond Owen waffle David P and Manuel Bagel yep that's right I would list them all as DTS as well okay and then and before get there I'll just list them the other three lugard egi and Mason Curtis and Devin Baxter I have his ends correct so before I go to the ends room though the two guys that I was seeing who like I believe are ends and if I hadn't watched the spring game I would just happily continue thinking of this as 425 defense and would consider these guys as ends but then I saw him in the spring game playing fist down inside the standup ends and so I'm like hm are these guys getting moved inside and so I want to ask you about before we leave off the defensive tackle discussion those two guys for the yellow and The Blue Team respectively were Eno ETA and amerck Kumba what are their roles in the 2024 defense do you think Jake yeah I think I know ETA can play both Edge and defensive tackle he he really has a a cool skill set where you can play really anywhere on the defensive line um for that and I know they they really liked him playing in different places I think for him seeing the fields I think his versatility is gonna be really big for him again as part of that kind of rotation so I think you're right in you're you know in seeing he definitely can play his fist down inside but he also can definitely stand up on the outside and play Edge and then I think for Amer Kumba I've really list him as an edge that's probably where I see him the most I mean he's much lighter he's like 50 pound exactly so I don't necessarily know if they would play him inside I think they were trying something with him and just seeing what he do against this Michigan offensive line but I think when it gets to the season you're probably primarily GNA see him at the edge spot okay ends then um so then having said that I also saw a couple of Walk-Ons I think this room in that same hey they were fist down guys but I'm I don't really think we're going to see them during the year so I'm not going to bother talking about them everybody else that I was seeing were you know fist up dudes and playing fist up was pretty common last year so H it's I don't really know how how much that's worth sweating I'm just going to go through the rest of the room for the end group they were playing I I would characterize it as a fourman primary rotation and then there was one extra guy who' sort of swing in sometimes the four guys that I was seeing in the primary rotation were Josiah Stewart who was wearing number five but has switched to number zero I hate it when guys change numbers Derek Moore uh Jaylen Harrell and Braden McGregor and then the fifth guy that I would sometimes see swing in was TJ guy have I got all that right that is very correct Stuart Moore and Guy return uh Harold was drafted in the seventh round by the Titans McGregor uh signed to udfa with the Jets I believe that Harold and McGregor are the only guys who left nobody like transferred out they also return in ition to Stuart Moren guy they also return uh kesan Bennett um who I I think played some garbage time I didn't really see him they they bring back inetta who we've been talking about a lot but just for being such a surprising interesting player in the spring game he was a like mid fourar in the 2023 class and I think played like one snap last year it was just like such a surprising dude in the spring game is why we been talking about him so much Kumba was another 2023 guy in that same role but again didn't see him last year he was like a mid three star there was another 2023 mid three star that I didn't see last year Brian ishmail and then the last scholarship guy in the room who's a returner is Tyler McLaren he was like a high three star in the 2021 class I don't think I've seen him in like four years I'm not even sure I saw him in the spring game is ship sailed on that guy or what's the deal yeah I haven't really I I've always been looking out for mclen too I I you're right I didn't really see him much in the spring game which surprised me as well I think guys just keep jumping him and he's just just keeps kind of falling in the depth chart unfortunately for him um he's still definitely you know part of this team and he's going to practice and stuff but outside you know in terms of games specifically I think you're right uh unless he completely comes out of nowhere during the season I would have to assume that probably he's just there as a depth piece but that's really going to be his role on this team going forward obviously they're pretty happy with Stewart and Moore I think they're probably pretty happy with guy because of the amount of playing time he was getting I figure he gets a step up they they probably want one or two more no pun inton with Derk Moore's name what do you think Bennett ETA and they call it a day I think so yeah they're really excited about TJ guy this year during the pro day a lot of the guys like McGregor and Chris Jenkins were saying his name and cam brand for the defensive defensive tackle position but TJ guy this team as we even saw last season they're going to run with a lot of guys right they they ran with really four edges that were playing a lot of snaps last season that's pretty standard the the somewhat unusual thing at all is that they had a fifth guy yep exactly so I think because of that yes you have moreen Stewart who will you know be the strong side weak side starters but then that rotation of anoeta TJ God keesan Bennett even Brion Ishmael or even americ Kumba who maybe plays maybe doesn't I think between all those guys you're really G to have you probably actually will have again Five Guys that'll probably be in a rotation next season yeah I was just discriminating between the three uh 2023 guys I wasn't really inferring anything from the fact that they were all red shirting it's just that Eda was a mid four star and Kumba and his male were mid three stars and then I think that the the true freshman will just I mean there's some talented guys in that room like edak pay was you know mid mid three or four star you know there's some talented guys there I just tend to think this is kind of program that red shirts you know definitely definitely in the defensive line it's a lot about growing them little by little some guys might play sometimes but definitely with terms of that red shirt year they've really been able to utilize a lot of years out of the defensive lineman well I think they're skinny too they're just sort of coming a little underweight right now so yeah okay linebacker they the primary starters were Junior Coulson and Michael Barrett both of those guys were drafted third round chargers for Coulson seventh round the Panthers for Barrett they would rotate in Ernest Housman from uh Nebraska the great Michigan tradition continues of stealing other big 10 Tim's best linebacker they got Ed Warner's kid from Michigan State earlier they got Houseman from Nebraska this year they got Jan Barham from Maryland I approve you make your opponent weaker you make you stronger it's great anyone can be a Michigan man if you try hard if you're a good enough linebacker they had a bunch of guys leave though this was interesting samage Bridgeman but who didn't play that they played in the spring game and then left uh samj briggman transferred out he was a 2023 fourstar Hayden Moore was 2023 mid three star transferred out after the spring game Joey Velasquez who' been on the team forever transferred out Jeremiah Beasley who was 2024 recruit as a forstar signed played in the spring game and then transferred out after the spring game yeah I I think th those six departures if Beasley counts as the departure that's it y yep and you're right there a a lot of turnover in that room so Housman returns he was the you know like I said the third guy in I saw a little bit that sheet says he was in a lot I didn't actually see him that much I think this is mostly garbage time Jaden Hood the the low four star from 2021 there was another guy who I actually think was probably higher in the rotation but he missed the first half of the year that was Jimmy reuter he was a a low for star from the 2022 class and then I think I don't know he's probably being a little ginger with him when he came back in the second half of the 2023 season the other interesting thing was that there was a walk on Christian b boen um who I think was awarded a scholarship or I'm not sure yep um then a couple other guys Micah Pard uh last guy was uh Jason huet who was a 2023 a high three star who uh boy I didn't see him until real late in the spring game he was the guy that was watching in the spring game until the latest to finally see that guy they brought in as I said Jan baram from Maryland they got a couple of true freshman Cole Sullivan who enrolled early that was another guy that I had to wait till late to see and then Zack lwen rolls in the fall so there's a lot of bodies in this room but I sort of think they're going to do the same thing as last year they're going to play Barham they're gonna play Housman I I actually think reuter is going to be a little higher up I think they like him um and they just he missed the season and then I think the rest of these guys are going to sit on the bench and then transfer out in 2025 uh what do you think about that assessment Jake I think I think this is the easiest position group to like just it's pretty self-explanatory right with baram Housman it's R it's Jimmy rer have I been saying reuer and it's rer it's okay yeah Jimmy raler um and so yeah rer definitely will probably get will be the next guy up and then Jaden hood is probably there too and outside of those guys boen is a special teams guy see him playing a lot but really those four guys are the main four but with bam and Housman and rer you're probably going to see right exactly what you saw last year with that three-man rotation but mainly those first two getting primarily the snaps do you know what was I missed the story do you know what was going on with raler I don't exactly know what the injury was but there definitely was an injury they didn't disclose it exactly what the injury I think specifically was but all we know is that he just appeared in six games and um and and he got hurt so that was just from what at least the coaching staff was telling us it's just he appeared so early in the spring game and he was hitting hard you know I was just like there's no way there's no way that Michigan saw this guy in practices last year and was like oh we didn't know we had until the second half of the year when it dawned on us it had to be oh this guy just wasn't available and then by when he was available it was like let's slow play this guy because he's still coming back that's what clued me and like I bet this guy's actually higher up in the rotation in in 2024 I agree from watching them in 2023 what was your assessment of housman's level of play versus Coulson and Barrett's level of play yeah I think hman was still pretty raw last season I I think H ability to read in offense and different schemes especially against the better teams you this team didn't play a ton of amazing teams last season which I think helped him in terms of his growth but he came in very Green from Nebraska and I think you know between from what you saw Mike Barrett who had been in Michigan for forever and saw a ton of stuff with him and even with Coulson they were just ahead in terms of being able to read a play housman's great at once he sees the ball he can really attack and he he's a hard-hitting linebacker he definitely has improved his IQ over time but I think the ability as a linebacker to read the offense call it the play for the defense being able to kind of be that guy as one of the leaders in the middle of that defense I think was he just had needed a full season under his belt at Michigan kind of being that third guy behind two guys who then went to the NFL and I think now especially what you saw with him in the championship game and even into the playoffs going into this season I'm really excited to see what howman can do because he's just keeps improving every single week yeah well I had a similar diagnosis in in in 2023 there like or play diagnosis I was just like this guy's a step behind a little bit all right let's let's see let's talk about outside corners so I was seeing actually a bunch of different guys they they were seemed like they were rotating actually quite a bit here I was seeing Josh Wallace I was seeing will Johnson I was also seeing DJ Waller kesan Harris I saw a bit of Jer Hill although I think maybe they're trying to conserve his red shirt because he was a true freshman last year but he still pulled down a bunch of tackles in the few games that he played I was seeing Jaden mcburrows who's been on the team for a while and I was seeing miles Pard the guy who we don't know if he's related they're not yeah they're not related just a crazy coincidence yeah like I've seen like like seven different dudes right yep pretty much kesan Harris is a former walk-on is that correct yes but he has a scholarship now right yes now he does Wallace was signed to udfa with the Rams Waller transferred out after the spring game which I think was a bit of a surprise or at least it came as a surprise to me I think he was in line for a bunch of praying time no that was I I of all the guys that transferred out that completely took me by surprise I mean I something must have been said in a meeting telling him he wasn't going to play as much as he thought he was but I thought he was perfectly in line to be the second corner on the outside and the fact that he left really not not just kind of confused me but a lot of the people that I work with just wondering what could have been done what could have been said to have him toart as early as he did so will Johnson comes back I figure he's got a job locked down like you I I had the same interpretation of Waller leaving you know that's about well I can think of three different interpretations one they really really like Harris two they really really like Hill you know and they just didn't want to burn his red shirt but they hey his talent's off the chart but he's blowing the rest of you guys out the water or three they're going to a three4 defense they don't need as many corners on the field yeah I think it's probably combination between two two and three I think they like Hill more than Harris Hill as you said showed some great highlights and limited playing time he had and they want to preserve his red shirt and from what we've been hearing he's right now in line to be the second corner on the outside to start especially since Waller has left kesan Harris is definitely gonna get his playing time he's definitely gonna play at times but I think between liking Hill and as you said you might just not need as many corners you got a lot of guys in this room a lot of guys in the secondary that are very talented they keep recruiting some really cool guys on the outside you even you know bring in some other guys too you even bring back someone as well and because of all that I think DJ Waller said I'm not gonna play here I gotta find somewhere else to go I was during the spring game when they when I would or or excuse me during last year during the very few reps when Sr still went off the field the guy that I was seeing Play Nickel behind him was MC burough do think he's losing out on playing time what do you think is going on with MCB burrow I think MCB burough is right now in line to be the nickel starter um I think he is actually if anything gonna gain more playing time I think yes you're right he was sitting behind s still and S still again they just kind of found a gem on the offense and they were able to push him on the defense and he was a standout and he got drafted I think in a great spot for what he plays and I think MC burough has been waiting and waiting for his time and I think his body type and his skill set mirror's a nickel corner and I think right now he's in line to to start a nickel but there also could be a rotation there too yeah s is interesting because you know you got drafted in the second round um by the commanders he it's it's you know as you say he started on the on the offense he's originally a wide receiver and he came pretty late uh in his career to being a a defensive player he actually does not grayed out particularly well in coverage you know in man coverage for me but you know he's so tough you know when he hits so hard um and I sort of I don't know has an intuitive sense for the game that was quite valuable and they just like basically never took him off the field exactly and in many ways sort of like built the defensive structure around having him on the field so much which was why it was so weird is like when I if I blinded myself to the you know who these guys were and just looked at their grades I was like boy there's kind of a black hole in coverage in the middle of the field here oh it's number zero you know how strange that this guy who's the who who that they built the defenses around like if they actually put this guy in man coverage on a guy who's running the slot fate or something like about half the time he gets burned but like they were willing to deal with that especially in the Big 10 where H who cares how often can anybody really take advantage of that so you think that MC burrow is is in line to to be that guy do you think he has that skill set I do I do I think he's right now in line I think he's again played sparingly but he's played at times and he's played at the nickel when they took up their starters last season I think Zeke Barry's the one guy that could possibly you know kind compete with MC burough Cody Jones is there too but I think the difference between MC Burrows and Barry is is a little extreme right now Barry's more like a safety rather than a nickel in my eyes right now so I would say MC burrows for again from today I would say he's the starting nickel and because they had such great success with Sam still the last few seasons I don't see why they wouldn't keep playing a guy at Nickel in their defense it works so well for them so other secondary departures Keon Sab who rotated at safety quite a bit pretty talented in the 2022 class who's high four star he has transferred out also transferring out was a guy didn't really see who's red shirting last year that was Cameron Calhoun uh Kaden ksar graduated he was I think a former walk-on but who got some backup play and German green also got some backup play he graduated oh and then amorian Walker switched to the wide receiver have I missed anybody is that no that sounds right there's a couple of freshman recruits to the secondary I think two of them are Corners Jos but I didn't really see any of well I saw two of them I think are GNA be Corners Josiah Edmund and Jeremiah low um and I saw one guy who I think is gonna be well he was playing safety he was playing strong safety in the spring game that's Jacob Odin but I think he's gonna red shirt I think they got a bunch of dudes in this room I think so too the dudes they bring back are uh marari page and Rod Moore uh marari page is of course their free safety but Rod Moore is like he's undergo is I think his second surgery the offseason or something like that what's up with him yeah yeah he he he got de a tough hand he he came back he could have gone to the NFL probably would have drafted I don't really know when but maybe day three early day three but yeah he decided to come back and and got hurt in practice um so I think as of right now his season's probably going to be scratched as poss you see him in like the LA later part of the year like if they make the playoff but they're expecting to not have him for the entire regular season right now really okay yes they really really big blows kind of especially with the similar like the linebacker room they thought okay we have these two great guys like the defensive tackles with Graham and Grant they thought the exact same thing was going to be had with with the safety room with Rod Moore and mcari pagee and unfortunately with Rod Moore going down they really now had to to find a new guy to replace him well I mean I you know I was telling anybody who could listen the whole reason that Michigan won the national championship game against the whole reason that Michigan dealt Washington their only loss of the year was because they had four safeties who could cover between uh Paige Moore Johnson and Sab and that like that was it like if you want to beat Washington you have to have a bunch of safeties who can cover because that's how they Beaches they throw to the middle of the field because you know that's how they do it and so you know I've been I know I save this one to last but like I'm really curious about how Michigan safety room plays out you know they bring back you know Paige of course but if Moore is a scratch and then I didn't see Quinton joh and and Sab is out Sr still is out um Quinton Johnson I didn't see in the spring game uh what's his story yeah so Johnson was looking for an ex year of Eligibility he was also kind of uh teetering with the NFL drafts decided to come back I don't think there's any really story there why he didn't play play the spring game but from what I've seen I think it's going to be mcari page and Quinton Johnson as the two star safeties next season okay other guys that I was seeing well or while I'm on the subject of whad and I see that guy the 2023 forstar Brandon Hillman um who played a little bit uh last year I'm not sure if he played enough to to burn his red shirt or not but he he got his feet wet at least I didn't see him in the spring game what's his story um I don't know why he didn't play the spring game uh I'd have to assume it's because of an injury but I definitely see him as a top depth piece at the safety position behind marari pagee next season but I actually have no idea why he didn't play in the spring game I was wondering that too when I got to the stadium why he wasn't playing so you know between all the depart you know I listed like you know two two dudes who transferred out one dude who went to the NFL three you know a bunch of dudes who grad two dudes who graduated one who switched to the wide receiver room three dudes who were not playing in the spring game you know they were getting pretty tight on numbers and so I was seeing like three Walk-Ons Play Pretty extensively in the spring game I think just like we were talking about with the wide receivers because they were running tight on bodies those were Max Reyes Nico andreetto which was confusing because they both wear the jersey number 31 like uh and Micah Davis uh who wears 37 I don't really think again I don't really think that's because they're seriously part of the rotation I think it's because you know tightness on the numbers but it does make sort of difficult to assess because the only other two guys I mean literally the only other two guys that I saw besides the The Freshman that that we mentioned earlier Jacob Odin were Zeke Barry and Cody Jones now those guys are both you know pretty talented they were 2022 guys they were both four stars if they're going to play this is their time to play Hey Jake this is their time to play what do you think about those guys yeah I like Zeke Barry I think I agree I think it's his time to play I think they might have a rotation with him and Quinton Johnson at one of the safety spots marari pagee is going to be an every kind of guy I like him a lot I I I like Cody Jones too I think he's also kind of bit his time and he's coming in he has good coverage skills he has good kind of awareness and and it's really just been looking for a spot on the depth chart since his team was pretty old and they did keep bringing in some transfers I think Jaden Magnum the guy they brought in from Michigan state is an interesting guy that you can look at at the safety position guy who played some in the Big 10 bring him over from Sparty over here to the Wolverines will be interesting you Brandon hman as you said and that's a kind of another guy that they have so they have a lot of names I think outside of mcari pige and Quinton Johnson and Zeke Barry I think other guys are definitely capable of playing and they might go with another big rotation of guys outside of just mcari page pretty much playing every single down but they have a lot of guys in that room that all capable of playing it just depends on the consistency aspect of it the coverage skills and as you said right how important the safety position is for a college football especially with Michigan's team last season with those guys just being such a big anchor at the back half of of the secondary what are they going to do next season and we're just going to have to see if they go with three guys or they go with six ah shoot I didn't I I had Mangum transferring out of Michigan State in my database but I forgot to flag him into Michigan did I forget anybody else nope that was it Megan was playing free safety at Michigan State do you think he competes with uh with Paige for that job or is he just a backup or how do you think he fits in I I think given at least from what I've with marcari page I don't neily think he competes for his starting job will he play a lot I definitely can see that um especially back there they definitely need bodies if barari pagee goes down Magnum I think is that guy who's G to come right back in but I think they're just going to kind of experiment with what they have but whether they have the versatility of paig or Magnum to play both of them I don't really know but for right now I definitely see him being with a three four piece on the depth chart because of what he's done at Michigan State and his experience playing in the in the Big 10 well it definitely explains why they were willing to go after a guy from across the state uh I mean they're sort of getting tight on bodies here you know with without more God that's that really sucks about him it makes things difficult especially yeah especially losing him before the season even or even before really the spring game even was sted definitely a not a great start to the 2024 season since we have like a minute or two of extra time I wonder if you could for the benefit of our listeners can you run down what exactly wink Martin Dale's history is with Michigan because you know how is it that he structured Michigan's defense while he was in the NFL yeah so we guardo's history it really is about his system you know starting you know you know being at being in the Raven being with the Ravens he had McDonald and Jesse M working under him and he kind of had this had this scheme um going and then when Mike McDonald got poached you know with with Jim and John Hara being Brothers they always were were kind of in coordination with each other talking back and forth with each other and because wink was the defensive coordinator back in 2020 going to 20121 Jim harba asked about Mike McDonald and McDonald agreed to come over to Michigan for one season before he went back to the NFL and you're bringing Jesse Miner another guy who was part of wink system they all do kind of the same thing they all like to it's a pro style defense everyone knows where they are at all times wink is a little more aggressive than McDonald and M are M wasn't necess as aggressive but he had a lot of different schemes where they rush the passer um but in general it it really comes down to looking at a pro style defense where everyone knows their position they like to disguise a lot of different things to the defense like to show you a lot of different looks but really they all kind of do the exact same thing and it's about that kind of Defense that's made it work for so long between these now three coordinators and when wink you know was let go or decided to depart from the Giants whichever the actual story was why he then kind of took over at the spot at Michigan because it really is a very similar style defense to what this these players have been playing the last few years well Jake singer once again of Mason Brew could not be more happy to have you on this has been a great discussion thanks for pushing back too on some of our opinions uh once again Jake singer of wcbn radio also the Big 10 Network plus yeah we could not be more excited to play against Michigan this year against these big 10 opponents definitely helps the you know heal the sting of our old conference being dead now um but yeah and we're very excited to have you on the show thanks a lot Jake thank you guys so much can't wait to see you guys here maybe in the snow but in November it'll be a definitely different atmosphere than maybe this team your organ team might be used to on a normal daily basis or had a good time in the big house in the past yeah it'll be fun definitely the tickets are definitely climbing and the tailgate spots are definitely getting filled up so um my my parents are looking to come out that weekend specifically too so definitely if you're looking to come out definitely recommend getting on that sooner rather than later it'll be a really fun one to watch awesome good good to hear glad to hear uh and hip day of addicted to quack as always thanks for all the work you put into these oh was my pleasure good talking to you Jake good talk to you as well all right and quack quack [Music]