The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1083898
MARCH 2019 THE WOLVERINE 19 tack the defense relentlessly. There might be a little Harbaugh in the rookie QB, something his new head coach had to appreciate during an early encounter. "Cade McNamara is a gunslinger, and likes to go back with no con- science and just fire the ball," Har- baugh said. "He was a record-setting quarterback in Nevada, and from the moment I met him, I could tell he was the one." He was the one who racked up 12,084 passing yards and 146 touch- downs in his prep career. McNamara set Nevada state records in both cate- gories during a four-year varsity run. He'll grow along with an offensive line that features the talent to chal- lenge for spots in the two-deep early on, but likely won't be pressed into starting action. The group features high-end ability as well as depth and potential to grow, with six linemen filling in behind the veteran group Michigan already features. Rivals. com ranked the front-line haul as the fourth-best group of offensive line- men nationally. A certain neighboring state pro- vided the headliner for the group. Nolan Rumler, the 6-3, 310-pounder out of Akron (Ohio) Archbishop Ho- ban High, gets a major seal of ap- proval from his new head coach. "I thought Nolan Rumler was the best interior offensive lineman in the entire country," Harbaugh opined. "We've been recruiting him all four years I've been here. He's a Go-Blue guy all the way, and was a four-time state champion at Hoban." While Rumler certainly draws the attention among the interior line prospects, a couple of tackles Michi- gan brought in feature plenty of ath- leticism and muscle. U-M reached into nearby Illinois for Crystal Lake High's Trevor Keegan, who commit- ted later in the process to put a nice capper on a strong haul overall. "Keegan is a prototypical left tackle," Harbaugh noted, before in- jecting a projection for far down the road, concerning the 6-6, 301-pound newcomer. "My dream for Keegan is for him to someday play for the Chicago Bears, and the Michigan alumni in Chicago need to know Keegan is one of their own," Harbaugh added. Trente Jones (6-4, 302), out of Lo- ganville (Ga.) Grayson and Karsen Barnhart (6-4, 277), from nearby Paw Paw (Mich.) High, will also bolster the ranks of Michigan's offensive tackles. "Trente Jones is a prototypical ath- letic tackle as well, and so is Karsen Barnhart," Harbaugh said. "Zach Carpenter is one of our 450-pound bench-pressers, and so is Nolan." Carpenter (6-4, 316) hails from Ohio and the football powerhouse Cincinnati Moeller. Jack Stewart (6- 4, 280) out of New Canaan (Conn.) rounds out the strong group of new- comers along the front wall. "Jack Stewart will be an offensive lineman here, even though he played some defensive line in high school," Harbaugh clarified. The new half-dozen will be fitting in with and battling behind veterans, for the most part. The same might not be true of early enrollee Zach Charbonnet, the standout running back from Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian. With Karan Higdon gone and rising-senior Chris Evans' status in doubt, Charbonnet (6-1, 222) pos- sesses the size and measureables to make the biggest early freshman im- pact since Mike Hart came along. Harbaugh didn't discourage the notion of Charbonnet as one the class gems, either. The freshman piled up 4,766 rushing yards and 66 to- tal touchdowns over his prep career, rushing 215 times for 1,795 yards and 17 scores in his final campaign, a year after going for more than 2,000 as a junior. "The most valuable player in the class next to [safety] Dax Hill is Zach Charbonnet," Harbaugh offered. "He's fleet-footed and has great bal- ance, and also comes from a tremen- dous family. I think you'll see him make an immediate impact, and I think Dax Hill will, too — I don't usually put that kind of pressure on freshmen, but I believe they're that special." Michigan lists only Charbonnet as a running back in this class, and tight end Erick All (6-4, 225) out of Fair- field (Ohio) High draws the same distinction at his position. He joins a veteran crew of tight ends, minus Zach Gentry, who bolted early for the NFL following his redshirt junior season. All appears to possess a quality several Michigan tight ends have demonstrated in recent years — the The trio of (from left to right) Zach Carpenter, Karsen Barnhart and Nolan Rumler help make up an offensive line group that Rivals ranked as the fourth-best class of blockers nationally. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN Head coach Jim Harbaugh "I love the entire class. They're not allergic to work. They're coming in to make Michigan and themselves great, and I couldn't be happier with the group."