The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Michigan is expected to start 11 players in 2019 that were rated as four-star recruits out of high school and two that were pegged as five-star talents (senior quarterback Shea Patterson and junior wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones). With several starting positions still up for grabs, the number of four-stars could actually increase if athletes such as red- shirt junior Nick Eubanks and freshman Zach Charbonnet, for example, claim the starting gigs at tight end and running back, respectively. Two of the most talent-laden units on U-M's entire team appear to be the wide receiver corps and offensive line. The Wol- verines are projected to start a five-star (Peoples-Jones) and two four-stars (junior Nico Collins and redshirt sophomore Tarik Black) at wide receiver, and four four-stars (senior left guard Ben Bredeson, junior cen- ter Cesar Ruiz, senior right guard Michael Onwenu and redshirt freshman right tackle Jalen Mayfield) on the offensive line. Despite the loss of six starters from last season, Michigan's defense is still littered with four-star talent as well, specifically at cornerback where senior Lavert Hill and ju- nior Ambry Thomas — b o t h t o p - 2 0 0 prospects out of high school — will likely man the position. T h e d e f e n s i v e line is anticipated to start a four-star duo as well in senior tackle Carlo Kemp and sophomore end Aidan Hutchinson, and could add a third if redshirt sophomore Donovan Jeter beats out redshirt junior Michael Dwumfour for a starting tackle spot. Head coach Jim H a r b a u g h r e e l e d in consecutive No. 4-ranked recruiting classes in 2016 and 2017, and the players from those elite hauls will make up the bulk of the club's starting spots in 2019. — Austin Fox Junior wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones is one of two former five-star recruits expect- ed to start for Michigan this fall, along with quarterback Shea Patterson. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Where Every Projected Michigan Starter Was Ranked Out Of High School Pos. Player Stars Overall Rank Position Rank QB Shea Patterson 5 3 1 RB Christian Turner 3 — 18 WR Donovan Peoples-Jones 5 12 1 WR Nico Collins 4 120 17 WR Tarik Black 4 76 11 TE Sean McKeon 3 — 34 LT Jon Runyan 3 — 45 (OG) LG Ben Bredeson 4 60 2 C Cesar Ruiz 4 41 1 RG Michael Onwenu 4 147 7 RT Jalen Mayfield 4 — 17 DE Kwity Paye 3 — 35 (WDE) DT Carlo Kemp 4 215 11 (WDE) DT Michael Dwumfour 3 — — DE Aidan Hutchinson 4 129 8 (SDE) LB Khaleke Hudson 3 — 26 (ATH) LB Devin Gil 3 — — LB Josh Ross 4 222 15 (OLB) CB Lavert Hill 4 176 14 CB Ambry Thomas 4 146 15 S Josh Metellus 3 — — S J'Marick Woods 3 — 45 This fall, Ohio State will possess the most players rated as four-star prospects or higher out of high school with a total of 53 (43 four-stars and 10 five-stars). What is a bit surprising, however, is that Penn State actually edges out Michigan for the next most with 45 compared to U-M's 39. The Nittany Lions have finished with a top-12 re- cruiting class every year since 2017, while U-M's 2018 haul only included seven four-stars (and no five-stars) and stumbled to a No. 24 finish nationally. The Maize and Blue will boast five five-stars on their team in 2019 (senior quarterback Shea Pat- terson, junior wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, redshirt sophomore linebacker Jordan Anthony, freshman defensive tackle Chris Hinton and fresh- man safety Daxton Hill), which is second in the Big Ten only to Ohio State's 10. There is a massive drop-off on the list after U-M's 39 combined four- and five-star athletes, with Ne- braska checking in at fourth with just 23. In addition, Iowa ( junior defensive end A.J. Epenesa), Maryland (senior linebacker Keandre Jones and redshirt junior linebacker Shaq Smith) and Northwestern (redshirt sophomore quarterback Hunter Johnson) are actually the only other clubs outside of OSU, Penn State and Michigan in the entire conference that even have a five-star on its roster, and three of the four are transfers (Epenesa is the lone exception). Failing to pull in immense high school talent doesn't always translate to problems on the field. Northwest- ern is the perfect example. The Wildcats are slated to have the least talented club in the league in 2019 with just three combined four- and five-stars, yet took home the Big Ten West last season before con- cluding with a 9-5 record. On the flip side, Ohio State, Penn State and Michi- gan have also proven in recent years how much on-field success can correlate with elite recruiting classes, with the trio combining to go 63-17 over the last two seasons. — Austin Fox Four- And Five-Stars On Every Big Ten Roster Team Four-Stars Five-Stars Total Ohio State 43 10 53 Penn State 42 3 45 Michigan 34 5 39 Nebraska 23 0 23 Maryland 17 2 19 Michigan State 19 0 19 Wisconsin 16 0 16 Illinois 11 0 11 Minnesota 8 0 8 Iowa 6 1 7 Indiana 6 0 6 Purdue 6 0 6 Rutgers 6 0 6 Northwestern 2 1 3 U-M's Roster Checks In As The Third-Most Talented In The Big Ten Michigan's 2019 Roster Is Draped With Talent Throughout