The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1133554
THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 171 Ian Bunting TE 8 D+ Never scored a touchdown as a Wolverine and only recorded 11 catches for 124 yards before transfer- ring to California. Juwann Bushell-Beatty OL 18 B It took a while for him to get on the field, but once he did he made the most of it. He was honor- able mention All-Big Ten in 2018 according to the coaches and media. Freddy Canteen WR 3 D Only had six catches for 22 yards during his career, but he did score a touchdown. He started three times and also tried his hand at cornerback before transferring. Mason Cole OL 51 A Was the first-ever offensive lineman to be a day- one starter for the Wolverines, which led to 51 consecutive starts. He was a three-time All-Big Ten honoree by the coaches and the media. Michael Ferns LB 0 D- Did not see the field as a Wolverine despite being highly rated coming out of high school. He redshirted in 2014 and then transferred to West Virginia. Noah Furbush LB 7 C+ Never an impact player at Michigan, but made a few nice plays during his career, including a couple of interceptions and a fumble recovery for a touch- down against Florida in 2017. Drake Harris WR 2 D Had only nine career receptions for 60 yards as a Wolverine. He ultimately transferred to Western Michigan to finish his collegiate career. Lawrence Marshall DL 1 D+ Stayed the course at U-M, but never made much of a contribution. He finished with just 21 stops, two tackles for loss and one fumble recovery. Bryan Mone DL 19 C Dealt with a lot of injuries while at Michigan and never quite lived up to his lofty reputation as a recruit. He was solid while on the field, but finished with just 43 total tackles, five stops for loss and two fumble recoveries. Brady Pallante DL 0 D- Played in only seven games and recorded just two tackles as a Wolverine before hanging up the cleats. He remained around the program as a grad- uate assistant. Jabrill Peppers LB 25 A- Was a stud, but he did miss almost the entire 2014 season due to injury and didn't make many impact plays in 2015. In 2016, he was a consensus All- American and an early entrant into the NFL Draft. Wilton Speight QB 16 B+ The underrecruited signal-caller was solid for Mich- igan. He didn't blow up and dominate games, but he was a member of the All-Big Ten third team ac- cording to the coaches and media in 2016. He took the graduate transfer route and finished at UCLA. Jared Wangler FB 0 D Came to U-M as a linebacker, but switched to full- back and gave his all to the program. He took home the Robert P. Ufer Bequest in 2018 for demonstrat- ing the most enthusiasm and love for Michigan. He finished with two tackles and two catches, one of which resulted in a touchdown, over his career. Brandon Watson CB 1 C+ Played in 51 games, but started just one. He is one of four players in program history with multiple interception returns for a touchdown. Maurice Ways WR 0 D Appeared in 24 career games and caught seven passes for 71 yards before transferring to Cal. Chase Winovich DL 26 A- Had a great career at Michigan, finishing with 185 tackles, 45 stops for loss and 18 sacks. As a senior in 2018, he earned third-team All-America and first- team All-Big Ten honors, and was tabbed the Bo Schembechler MVP and the Richard Katcher Award winner, which goes to U-M's most outstanding de- fensive lineman or outside linebacker. Class Of 2014 Summary Players In Class — 16 • Rivals Ranking — 31st Name Pos. Starts Ind. Grade Name Pos. Starts Ind. Grade Name Pos. Starts Ind. Grade Final Grade: D The 2014 class had only one consensus All- American in Jabrill Peppers. Chase Winovich got some national attention and Mason Cole was a three-time All-Big Ten pick. After those three, awards and accolades were slim. The group never beat Ohio State or Notre Dame and had a losing record against Michi- gan State. The class also went just 1-3 in bowl games and finished unranked a couple of times as well. Only three players were drafted and just one of those was a first-round pick. All in all, the group fell way short of what a Michigan re- cruiting class needs to be in order to compete on a national scale. Enwere, the No. 45 running back in the country per Rivals, was solid for Cal, finishing his career with 1,411 yards and 17 touchdowns. He signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent, but did not make the team. Mack finished his career at South Florida with 3,609 yards and 32 touchdowns. He left college early for the league and was drafted in the fourth round, No. 132 overall, by the Indianapolis Colts. He started to find his way on the field last year on an improved Indy team. The bottom line — Hoke and Michigan were tar- geting some very talented players and striking out on all of them was yet another sign that time was running out. More Than Half Didn't Produce: If you're only going to sign 16 players, you need many of them to pan out, but that simply didn't happen with the 2014 class. The following can be labeled "misses" based on how their careers played out at Michigan. Tight end Ian Bunting, wide receiver Freddy Can- teen, linebacker Michael Ferns, wide receiver Drake Harris, defensive lineman Lawrence Marshall, de- fensive lineman Brady Pallante, linebacker Jared Wangler and wide receiver Maurice Ways all fell way short of their desired career paths in Ann Arbor. When you throw in linebacker Noah Furbush and defensive lineman Bryan Mone's limited contributions you have 10 of 16 that can't be viewed as big timers. That means that only six signees can be viewed as "hits." Offensive center Mason Cole, defensive back/linebacker Jabrill Peppers and defensive end Chase Winovich are the major standouts. Offensive lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty, quarterback Wilton Speight and cornerback Brandon Watson were solid enough to be considered successful signees. Mason Cole — Rivals' No. 6 of- fensive tackle and No. 92 overall prospect nationally coming out of Tarpon Springs (Fla.) East Lake — became the first true freshman at U-M to start a season opener on the offensive line. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL