The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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1 Junior cornerback AMBRY THOMAS — "Potential" has been the word on Thomas over the last few years, and the Wolverines need him to live up to it this year after David Long headed to the NFL a year early. Thomas, who has speed and is an outstanding athlete, will be under the spotlight this year and tested, while elite se- nior Lavert Hill takes away the other half of the field. Cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich believes he'll be up to the task. 2 Sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson — Hutchinson, son of former Michigan All-American defensive tackle Chris Hutchinson, is a future pro accord- ing to some close to the program. He had a phenomenal spring and will be asked to take over for Rashan Gary, who left after his third year and is now with the Green Bay Packers. Hutchin- son wasn't as productive in the second half of last season — he notched seven of his 15 stops in the non-conference portion of the schedule — but was still the team's Defensive Rookie of the Year and has great potential. 3 Redshirt sophomore receiver Tarik Black — All eyes are on ju- niors Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones, and rightfully so. But Black was considered the best of the three before a pair of foot injuries set him back the last couple of years. He's caught 15 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown in his career to date — expect those numbers to go up dramatically this fall. 4 Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Donovan Jeter — Jeter made a great early impression as a freshman before he got hurt and, though he made seven appearances, last year was about getting his confidence back. The 6-3, 308-pounder has since added good weight and moved inside, becoming one of the pleas- ant surprises of the spring on the interior line. 5 Redshirt freshman cornerback Vincent Gray — Michigan is going to need another player to emerge at the corner position, and the 6-2, 184-pounder might just be the guy. He had a quiet freshman campaign, but put in his time during the offseason and is now in contention to possibly even start, pushing Thomas at the other cornerback spot opposite Hill. THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 49 TOP FIVE STRONGEST POSITION GROUPS 1. QUARTERBACKS Michigan's quarterback room hasn't been this strong since the late 1990s, when Tom Brady and Drew Henson were battling it out and splitting time. It's reminiscent of the mid-1990s, when there were a handful of NFL-caliber passers vying for time. Senior Shea Patterson and redshirt sophomore Dylan McCaffrey will both play, head coach Jim Harbaugh reported in June. Redshirt freshman Joe Milton and rookie Cade McNamara are also outstanding talents. 2 Wide Receivers As a freshman, Tarik Black was considered the best of an incred- ible wide receiver class. Injuries have slowed his progress, but the redshirt sophomore is back and ready to prove he's the same talented guy. Juniors Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones combined for 1,244 yards and 14 touchdowns receiving last season and have All-Big Ten talent, and young slot receivers Ronnie Bell, a sophomore, and freshman Mike Sain- ristil help add to U-M's embarrassment of riches at this position. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is in charge of the position as well and has routinely brought the best out of play- ers in his young coaching career. 3 Offensive Line Gattis told people at a func- tion in Grand Rapids, Mich., this line was one of the best he'd been around … and this is a guy who coached for an elite Alabama squad last year and spent four seasons at Penn State, where he helped them to the 2016 Big Ten championship and a pair of top-10 national finishes in years three and four under James Franklin. The left side to center — fifth-year senior tackle Jon Runyan Jr., senior guard Ben Bredeson and junior center Cesar Ruiz — is one of the best trios in the country. All have earned some All-Big Ten honors and will be favored to capture more this year. 4 Linebackers Devin Bush Jr. was arguably the best Michigan linebacker in decades and one of the Wolverines' best of all time. He's off to the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers, but there's still a lot of tal- ent here. Senior viper Khaleke Hudson showed what he could do two years ago (when Pro Football Focus named him first-team All-Big Ten), and fifth- year senior Jordan Glasgow (28 tackles in 2018) might be one of the team's most underrated players. He had a great spring. Junior Josh Ross was an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection last year after notching 61 tackles, and redshirt sophomore Devin Gil has experience (33.5 tackles in 2018), while hybrid se- nior Josh Uche broke out with a team- high 7.0 sacks last season. There's great young talent waiting in the wings, too, in redshirt freshmen Michael Barrett and Cam McGrone — and nobody in the group was rated as highly coming out of high school as former five-star recruit Jordan An- thony, now a redshirt sophomore. 5 Cornerbacks Every position on the team has a few question marks, and for the corners it's who plays opposite senior All-Big Ten standout and third-team All-American Lavert Hill? Junior Ambry Thomas and redshirt freshman Vin- cent Gray have a world of potential, even if they don't have the experience. TOP FIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN 2019 SEASON PREVIEW