The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 17 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL fourth-best NFL talent in the whole confer- ence and the nation's seventh-best overall quarterback. Lavert Hill garnered plenty of praise as well, with the outlet calling him the fourth- best senior cornerback in the 2020 NFL Draft, the game's fifth best overall corner- back, the Big Ten's "Best Cover Corner" and the sixth-best pro talent in the league. A few other individual winners of league awards included junior wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones being recognized for having the "Best Hands," Runyan for being the top "Pass Blocker" and freshman running back Zach Charbonnet as the "Newcomer of the Year." A total of 12 Maize and Blue athletes earned all-conference honors, with Patter- son, Runyan, Bredeson, Lavert Hill, Me- tellus and redshirt junior punter Will Hart all tabbed to the league's first team; Peoples- Jones, senior tight end Sean McKeon, junior center Cesar Ruiz and senior right guard Michael Onwenu to the second unit; and senior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp and senior viper Khaleke Hudson landing on the third squad. Runyan (first team) and Bredeson (sec- ond team) also earned All-America hon- ors, while the latter was named the nation's best offensive guard. Additionally, Ruiz was dubbed the country's fourth-best center, Ru- nyan the fourth-best offensive tackle, Hart the fifth-best punter, Hudson the eighth- best outside linebacker, Metellus the 10th- best safety and Peoples-Jones the 15th-best wideout. Lindy's additionally recognized three U-M positional units as being among the 10 best in the country, with the club's receivers and offensive line both checking in at No. 3, and the defensive backs at No. 9. "Michigan has an accommodating sched- ule, as Michigan State and Ohio State come to Ann Arbor," they wrote in their 'Our Call' section. "The offensive talent could be as good as any in the Big Ten. And motivation won't be an issue. But can Michigan avoid the big-game yips? We say yes. Book that trip to Indianapolis … finally." ATHLON SPORTS Of the four publications, Athlon is the second highest on Michigan (behind Phil Steele), ranking it No. 4 nationally with a predicted 12-1 record that includes a victory over Nebraska in the Big Ten title game, before an eventual defeat at the hands of Alabama in the CFP's Peach Bowl. "While it'll be interesting to see how the Wolverines fill the holes on both sides of the ball, it's certainly not uncharted territory for Harbaugh and his program," they wrote. "After doing it once before with arguably a bigger rebuild in 2017, the Wolverines look primed to make another run at the Big Ten East title." Athlon singled out 12 league games to watch in 2019, and included the Maize and Blue in half of them: the Sept. 21 trip to Wisconsin, the Oct. 5 showdown with Iowa, the Oct. 19 trek to Penn State, the Oct. 26 home date with Notre Dame, the Nov. 16 rivalry matchup with MSU and finally the Nov. 30 clash against Ohio State. Athlon also recognized Bredeson and La- vert Hill as second-team All-Americans and first-team All-Big Ten performers, while adding Patterson, Peoples-Jones and Me- tellus to the league's first-team list; Ruiz, Runyan and Hart to the second-team squad; and Onwenu, junior defensive end Kwity Paye (also tabbed as a "Rising Star" on Michigan's roster), Hudson and sophomore kicker Jake Moody to the third team. The publication also credited Michigan with having the Big Ten's best quarterbacks, wide receivers/tight ends and offensive line, while recognizing U-M's signal-callers as the seventh-best such group in the country, the pass catchers as the fifth best, the offen- sive line as the sixth best and the linebackers as the 10th best. Finally, Patterson was pegged 10th over- all in Athlon's 2019 Heisman watch, with the outlet describing how vital he has been (and will be) to the team's success. "Patterson brought some much-needed stability to the quarterback position at Mich- igan in his first season in Ann Arbor," they recalled. "He threw for 2,600 yards and 22 TDs while adding 273 yards on the ground. The Wolverines will need a big season from their senior QB to knock off mighty Ohio State in the Big Ten East." PHIL STEELE The publication that claims to be "the most accurate magazine over the last 21 years" is the highest on Michigan of the four examined, penciling in the Wolverines at No. 3 nationally and predicting them to fall to Alabama in the CFP. Steele awarded three Maize and Blue players with All-America recognition, de- claring Bredeson a first-teamer, Lavert Hill a third-teamer and Runyan a fourth-teamer. Twelve different Wolverines, meanwhile, were given All-Big Ten accolades, with Patterson, Bredeson, Runyan, Lavert Hill, Metellus and Peoples-Jones (as a punt re- turner) landing on the first-team squad; Ruiz, Onwenu, Hudson, Hart, Peoples- Jones (as a wideout) and redshirt junior long snapper Camaron Cheeseman on the second-team unit; and Kemp on the third- team crew. The expert also placed five different U-M positional units among the 10 best in the nation, with the offensive line and defen- sive backs each checking in at No. 4; the quarterbacks and special teams both land- ing at No. 7; and the linebackers showing up at No. 10. Steele tabbed U-M's quarterbacks, of- fensive line, defensive backs and special teams as the conference's best; while plac- ing its linebackers second and the receiving unit third. Eight Michigan Men appeared in the guru's rankings of the top 2020 NFL Draft- eligible players, with Bredeson and junior Ben Mason topping the list at offensive guard and fullback, respectively. Metellus was rated the next highest as the sixth-best safety, while Patterson and Runyan checked in close behind as the sev- enth-best quarterback and offensive tackle, respectively. Ruiz (center), Lavert Hill (cor- nerback) and redshirt junior tight end Nick Eubanks rounded out the group by each ranking No. 9 at their respective positions. Steele declared Michigan's schedule as the ninth toughest in the country before giv- ing his final verdict on the 2019 Wolverines. "Jim Harbaugh is 2-7 against Ohio State, Michigan State and Notre Dame but gets all three of those at home," he explained. "My main two sets of power ratings call for Michigan to run the table at 12-0 and yes that would include their first win over Ohio State since 2011! Michigan makes the playoff." — Austin Fox