The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1202829
FEBRUARY 2020 THE WOLVERINE 25 OVERALL GRADE This group always left us wanting a little bit more, especially Peoples-Jones. He opted for the NFL Draft after catching 34 passes for 438 yards with six touchdowns, never fully reach- ing his potential. He, too, suffered from a case of the drops in big games at Penn State and home versus Ohio State, and he didn't manage a single 100- yard game this sea- son (or his career). Black seemed to go through the motions early in the season and was never the same after breaking feet in his previous two seasons, while Collins seemed underutilized. The 6-4 Col- lins is a nightmare matchup for cornerbacks, evi- denced by his team-leading seven touchdown grabs and 21.6 yards per reception in Big Ten play, the highest mark in the league. He'll return next year to try to add to his career totals of 78 grabs for 1,388 yards and 13 scores. Freshmen Giles Jackson and Mike Sainristil were pleasant surprises as first-year contributors. NUMBERS TO KNOW Bell (758 yards) and Collins (729) combined for 1,487 receiving yards in 2019, making them the second-best statistical receiving tandem during head coach Jim Har- baugh's five years at Mich- igan. The duo missed setting a new mark by only five yards, with the 1,491 yards that Jehu Ches- son (764) and Amara Darboh (727) compiled in 2015 stand- ing as the record. Wide ReceiveRs MVP SOPHOMORE RONNIE BELL Few would have expected Bell to be the best of the bunch in a group that fea- tured what many considered a "trio of fu- ture NFL receivers" in juniors Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones and redshirt sophomore Tarik Black, but he was. He earned Michigan's Offensive Skill Player of the Year honors with 48 receptions for 758 yards and notched a career-high 150 receiving yards (117 in the first half) on nine catches against Michigan State, dominating the Spartans. Bell's receiving yardage led all Wolver- ines, but it could have been even higher had he caught all the balls thrown his way. He was the most targeted receiver, but key drops against Penn State, Ohio State and Ala- bama prevented what could have been a mon- ster season. Per Pro Football Focus, he suffered from a team-worst eight drops — four more than anybody else. That's one area in which he'll aim to improve in 2020 — but make no mistake, he had an outstand- ing season and will only get better. He was U-M's best route runner and blocker, and gave his heart and soul to the corps in 2019. status Of schOlaRship playeRs GRADUATED: Nate Schoenle* Brendan White* GOING PRO EARLY: Donovan Peoples-Jones TRANSFERRED: Tarik Black ELIGIBILITY REMAINING (YEARS): Nico Collins (1) Ronnie Bell (2) Giles Jackson (3) Cornelius Johnson (3) Mike Sainristil (3) George Johnson (4) * Former walk-ons 2020 PLAYER TO WATCH GILES JACKSON Rising sophomore Cornelius Johnson is going to be a good one, too, but there are so many ways to use Jackson that we expect him to have a breakout season. Jackson lined up in the backfield and caught some big passes on wheel routes from that position, was used on end arounds and became only one of two fresh- men in Michigan history to score via kick return, rush and reception in his first season (joining Gil Chapman, 1972). "Desmond Howard lite" rushed for 69 yards, gained 142 yards on nine receptions and averaged 25.9 yards per kick runback to put himself on the map for the future. B PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Ronnie Bell