The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1265378
THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 153 BY AUSTIN FOX T he beginnings of Michigan's 2015 recruiting class were first assembled when former head coach Brady Hoke (2011‑14) was still running the show in Ann Arbor, and was finished by Jim Harbaugh after he was hired in December 2014. The 14‑man class was significantly smaller than the usual 20‑ to 25‑member hauls fans have become accustomed to seeing at U‑M, with the low quantity being a primary factor as to why the crop was rated No. 49 nationally according to Rivals.com. The overall quality wasn't quite at the same level the Wolverines are used to seeing either, with no members of the Rivals100 signed that year — something that had never happened before in the Rivals era, which dates back to 2002. As is oftentimes the case any time a recruiting class goes through a coaching change, defections occurred at a high rate once the play‑ ers made it to campus, with eight of the 14 members eventually transferring out. Some of the notable contributors who stuck around, however — eventual first‑team All‑Big Ten running back Karan Higdon and left tackle Jon Runyan chief among them — helped change the Michigan culture following the dismal state Hoke had left it in. The group compiled a five‑year record of 47‑18 and enjoyed three 10‑win seasons (2015, 2016 and 2018). TWO BIGGEST STORYLINES EARLY DEPARTURES Four of the players in the class appeared in three games or fewer at Michigan before departing, while seven of the 14 played for another college program after departing Michigan. The number of exits were especially alarming because most occurred prior to the creation of the transfer portal in 2018. However, it shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise when considering the haul was made up of athletes who had pledged to play for Hoke before he was fired. TWO UNDER-THE-RADAR GEMS Running back Karan Higdon and left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. wound up being the two best players from the class, and yet they were two of the least-heralded prospects that U-M brought in that year. Both were rated as three-star recruits out of high school by Rivals.com, and yet each of them earned unanimous first-team All-Big Ten honors during their final years at Michigan (Higdon in 2018, Runyan in 2019). Top Five Players 1. RB Karan Higdon — He got off to a slow start in his Michigan career, only rushing for 19 yards as a freshman in 2015 and then 425 as a sophomore in 2016. The 2017 campaign was when Higdon emerged as the feature back, racking up 994 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging a stellar 6.1 yards per carry. He also tallied a pair of 200-yard efforts that year in victories over Indiana Oct. 14 and Minnesota Nov. 4, and was named the club's Offensive Player of the Year as a result. The Sarasota, Fla., native then built off that breakout campaign as a senior, becom - ing a team captain and rushing for 1,178 yards and 10 scores. He was Michigan's first 1,000-yard running back since Fitzgerald Toussaint in 2011. Higdon surpassed the century mark in eight of the 11 outings he appeared in in 2018, earned unanimous first-team All-Big Ten honors and was named a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award (given annually to the game's top running back). Despite concluding his Wolverine career with 2,616 yards and 27 rushing touch - downs, Higdon went unselected in the 2019 NFL Draft. He did, however, sign a free agent deal with the Houston Texans and has resided on their practice squad ever since. 2. OT Jon Runyan Jr. — The Michigan legacy came to Ann Arbor as an unheralded three-star prospect, having committed to U-M in June 2013 when Brady Hoke was still the head coach. Runyan's career got off to a slow start, with the 6-5, 321-pounder redshirting as a freshman in 2015 and then appearing in only one game in 2016. His playing time picked up in 2017 when he competed in nine outings along the offensive front, but only one of those came with a starting assignment. Position coach Ed Warinner was then hired prior to the 2018 campaign to fix what had been a poor U-M offensive line, and Runyan's career took off as a result. The Moorestown, N.J., native started all 13 games at left tackle in 2018 and earned first- team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches at season's end. His success carried over into 2019, with the fifth-year senior starting 11 games (missed the first two due to injury) and earning unanimous first-team all-conference recognition. Runyan was then selected by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. 3. TE Zach Gentry — He has arguably the most interesting story of any member of the 2015 class, having arrived at Michigan as a four-star quarterback and the No. 105 overall player nationally out of high school. Gentry's time as a quarterback at U-M didn't last long, however, with Jim Harbaugh moving him to tight end following the 2015 campaign. The Albuquerque, N.M., na - tive failed to record a reception as a redshirt freshman in 2016, but then saw his career at his new position take off in 2017, when he compiled 303 receiving yards to finish second on the team in that category, only four behind the team leader. Gentry became a favorite target of quarterback Shea Patterson's in 2018, hauling in 32 catches for 514 yards and two touchdowns on his way to earning third-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches. He chose to leave Ann Arbor after his redshirt junior season and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Gentry started 24 of the 33 games he appeared, and wrapped up his U-M career with 49 receptions for 817 yards and four scores. 4. S Tyree Kinnel — Another prospect that originally committed to Hoke, Kinnel's decision to stick with Harbaugh and the Wolverines wound up paying off in a big way. He played in all 13 games as a backup safety in 2016 before stepping into the starting lineup for 13 contests in 2017, finishing with 70 tackles, 5.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and two interceptions. Kinnel also took home the team's Most Improved Defensive Player Award at season's end. The Huber Heights, Ohio, native was then voted a team captain as a senior in 2018, and finished the year with 74 tackles and three stops behind the line of scrimmage. Kinnel went undrafted in 2019, but signed with the D.C. Defenders of the XFL and racked up 25 tackles with them during the 2020 campaign. The Pittsburgh Steelers signed him to a contract in March 2020. 5. WR Grant Perry — He was one of Harbaugh's late additions to the recruiting class (committing on Feb. 4, 2015), and began his career with a bang by tallying three grabs for 41 yards in the 2015 season opener at Utah. Perry only registered 311 receiving yards and two touchdowns during his first two years on campus, but enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2017. He caught 25 passes and finished with a team-leading 307 yards, while also registering a lone touchdown grab. Perry's receiving total dropped back down to just 147 yards in 2018 as a senior, bringing his career stat line to 72 catches for 765 yards and three scores. The Bloom - field Hills, Mich., native did not spend time on any NFL rosters after graduation, but instead joined the U-M staff as an assistant coach. MIXED RESULTS The 2015 Recruiting Class Produced Some Standout Players, But Also Saw Half Its Members Leave U-M Early