The Wolverine

March 2022

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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82 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2022   MICHIGAN FOOTBALL the offensive line to tight end during the 2020 season. He found a home there in 2021, making five starts at tight end during the Big Ten Championship run and recording his only reception in an Oct. 9 game at Nebraska. With Honigford's return to Michi- gan, the Wolverines are set to have their top three tight ends back from the 2021 depth chart. Erick All announced right after the team's Orange Bowl loss he would be back for his fourth year. Luke Schoonmaker announced in January he will be back for a fifth season with Michigan. Also competing in 2022 for reserve spots at tight end are sophomore Mat- thew Hibner and redshirt freshman Louis Hansen. The Wolverines added a pair of tight ends during the 2022 re- cruiting class in Colston Loveland and Marlin Klein. — Anthony Broome J.J. MCCARTHY NAMED SLEEPER AMONG NATIONAL RETURNERS IN 2022 One of 2022's emerging storylines is the development of former five-star quarterback recruit J.J. McCarthy. He saw doses of action throughout his true freshman season in 2021, but Pro Foot- ball Focus has him as a potential star if he can supplant Cade McNamara for the starting job. "McCarthy played 165 snaps in his 2021 true freshman campaign and dis- played the elite arm talent and athleti- cism that made him a highly regarded recruit in the first place," PFF wrote. "He earned an 84.0 PFF grade across those reps. McCarthy tossed six big- time throws and produced only one turnover-worthy play on 66 drop- backs." It is more than McCarthy's natural arm talent that makes him a sleeper candidate. " O n t h e g ro u n d , t h e 6 - fo o t -3, 197-pound quarterback picked up seven explosive runs of 10 or more yards on 25 attempts, most of which were from designed attempts," they wrote. "We've seen [the Wolverines] incorporate some of the run concepts from Jim Har- baugh's time with the San Francisco 49ers when Colin Kaepernick was his quarterback." — Anthony Broome JIM HARBAUGH HIRES TOM GAMBLE BACK AS DIRECTOR OF PLAYER PERSONNEL Jim Harbaugh has brought back Tom Gamble to be the Michigan director of player personnel, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Gamble will replace Courtney Morgan in the role after Morgan left in December for the same job at Wash- ington. Gamble spent last season as the Jack- sonville Jaguars' senior personnel ex- ecutive under general manager Trent Baalke. Harbaugh had Gamble on his Michigan staff from 2017-19; he was also on the San Francisco 49ers' staff from 2004-12 and 2015-16. Gamble's first stint with the 49ers overlapped with Harbaugh's tenure as head coach. In 2017, Harbaugh added Gamble to U-M's personnel staff. Gamble has also worked for several NFL teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens. He spent 2020 as the Montreal Alouettes' assistant GM in the Canadian Football League. — Chris Balas SAMMY FAUSTIN IS THE LATEST TO ENTER THE TRANSFER PORTAL Michigan football defensive back Sammy Faustin officially entered his name into the transfer portal in early February. The senior and Florida native was not with the team during the 2021 season due to medical reasons, though he remained in school on medical aid. Faustin was a three-star prospect and the No. 534 player in the 2018 recruit- ing class, per the On3 Consensus rank- ings. He was the 89th-rated player in the state of Florida and 43rd-best safety in the class. Faustin signed with Michigan over offers from Arizona, Iowa State, Ken- tucky, Maryland, North Carolina State, Purdue, Virginia and several others. He switched from safety to cornerback during his career but never carved out a role Ann Arbor. He didn't see game action in 2018, taking a redshirt, then appeared in nine games during the 2019 season and one in 2020, with almost all his action coming on special teams. Faustin still has at least two more seasons of eligibility remaining, and he could also seek a medical redshirt for sitting out the 2021 season. Faustin became the seventh former Wolverine to enter the transfer portal since the end of the 2021 season. Line- backer Anthony Solomon (Arizona); cornerbacks Darion Green-Warren (Ne- vada), Andre Seldon (New Mexico State) and George Johnson (UMass); quarter- back Dan Villari; and offensive lineman Chuck Filiaga (Minnesota) are among the departing Michigan football players. — Chris Balas McCarthy threw for 516 yards and five touchdowns against two interceptions, and rushed for another 124 yards and two scores, last fall as the No. 2 quarterback. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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