The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 27 pressure in his first start. Enter sopho- more J.J. McCarthy, who has been out- standing for most of the year. Though he's still working on his touch on the deep ball, his numbers — 111-for- 144 (77.1 percent!) for 1,297 yards with 9 touchdowns against 2 picks — have been outstanding. He's still working on ball protection — he's been fortunate his teammates have recovered his fumbles and has had a few potential picks dropped — but he's been incredible for a first-year starter. In addition to being a great game man- ager, McCarthy is also starting to pick it up with his feet. He had 57 rushing yards against Penn State and has 147 this sea- son, averaging 5.3 per rush. OFFENSIVE LINE — A They said this line could be better than last year's, and it's shaping up that way. Injuries prevented the starting five from playing together for much of the noncon- ference. Now that they're back, they're starting to dominate, even with senior Trente Jones out vs. Penn State with a high ankle sprain. Senior Karsen Barnhart stepped in for him and played extremely well. This unit is at its best run blocking, led by the interior. Grad student Olu Olu- watimi is one of the strongest centers Michigan has had, a road grader. Junior right guard Zak Zinter and senior left guard Trevor Keegan have been nasty, and grad student left tackle Ryan Hayes is getting better and better. Sophomore Giovanni El-Hadi, too, is showing signs of being an outstanding guard down the line, having filled in for some of his injured linemates. TIGHT ENDS — A- Senior Erick All has missed the last sev- eral games with a reported back injury, and may not be back for the rest of the year. Enter grad student Luke Schoon- maker, who has been outstanding as a pass catcher and —at times — as a blocker. He's proving to be one of the league's best tight ends, as head coach Jim Harbaugh predicted he would. He's caught 23 passes (second overall on the team behind Bell) for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns. He's averaging 10.0 yards per grab, and there are times he's thrown key blocks on big runs. Walk-on Max Bredeson has been a pleasant surprise, having added 4 catches for 74 yards. His blocking has been the most impressive part of his game. He hits with a purpose and has moved up the depth chart because of it. The Wolverines are also getting solid contributions from veteran Matt Hibner and true freshman Colston Loveland, who looks like a future pass-catching star. OFFENSIVE GRADE OVERALL — A- We'd like to see a bit more from the passing game and more balance overall. At the same time, there's no arguing with bullying people into submission on the ground. The offensive line has set the tone, and McCarthy has been outstand- ing as a sophomore game manager and leader. Corum, though, is the MVP. Enjoy him while you can, folks. DEFENSE DEFENSIVE LINE — A Fox analyst Joel Klatt opened some eyes when he said on his weekly podcast this Michigan defensive line might be better than last year's that included first-round pick Aidan Hutchinson and second- rounder David Ojabo. He might be right, though, especially on the interior. This group is getting it done by com- mittee in the pass rush game. The Wol- verines are ranked ninth nationally in sacks with 24 in seven games … last year's squad had 34 in twice as many games. Senior edge Mike Morris has been strong with a team-leading 5 sacks for 35 yards, also leading the team with 8 tackles for loss. Grad transfer Eyabi Okie has been outstanding as an edge rusher, too, with 2.5 sacks and several pressures. In the middle, senior Mazi Smith has been outstanding, junior Kris Jenkins has Senior Mike Morris has elevated his play this season and is a game-wrecker on the edge. Through seven contests, he leads the U-M defense with 8 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN