The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Class Of 2018 Summary Name Position Appearances Ind. Grade Michael Barrett LB 49 B+ A multi-position athlete, Barrett was a high school quarterback who tran- sitioned to playing linebacker at Michigan. He was seen as a fit for the VIPER position in Don Brown's defense but had to reinvent himself at linebacker in the last two seasons. He returns for a sixth season in 2023 and is expected to start at linebacker with 49 games of experience already under his belt. Ronnie Bell WR 45 A- It is not very often that the lowest-ranked non-special teamer in a recruiting class emerges as one of your stars, but that is what happened for Bell, a two- time Michigan captain. He appeared in 45 games over five seasons in Ann Arbor, recording 145 catches for 2,269 yards and 9 touchdowns, and was a two-time All-Big Ten honoree (third team, coaches and media in 2022, honorable mention from media in 2019). Sammy Faustin S 10 D Faustin, who switched from safety to cornerback, never found much of a role in Ann Arbor. He did not see game action in 2018, taking a redshirt. He appeared in nine games during the 2019 season and one in 2020. The vast majority of his snaps were played on special teams. Faustin transferred after the 2021 season and appeared in 11 games last year at UMass. Vincent Gray CB 35 B Gray made 21 starts at cornerback, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2021. He was not selected in the 2022 NFL Draft but has spent time with the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams. Gemon Green CB 42 B- Green was a steady riser for U-M throughout his college career, starting 24 games over his last three seasons in a Wolverine uniform. He appeared in 42 games throughout his career and was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection from the coaches and media in 2022. German Green S 34 C The other Green brother has mostly been a reserve and special teams partici- pant throughout his time at Michigan and returns for a sixth season in 2023. He has played in 34 games in Ann Arbor, recording 9 total tackles. Hassan Haskins RB 37 A Haskins left Michigan as a two-time All-Big Ten honoree and was an All-Ameri- can by the AP and American Football Coaches Association after rushing for 1,327 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2021. He saw action at linebacker early in his career but wound up being a very productive runner and was a fourth-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in the 2022 NFL Draft. Ryan Hayes OT 40 B+ The former high school tight end transitioned to the offensive line and was a steady presence for the Wolverines, appearing in 40 career games with 29 starts at left tackle. Hayes was a two-time All-Big Ten selection (second team, coaches, third team, media in 2022; second team, coaches, honorable mention, media in 2021) and a seventh-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 2023 NFL Draft. Aidan Hutchinson EDGE 43 A+ The crown jewel of the class wound up being one of the most impactful players in recent program history. Hutchinson had moments early on in his career but put it all together in 2021 with a program-record 14 sacks en route to multiple individual honors. Those included finishing runner-up in the Heisman Trophy race, unanimous first-team All-America recognition and going as the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Griffin Korican OT 8 D Mainly a reserve, but about what could have been projected for a lightly re- cruited lineman. Korican was a three-time letterman who played in two games at right tackle as a senior in 2021. Also contributed on special teams in his junior and senior seasons. Jalen Mayfield OT 18 B Mayfield's time on the Michigan roster was limited to only 18 appearances with 15 starts in his career, but he was an honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree in 2019 and parlayed that into a third-round selection in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Cameron McGrone LB 19 B- McGrone stepped in to replace Devin Bush following his departure from Michi- gan, but never quite filled those huge shoes. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree in 2019 and played in five games in 2020 before tearing his ACL. McGrone declared early for the 2021 NFL Draft and was a fifth-round pick of the New England Patriots. Joe Milton QB 14 D+ Coming out of the 2020 camp as the starting quarterback, Milton was expected to be a star after a few seasons of refining his raw skill set. It never panned out that way, and he was benched at Rutgers in 2020. He transferred to Tennessee and started early but was benched in favor of Hendon Hooker in 2021. Milton is expected to start for the Vols in 2023. Jake Moody K 60 A Moody won the Lou Groza Award in 2021 as the nation's best kicker, the first in program history. He followed it up with another strong season in 2022 and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Mustapha Muhammad TE 2 F He appeared in two games in his Michigan career, both in 2019. Muhammad was accused of sexual assault while in Ann Arbor and departed the program. He was set to head to Houston but never enrolled before saying he would go to Kilgore Community College in Texas. Muhammad never appeared on its roster. Luke Schoonmaker TE 43 B+ Schoonmaker appeared in 43 games with 20 starts in Ann Arbor, hauling in 54 catches for 637 yards and 7 touchdowns in his career. The two-time All-Big Ten selection (third team, coaches, honorable mention, media in 2022; honorable mention, coaches and media in 2021) was a second-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 2023 NFL Draft. Myles Sims CB 0 F Sims took a redshirt season at Michigan as a freshman and then transferred to Georgia Tech the following year in 2019. He has recorded 95 total tackles and an interception in four years there and returns for a sixth collegiate season in 2023. Christian Turner RB 14 D Turner played in 14 career games at Michigan before transferring following the 2020 season. He rushed for 1,022 yards over the last two seasons at Wake Forest before transferring to Indiana ahead of the 2023 campaign. Taylor Upshaw EDGE 37 C+ Upshaw appeared in 37 games during his Michigan career with two starting assignments, recording 36 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks and 1 inter- ception. He transferred to Colorado during the 2023 offseason before re-entering the portal and landing at Arizona. Ben VanSumeren LB 15 D He played 15 career games at Michigan, seeing action at both linebacker and running back, before transferring to Michigan State in 2021. He played in 24 games with the Spartans and 39 collegiate games overall. Julius Welschof EDGE 35 C- The German product appeared in 35 contests for U-M during his career, mostly as a reserve. He finished his four years in Ann Arbor with 23 total tackles, half a tackle for loss and 1 pass defended before transferring to UNC Charlotte for the 2023 season. Final Grade: A- Every recruiting class has its fair share of hits and misses, but this one came out of nowhere to deliver some of Harbaugh's most impactful players. Aiden Hutchinson and Hassan Haskins darn near took down the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2021 on their own, which helped Michigan meet one of the goals set when Harbaugh was hired. By our count, 11 of the 21 players signed were hits, and the biggest ones helped change the narrative in Ann Arbor and push the Wolverines back into the contending conversation. Eight players were taken in the NFL Draft. There was a sandpaper-like grit to those who stayed from this cycle that made it as good as it was. One of the biggest marks against this class was a third straight group with- out a starting-caliber quarterback to build the program around. Joe Milton could wind up salvaging his career at Tennessee this fall, but it still will have been almost three years since getting his shot to run the show at Michigan. McGrone and Jalen Mayfield could have been part of something special had they stuck around, which might have also benefitted their pro careers. It is these types of classes that inspire hope that U-M's renaissance is sus- tainable regardless of stars or grades. 144 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW