The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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36 THE WOLVERINE ❱ SEPTEMBER 2023 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE M ichigan's 2019 class checked in at No. 7 overall nation- ally on the On3 Indus- try Ranking. As upperclassmen, this group helped the Wolverines win back- to-back Big Ten titles after a 17-year conference championship drought. A handful of 2019s remain on the roster, ready to continue leading the Maize and Blue to great heights. Recruiting Name Pos. Stars ERICK ALL TE ★★★★ Played in 17 games with two starts in his first two seasons before a breakout junior year in 2021. He finished second on the team with 38 catches and 437 receiving yards, scoring 2 touch- downs and earning honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition. Elected a captain in 2022, All competed in three games with two starts, but a season-ending back injury held him out the rest of the way. He transferred to Iowa last De- cember. KARSEN BARNHART OL ★★★★ Started 15 of his 28 career games over four sea- sons, including 10 last season, when he took over the right tackle job in the middle of the year. The 6-5, 316-pounder is fighting for a starting tackle spot during fall camp. ZACH CARPENTER OL ★★★ Named Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year in 2019, before opening two games at center and appearing in five in 2020. Carpenter transferred to Indiana in December 2020. He logged 13 starts in 15 contests in 2021 and 2022 and is in line to be the Hoosiers' starting center this fall. ZACH CHARBONNET 4 ★★★★ Led Michigan with 726 rushing yards in 2019, and his 11 rushing touchdowns set U-M's fresh- man record for a single season. In 2020, he re- corded 19 rushes for 124 yards and 1 touchdown in five outings with two starts, prior to transfer- ring to UCLA. He surpassed the 1,000-yard rush- ing mark each of the last two seasons with the Bruins, totaling 2,496 yards and 27 touchdowns on the ground. Charbonnet was the third running back taken in the 2023 NFL Draft, going in the second round to the Seattle Seahawks. DAXTON HILL S ★★★★★ + A major contributor right out of the gate, Hill racked up 36 tackles with 3 for loss, 2 fumble re- coveries, 4 pass breakups and 1 interception in 13 outings with three starts in 2019. He opened all six contests in 2020, recording the second-most tack- les on the team (46) and adding 5 pass breakups and 1 interception. Earning first-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches, he tallied 69 tackles, 4.5 for loss, 11 pass breakups and 2 picks in 2021. He was selected No. 31 overall in the first round by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022. CHRISTOPHER HINTON DL ★★★★★ Totaled 9 tackles in 12 games as a freshman, before registering 13 stops with 2 for loss and 1 sack in six clashes in 2020. He broke out in 2021, posting 33 tackles, 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage, 1 sack, 2 pass breakups and 2 fumble recoveries, before leaving early for the NFL and going undrafted. Hinton is currently on the Los Angeles Chargers' roster. GILES JACKSON WR ★★★★ Caught 24 passes for 309 yards and 1 touchdown in 16 games with Michigan from 2019-20. He led the team with 571 all-purpose yards as a sopho- more and returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns be- fore transferring to Washington, where he's a fifth- year senior. In two seasons with 25 appearances as a Husky, Jackson has totaled 36 catches for 415 yards and 1 TD. He's expected to be a rotational piece within a strong receiving corps this season. CORNELIUS JOHNSON WR ★★★★ The lone player from this class to still be on the team and play wide receiver, Johnson scored a pair of 75-yard touchdowns in the 45-23 win at Ohio State in 2022 and has been a key contributor and starter the last three campaigns. He paced the 2019 CLASS REVIEW CHAMPIONS Michigan's 2019 Recruiting Class Helped Wolverines Reach The Next Level Mazi Smith came to Michigan as a four-star defensive lineman from Grand Rapids, Mich. He left Ann Arbor four years later as a first-team All-Big Ten selection and a first-round NFL Draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER