The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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144 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Trente Jones OT 41 B Made 37 appearances on the offensive line with 12 starts at right tackle dur- ing his career, primarily playing as an extra blocker in jumbo formations. Jones signed with the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2024 before retiring after rookie camp. Trevor Keegan OT 44 A Started 37 games at left guard for the Wolverines and was named a team captain ahead of the 2023 campaign. One of the key cogs in two straight Joe Moore Award-winning offensive lines in 2021-22 and was a three-time All-Big Ten selection. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Quintel Kent WR 0 — Kent never suited up for the Wolverines due to health concerns and a medi- cal situation, but he stayed enrolled at Michigan to continue to pursue his education. Cade McNamara QB 21 B+ Third-team All-Big Ten selection appeared in 21 games with 16 starts, 14 com- ing during the 2021 season. Compiled a 13-3 record as a Michigan starter and helped lead the team to its first Big Ten championship game and College Foot- ball Playoff appearances. Named a captain ahead of 2022 season before losing starting job to J.J. McCarthy. Transferred to Iowa after the 2022 campaign and will play his sixth season with the Hawkeyes in 2024. Mike Morris EDGE 27 A- Appeared in 27 games with 16 starts overall, headlined by a 2022 season that included 23 tackles, a team-high 7.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, 4 quarterback hurries, 3 passes defended, 1 forced fumble and a blocked kick. His play earned him second-team All-America honors along with a first-team All-Big Ten nod and the conference's Defensive Lineman of the Year award. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks. Gabe Newberg EDGE 0 — Ohio native and three-star recruit was limited to four games played in 2020, making 3 tackles on the season. He did not see game action in 2019 and 2021 and would later medically retire from football. David Ojabo EDGE 20 A Exploding onto the scene late in his career, Ojabo appeared in 20 games with eight starts in three seasons at Michigan. His breakout season came in 2021 with 14 appearances and six starts, racking up 35 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, 3 passes defended, 8 quarterback hurries, a program-record 5 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Finished his career as a first-team All-Big Ten selection and a second-team All-American before declaring for the 2022 NFL Draft, going in the second round to the Baltimore Ravens. Jalen Perry CB 12 C- The four-star prospect out of Georgia was limited to 12 games during his career with six appearances in the secondary. Perry was not on the roster last season and did not play anywhere else. Nolan Rumler IOL 2 D Four-star recruit and top-200 prospect was limited to two games during his career before transferring to Kent State, where he finished out his career in 2023 for the Golden Flashes. Mike Sainristil WR 62 A Perhaps the crown jewel of the class, the two-time captain (2022-23) kicked off his career as a wide receiver and tallied 37 catches for 539 yards and 5 touchdowns between the 2019-21 seasons. Prior to the 2022 campaign, he switched to defensive back and finished his career with 108 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 7 interceptions (2 for touchdowns), 13 passes defended and 2 forced fumbles. He left as a first-team All-American in 2023, a two-time All-Big Ten selection (2022-23) and the program record-holder in single-season interception return yards with 232 in 2023. Also recorded the longest interception return in CFP title game history (81 yards, 2024). Mazi Smith DT 35 A- Appeared in 35 career games with 28 starts, capped off by 2022 season where he started all 14 games at nose tackle with 48 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack. His play earned him All-Big Ten first-team honors. The Dallas Cow- boys selected Smith in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Anthony Solomon LB 24 D The four-star recruit appeared in 24 career games with 6 appearances on defense. He finished with 6 career tackles and never quite found a role in Don Brown's defense as a Viper candidate. Solomon appeared in six games for Arizona in 2022 after transferring. Jack Stewart OT 0 F Did not see game action in three seasons in Ann Arbor before transferring to UConn in spring 2022. Charles Thomas LB 2 D- Appeared in two games his freshman season before transferring out in 2020 and never resurfaced as a football player. DJ Turner II CB 36 B+ Appeared in 36 games with 22 starts at U-M, breaking out halfway through the 2021 season with 8 starts before starting all 14 games in 2022. The two-time All-Big Ten selection finished his career with 69 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions (1 for a touchdown) and a fumble recovery. He was a second- round selection of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2023 NFL Draft. Joey Velazquez LB 20 D+ The two-sport (baseball) Columbus, Ohio, native was primarily a special teamer recruited to play Viper but did not see game action during the 2019 and 2023 seasons. He transferred to Ohio State after last season's Big Ten championship game. Name Position Appearances Ind. Grade Name Position Appearances Ind. Grade Quarterback Cade McNamara came off the bench to lead U-M to a 48-42 win in triple-overtime at Rutgers in 2020, then helped lead the Wolverines to a series of milestones as the starter in 2021: the 42-27 victory over Ohio State in the Big House, the Big Ten championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN