The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/402034
MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Hot 11: Ranking The Wolverines Through Seven Games Each week during the season, TheWolverine.com ranks the top 11 performers from the previous game. Over the course of seven games, we've tabulated the re- sults from those features to bring you the Hot 11 heading into the second half of Michigan's slate. 1. LB Jake Ryan — Ryan's transi- tion to middle linebacker was a bit slow, but he now looks comfort- able there and has amassed team highs in tackles (56) and tack- les for loss (nine). Ryan has also sacked the quarterback twice and has hurried the QB three times. His 10 tackles, three stops behind the line of scrimmage and one sack against Penn State earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors. 2. QB Devin Gardner — Gard- ner was a warrior against Penn State, willing himself to lead the team to victory on a bum ankle. Through seven games, Gardner has thrown six touchdowns and eight inter- ceptions while completing 63.2 percent of his passes. The numbers won't wow anyone, but he's as important to this team as anyone wearing the uniform. 3. WR Devin Funchess — Even after missing a game, Funchess still has more than double the receptions (36) than the next closest receiver (Amara Darboh, 15) on the team. He found the end zone against Penn State on an interception- saving 43-yard bomb in the first quarter of play. He's a bit hobbled, but is still the best receiving target for Michigan. 4. LB Joe Bolden — Bolden was the talk of fall camp and now that the season is seven games old he's really living up to the hype. Bolden is second on the team with 51 tackles and is one of the more solid and consistent presences on the defense right now. Through seven games, fifth-year senior line- backer Jake Ryan led U-M in both total stops (56) and tackles for loss (nine). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL