The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/698673
THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 15 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL At 6-6, 285-pounds and already boasting the frame of an NFL defensive end, Michigan senior Taco Charlton appears to be on the cusp of a breakout season. Some might even say that came last year, when he notched 5.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss among his 30 total tackles, finally emerging as the pass-rushing threat defensive line coach Greg Mattison envisioned when he helped recruiting Charlton out of Pickerington (Ohio) Central High School. The numbers weren't good enough for Charlton, though … not even close. He's got higher goals, one of them being to impact or change a game with his performance. "I had a good game at Penn State last year and made a huge impact," he recalled of U-M's 28-16 victory in which he notched four tackles, including a career-best two sacks and a career-high three tackles for loss. "Now it's [about] being more consistent that way, having games where I can come through for my team when they need something to happen. "To make that sack, a tackle for loss, a play … that's my focal point." It could even be a quarterback hurry that leads to an incompletion, Mattison said, that changes a game. Charlton showed this spring he was listening. He was dominant at times while rushing the passer, to the point that some of the younger offensive linemen called him "nearly unblockable." That alone shows how far he's come. It was only a few years ago that others used to call him unguardable on the hardwood. He was one of the top-rated AAU players in the country in seventh and eighth grade, he shared, and held on to his hoop dreams through ninth grade. He was born with a basketball in his crib, and his family was all about it. "I played on All-Ohio Red AAU with guys like [Ohio State's] Mark Loving and [Wisconsin's] Nigel Hayes," he recalled. "That was what I wanted to focus on, but going into 10th grade I realized I wasn't going to grow much taller like I thought I would, so I started to change my focus." He never stopped loving the game, though, and he never lost his incredible athleticism. Michigan basketball coach John Beilein saw it first hand when, on a recruiting visit to Pickerington Central to scout other players, he saw Charlton complete a 360 dunk — in sandals. Beilein quipped Charlton might have even been wearing his backpack at the time. The only spins the talented end will be doing in the near future are the ones that help him get into an opponent's backfield. He's spent the offseason working on his own to perfect his moves. "That's something I've always made a point of — how good a pass rusher I am," he said. "I'm getting every move, watching tape of NFL guys to get a taste of what they do, watching tape of myself so I can improve my technique." Fellow end Chris Wormley believes he and Charlton have it in them to be the best pair of ends in the country, and Charlton won't argue with him. "His expectations are high, and mine have always been high for myself, but like Coach Mattison said, he's going to be on me tough until I get there," Charlton said. "I've got a ways to go. You can always say what you're going to do, but you need to do it. I took on the mindset this spring to go out there and prove how good I can be instead of just saying it. "Of course I think we can be the best ends in the country, because you have to have that confidence. But that's something we have to prove in the fall. It you don't, all the talk means nothing." — Chris Balas OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 82 Amara Darboh 6-2 215 5th-Sr. 9 Grant Perry 6-0 184 So. LT 77 Grant Newsome 6-7 300 So. 76 Juwann Bushell-Beatty 6-5 325 R-So. LG 71 Ben Braden 6-6 322 5th-Sr. 55 David Dawson 6-4 316 R-Jr. C 52 Mason Cole 6-5 305 Jr. 57 Patrick Kugler 6-5 302 R-Jr. RG 67 Kyle Kalis 6-5 305 5th-Sr. 62 Ben Bredeson 6-5 293 Fr. RT 78 Erik Magnuson 6-6 305 5th-Sr. 70 Nolan Ulizio 6-5 291 R-Fr. TE 88 Jake Butt 6-6 250 Sr. 8 Tyrone Wheatley Jr. 6-6 280 R-Fr. or 89 Ian Bunting 6-7 252 R-So. WR 82 Jehu Chesson 6-3 200 5th-Sr. 85 Maurice Ways 6-3 210 R-So. QB 15 John O'Korn 6-4 209 R-Jr. or 3 Wilton Speight 6-6 239 R-So. FB 19 Henry Poggi 6-4 266 R-Jr. 80 Khalid Hill 6-2 263 R-Jr. RB 4 De'Veon Smith 5-11 228 Sr. 20 Drake Johnson 6-1 210 5th-Sr. or 32 Ty Isaac 6-3 228 R-Jr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 33 Taco Charlton 6-6 285 Sr. 15 Chase Winovich 6-3 245 R-So. DT 96 Ryan Glasgow 6-4 300 5th-Sr. or 90 Bryan Mone 6-4 320 R-So. DT 73 Maurice Hurst 6-2 282 R-Jr. 99 Matt Godin 6-6 288 5th-Sr. DE 43 Chris Wormley 6-5 303 5th-Sr. — Rashan Gary 6-5 293 Fr. SLB 5 Jabrill Peppers 6-1 208 R-So. 59 Noah Furbush 6-4 242 R-So. ILB 9 Mike McCray 6-4 240 R-Jr. 10 Devin Bush Jr. 6-0 220 Fr. ILB 42 Ben Gedeon 6-3 248 Sr. — Elysee Mbem-Bosse 6-3 232 Fr. FS 25 Dymonte Thomas 6-2 195 Sr. 23 Tyree Kinnel 5-11 201 So. SS 44 Delano Hill 6-0 212 Sr. 23 Tyree Kinnel 5-11 201 So. CB 8 Channing Stribling 6-2 181 Sr. 34 Jeremy Clark 6-4 210 5th-Sr. CB 26 Jourdan Lewis 5-10 175 Sr. 28 Brandon Watson 5-11 191 R-So. MICHIGAN DEPTH CHART SPECIAL TEAMS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr PK 91 Kenny Allen 6-3 210 5th-Sr. — Quinn Nordin 6-0 200 Fr. P 91 Kenny Allen 6-3 210 5th-Sr. — Quinn Nordin 6-0 200 Fr. KO 91 Kenny Allen 6-3 210 5th-Sr. or — Quinn Nordin 6-0 200 Fr. H 15 Garrett Moores 6-3 214 Sr. LS 31 Scott Sypniewski 6-1 225 R-Jr. 50 Andrew Robinson 5-11 220 R-So. KR 26 Jourdan Lewis 5-10 175 Sr. 86 Jehu Chesson 6-3 200 5th-Sr. PR 5 Jabrill Peppers 6-1 208 R-So. 82 Amara Darboh 6-2 215 5th-Sr. Taco Charlton Ready To Make His Last Year His Best Charlton started to come on as a junior in 2015, recording 5.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss among his 30 total stops. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN