The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2017 THE WOLVERINE 37 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL team all-conference accolades from the coaches. He posted a career-best 104 tackles, including 15.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and two passes broken up. He posted double-digit tackle efforts in five games this season, including a ca- reer-high 14 tackles against Colorado. Senior safety Delano Hill picked up second-team honors from the coaches and earned honorable mention from the media. Hill contributed 48 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and six passes broken up. Senior linebacker Mike McCray and senior safety Dymonte Thomas received honorable mention on both the coaches' and media ballots. Senior defensive tackle Matt Godin received honorable mention from the coaches. McCray tallied 72 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception and eight passes defended. The sec- ondary's quarterback, Thomas con- tributed 63 stops, one interception and eight passes broken up. Godin made 25 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack. Michigan special teams standout Kenny Allen earned all-conference ac- colades at both punter and placekicker. Allen received All-Big Ten second-team honors from the coaches and media as a punter and was picked honorable men- tion by both groups as a placekicker. Allen is second in the league with a 42.6-yard average, punting 46 times for 1,961 yards with 20 punts inside the opposition's 20-yard line and 14 punts of 50 yards or better. He has converted his last 12 field goal attempts, the third- longest streak in school history, and has converted 16 of 20 field goals this season. On offense, senior tight end Jake Butt repeated as the Big Ten's Kwalick- Clark Tight End of the Year. He leads 10 Wolverines who received offensive all-conference honors. Butt was also the Big Ten Sportsman- ship Award recipient. He was named first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media for the second time . Butt was joined on the all-conference first team by fifth-year senior right tackle Erik Magnuson, an honoree on both the coaches' and media ballots. Magnuson started all 12 games this season, helping the Wolverines' offen- sive unit rack up 2,679 rushing yards and 2,593 passing yards. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Amara Darboh, junior offensive line- man Mason Cole, and redshirt senior offensive linemen Kyle Kalis and Ben Braden were selected second-team All- Big Ten on both the media and coaches' ballots. Darboh is the team's leading receiver and ranks fourth in receiving yards per game (68.8) in the Big Ten. Cole, Kalis and Braden have started all 12 games this season. They helped U-M rank second in total offense in the Big Ten with 5,272 total yards. Junior quarterback Wilton Speight earned third-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media. Spei- ght averaged 215.9 passing yards per game, completed 62.5 percent of his passes and threw for 17 touchdowns. He notched a career-high 362 pass- ing yards against Maryland and four touchdowns versus UCF. Honorable mention honorees (both the coaches and media) include fresh- man offensive lineman Ben Bredeson and senior running back De'Veon Smith. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Jehu Chesson received honorable men- tion accolades from the media. Bredeson became a stalwart at left guard, while Smith is the team's lead- ing rusher with 810 yards and 10 touch- downs. Chesson is the team's third- leading receiver on the season, with 31 receptions for 469 yards and two touchdowns. PEPPERS IS FIFTH ON ANALYST MEL KIPER JR.'S CURRENT NFL DRAFT BIG BOARD Michigan redshirt sophomore Jabrill Peppers is a likely top-10 NFL Draft pick — if he chooses to go. ESPN ana- lyst Mel Kiper Jr. has him fifth on his big board, a ranking of all draft-eligible players. "Peppers is the No. 1 safety, slightly ahead of [LSU's] Jamal Adams," Kiper said during a teleconference. On other former Wolverines, Kiper added the following: • "The defensive end who really finished strong as a pass rusher, Taco Charlton, could be in the late-first, early-second [round] discussion," he said, noting Charlton is No. 25 on his big board. • Kiper believes nose tackle Ryan Glasgow could go in the third round and end Chris Wormley will also be drafted. He reserved judgment on tight end Jake Butt and cornerback Jourdan Lewis until the NFL Scouting Combine, which will run from Feb. 28 to March 6. "Jake Butt, I want to see how he runs," he said. "The 40 time will be very important for him. There's a lot of competition at tight end this year. That will determine if he's a second-round pick or drops to the fourth-round area. "Lewis has been a steady, consistent player. Does he have some of the 'wow' factor that some of the other kids do? I didn't see that. I have him as the No. 6 corner." • Kiper has receiver Amara Darboh going in the third round, but also be- lieves Jehu Chesson will play in the NFL next season. SHANE MORRIS TO TRANSFER One-time five-star recruit Shane Morris is pursuing a graduate transfer, ESPN.com reported, and will not re- turn to the Michigan football program. Morris will be eligible to play immedi- ately next season. Morris started two games during his career and sat out last season, request- ing a redshirt. He finished his career 47- of-92 passing for 434 yards in 15 games. Morris sat behind Devin Gardner as a freshman until Gardner broke his foot in 2013. He started the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl and struggled in a loss to Kansas State. During the 2014 season, Morris suf- fered what was revealed to be a "prob- able, mild concussion" after starting the Minnesota game but was allowed back to the field. Morris has never com- mented on the incident, but many be- lieve it was a big factor in costing ath- letics director David Brandon his job. Morris played some wide receiver this spring, in addition to quarterback, but never made the impact many ex- pected. ❏ Senior Jake Butt was named the Big Ten's Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year for a sec- ond straight season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL