The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 133 BY RYAN TICE It can't get much worse for Rutgers than 2016. The team was not remotely competi- tive with its Big Ten East brethren — it was outscored by a combined score of 224-0 against Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State. The Scarlet Knights lost to its other five league foes by an average of 10 points, and they were lucky to have How- ard and New Mexico (which finished with a 9-4 record) on the schedule or a winless season was a real possibility. The only way to go in year two of the Chris Ash era at Rutgers is up, and he'll be relying on improvements from youngsters thrown into the fire and a few imports to accomplish that. Perhaps the biggest acquisition will never take a snap — former Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill, who steps in as the offensive coordinator. It is the 2014 Big Ten Coach of the Year's first non-head coaching gig since 1993, his last year as the offensive coordinator at Pittsburg State. The hope is that Kill — the school's eighth offensive coordinator in eight years — can provide stability and cater the attack to the roster's personnel, meaning Ash has abandoned his dream of trotting out an Ohio State-knockoff "power spread." Kill will have plenty of quarterback options to choose from — the school added Lou- isville graduate transfer Kyle Bolin, plus a pair of transfer walk-on quarterbacks this off- season — although redshirt junior Giovanni Rescigno is expected to retain the gig after starting the final five games of 2016 (889 passing yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions). True freshman Jonathan Lewis provides more competition, as will fifth-year senior Zach Allen (a former TCU transfer), who tore his ACL this spring but is trying to rehab it instead of undergoing surgery. Kill utilized a physical ground game at Minnesota, so he should have no problem tak- ing advantage of senior running back Robert Martin. Although he wasn't as productive in 2016 as the year before, he still averaged 5.2 yards per carry en route to 625 yards on the ground. Miami graduate transfer Gus Edwards checks in at 6-1, 230 pounds and is added to the mix after he rushed for 977 yards and 12 scores during his time with the Hurricanes. Arkansas graduate transfer Damon Mitch- ell — who has also played quarterback, run- ning back and defensive back — will help the wide receiving corps. Younger brother Ahmir, a former four-star recruit who left U-M last year after being suspended, was also expected to make an impact as a redshirt freshman, but he tore his ACL this spring. Redshirt junior Jerome Washington, a Miami transfer who sat out last year, could see reps at tight end. The biggest strength of the team is out wide, provided fifth-year senior receiver and dynamic return specialist Janarion Grant is healthy. He had caught 20 passes for 210 yards and rushed 16 times for 138 yards and three touchdowns before suffering a season- ending injury in game four last year (at the time, he also had one kickoff return, one punt return and one throw that all went for scores). The 5-10, 172-pounder enters his fi- nal year of eligibility tied for the all-time NCAA record with eight combined kick return touchdowns (five via kickoffs). In his absence, redshirt sophomore Jawuan Har- ris — a similarly sized dynamo at 5-9, 186 pounds — led the squad with 39 receptions, which produced 481 yards and three scores. The defense still has a long ways to go, but not quite as far as the offense, and returns eight starters. Junior linebackers Trevor Morris and Deonte Roberts combined for 197 tackles last year and lead the way from the middle. Soph- omore Tyreek Maddox-Williams started six times and totaled 47 stops a year ago. Juniors Blessuan Austin and Isaiah Wharton return to man the corner positions, and boast 177 tack- les, 11 tackles for loss, four interceptions and 33 passes broken up in their careers. Senior end Darnell Davis is the top returner up front after logging eight tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. The unit gets more dangerous if fifth-year senior Kemoko Turay regains his 2014 form, when he notched 7.5 sacks — but he has just four the last two years. Rutgers is still a long ways off from being competitive, but the hope is all of the trans- fers mix with returning starters to get them closer to .500. Notes Athlon did not rank a Rutgers position group better than 12th in the Big Ten … The publication listed just two offensive players and one defender on its four preseason all-conference teams — WR Janarion Grant (second team), OL Tariq Cole (third) and CB Blessaun Austin (fourth) … Fifth-year senior Ross Douglas is a former Michigan running back now playing a hybrid defender role. ❏ Scarlet Knights Have The Pieces To Improve After Disastrous 2016 2017 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2016 Result Sept. 1 Washington L, 48-13 Sept. 9 Eastern Michigan — Sept. 16 Morgan State — Sept. 23 at Nebraska — Sept. 30 Ohio State L, 58-0 Oct. 14 at Illinois L, 24-7 Oct. 21 Purdue — Oct. 28 at Michigan L, 78-0 Nov. 4 vs. Maryland* L, 31-13 Nov. 11 at Penn State L, 39-0 Nov. 18 at Indiana L, 33-27 Nov. 25 Michigan State L, 49-0 * at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, N.Y. PLAYERS TO WATCH Offense: Robert Martin, Sr., RB — Has averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry each sea- son … In 2015, he totaled 763 yards and six touchdowns on the ground … Despite an under-performing offensive line and missing three full games last year, he still racked up 625 yards on the ground, but just two touchdowns. Defense: Blessuan Austin, Jr., CB — The 6-1, 195-pounder started all 11 appearances last year and has 21 starts in his career … Ranked second in the Big Ten and 10th na - tionally with 1.4 passes defended per game … Finished with 41 tack- les, one sack, an interception, one fumble recovery and 14 passes broken up en route to All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition. Fifth-year senior Janarion Grant has aver- aged 25.3 yards per kickoff return and 11.4 yards per punt return while returning eight combined kicks for touchdowns during his career. PHOTO COURTESY RUTGERS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS • OCT. 28 • GAME 8 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: U-M leads 2-1 First Meeting: Rutgers 26, U-M 24 (Oct. 4, 2014, at Piscataway, N.J.) Last Meeting: U-M 78, Rutgers 0 (Oct. 8, 2016, at Piscataway, N.J.) Head Coach: Chris Ash, second year at Rutgers and overall (2-10) 2016 In Review: 2-10 overall, 0-9 Big Ten (7th East) Final 2016 Ranking: Unranked Returning Starters: 15 (5 offense, 8 defense, 2 spe - cialists) Last Bowl Appearance: 2014 (Quick Lane, vs. North Carolina W 40-21) Big Ten Conference Championships (last): 0 (4 in school history, shared Big East in 2012) RETURNING LEADERS Passing: Giovanni Rescigno (889 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT) Rushing: Robert Martin (625 yards, 2 TD) Receiving: Jawuan Harris (481 yards, 3 TD) Tackles: Trevor Morris (102) Sacks: Darnell Davis, Kemoko Turay (2.0) Interceptions: Six players tied with 1