2015 B1G Conference Pre-Season
Preview
Michigan Wolverines (East Division)
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Stadium: Michigan Stadium (109901)
Coach: Jim Harbaugh (1st year): 29-21 overall
2014 Michigan Wolverines (5-7)(3-5) 2015
Michigan Wolverines
52 Appalachian State 14 S3 at Utah (Thursday Night)
0 at
Notre Dame 31 S12 Oregon State
34 Miami OH 10 S19 UNLV
10 Utah 26 S26 Brigham Young
14 Minnesota 30 O3 at Maryland
24 at Rutgers 26 O10 Northwestern
18 Penn State 13 O17 Michigan State
11 at Michigan State 35 O24
34 Indiana 10 O31 at Minnesota
10 at Northwestern 9 N7 Rutgers
16 Maryland 23 N14 at Indiana
28 at Ohio State 42 N21 at Penn State
N28 Ohio State
A major story around the college
football world was Jim Harbaugh being named Michigan’s 20th head
coach. From 1969-2007, Michigan had just
three coaches and now this is their third coach since then. Although, the defense loses five starters and
the offense four, Coach Harbaugh does have experience returning on both sides
in the two-deep lineups.
Gone is
dual-threat QB Devin Gardner, but the Wolverines appear to be in good shape
under center as Iowa transfer Jake Rudock is ready to play, backed up by
capable Shane Morris. Rudock should fit
in well with Harbaugh’s style of offense as he is a take-charge QB who rarely
gets rattled and make mistakes. Michigan
loses their top receiver, Devin Funchess, from 2014, but return junior Amara
Darboh at WR. As the second-leading
receiver, Darboh hauled in 36 receptions for 473 yards and will team with
fellow classmate Jehu Chesson and sophomore Fred Canteen. Chesson, a good blend of size and speed, made
the most of his limited playing time, hauling in 14 catches for 154 yards,
while Canteen made five catches in mop-up duty.
All three should put up better numbers this year, along with returning
TE Jake Butt, who was third on the team with 21 receptions for 211 yards. With more consistent play from the QB
position, look for this group of receivers to get better as the season
progresses and become one of the best receiving units in the conference. Ever since 2007 (Mike Hart’s last year), the
Wolverines have had only one 1000-yard rusher (Fitzgerald Toussant in
2011). The Wolverines return two good
backs in junior De’Veon Smith who was the team leader with 519 yards on the
ground, and junior Derrick Green, who was right behind Smith with 471 yards
rushing. Ty Isaac transferred from
Southern Cal and, at 240 pounds, should provide a powerful punch between the
tackles. This should develop into one of
the conference’s strongest RB corps and should start to flourish under
Harbaugh’s offensive schemes. Michigan
returns four linemen who had at least one start last year, including junior RG
Kyle Kalis, who stated the last eight games in 2014 as Michigan began to put up
better rushing numbers and give up fewer sacks.
Kalis is joined by fellow classmate Ben Braden at the other guard
position, while sophomore Mason Cole will reclaim his starting position at
LT. Senior Graham Glasgow will be at
center, returning from being suspended during the spring, while junior Erik
Magnuson looks to be the newcomer at the RT spot. This offensive line, along with the returning
running backs, should be able to put up much better yardage on the ground this
year.
Last year,
the Michigan defense improved up front from 2013 and gave up only 118 yards per
game on the ground. Despite having to
break in new starters at the end positions, the Wolverines should have the
makings of a solid defensive line and it will all start with the leader up
front, junior NT Chris Wormley. Despite
earning the starting role in only six games last year, Wormley responded with
five tackles for loss and three sacks (out of 21 total tackles). Sophomore Bryan Mone returns next to Wormley
at a down lineman spot. The bookends
going into preseason practice figure to be senior Mario Ojemudia and junior
Taco Charlton. Ojemudia, as a backup,
played well enough to garner 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, while Charlton
garnered 5.5 and 3.5 respectively. The
Wolverines look to be pretty good at linebacker for 2015. Their top man, Jake Ryan, is gone, but everyone
else should be back and healthy, including senior WLB Joe Bolden, who ranked
just behind Ryan last year with 102 tackles, four TFL and two sacks. He will team with classmate SLB James Ross
who garnered 32 tackles and three tackles for loss. Senior Desmond Morgan had the edge in spring
drills to take Ryan’s spot in the middle with sophomore Mike McCray and
redshirt freshman Jared Wangler also vying for playing time. The secondary looks better for Michigan this
year, as three starters return, highlighted by FS senior Jarrod Wilson, third
on the team in tackles with 50 last year and talented redshirt freshman SS
Jabrill Peppers who had a medical redshirt last year after an injury very early
in the season. Junior Jourdan Lewis
returns at one corner position, with 39 tackles and two interceptions in 2014,
while senior Wayne Lyons, a transfer from Stanford, appears to have locked down
the other corner position.
Michigan
will have to replace both their punter and kicker. Junior Kenny Allen appeared to have the edge
in the spring, while senior punter Blake O’Neill is a graduate transfer from
Weber State where he averaged 44.1 yards per punt. If Dennis Norfleet can overcome his
suspension due to academics, he will add a much needed boost to Michigan’s
return game.
Michigan
made their best possible choice bringing in Jim Harbaugh as coach. With a stronger running attack on offense and
an experienced secondary coming back, they can only go up from last year’s
disappointing finish. They have to play Minnesota
and Penn State on the road, but get their two toughest games, Michigan State
and Ohio State, at home.
2015 Projection: 8-4 (4-4) 4th
in East Division
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