The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1083898
MARCH 2019 THE WOLVERINE 79 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL this fall, Michigan would be thin at the position. Redshirt freshman Kurt Taylor transferred, and sophomore O'maury Samuels was dismissed from the team after police charged him with misdemeanor domestic as- sault in December. Former walk-on Tru Wilson, a senior in 2018, would be the leading returning ball carrier after notching 62 carries for 364 yards and a score in 2018. Christian Turner was impressive in Peach Bowl practices and carried 20 times for 99 yards as a rookie last year but still redshirted, while true fresh- man Zach Charbonnet is an early en- rollee and will also get a chance to show what he's got this fall. — Chris Balas U-M LANDS GRADUATE TRANSFER DEFENSIVE END Central Michigan defensive end Mike Danna announced on Twitter Feb. 19 that he was headed to U-M as a graduate transfer to play his final collegiate season, providing the Wol- verines with a much-needed experi- enced presence on the edge. The 6-2, 257-pounder had an im- pressive four-year career in Mount Pleasant, culminating in a 2018 cam- paign that saw him rack up 66 tackles, 15 stops behind the line of scrimmage (tied for fourth most in the Mid- American Conference) and 9.5 sacks (third most in the league) en route to first-team All-MAC accolades. The Detroit Warren De La Salle alum also took home the Chippe- was' team MVP award last year after starting all 12 games, and was tabbed as a first-team All-American by Pro Football Focus. Danna redshirted as a freshman at CMU in 2015, and as a result will be eligible to play immediately with the Maize and Blue in 2019. — Austin Fox MICHIGAN ADDS THREE NEW ANALYSTS TO ITS FOOTBALL STAFF Various outlets reported Feb. 11 that Michigan had added three new ana- lysts to its staff: longtime NFL scout Pat Perles (who will also serve as as- sistant offensive line coach at U-M), Ferris State offensive coordinator Steve Casula and Bethune-Cookman special teams/recruiting coordinator Aashon Larkins. ESPN NFL insider Field Yates announced the Perles hire via Twitter, while FOX college football reporter Bruce Feldman broke the latter two. Perles is the son of longtime Michi- gan State head coach and athletic director George Perles, and played linebacker at MSU before graduat- ing in 1987. He then spent time on the staffs of several NFL and collegiate teams, beginning with Toledo (defensive line), the Los Angeles Rams (defen- sive assistant in 1992), Michigan State (tight ends, 2000-02), North Dakota State (offensive coordinator, 2005-08), the Kansas City Chiefs (linebackers and offensive line, 2009-11), Syra- cuse (offensive line, 2013) and most recently the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (player personnel scout). While Casula and Larkins were only announced as analysts by the report- ers who broke the news, Perles had "assistant offensive line coach" tabbed to his title as well. He last mentored of- fensive lines at Syracuse in 2013. Nate Mink of Syracuse.com — who covered the team that year — ex- plained how impressive of a job Per- les did with the Orange's front five. "He was a technician and very pre- cise," the writer recalled. "Perles was old-school and detail-oriented, much like his dad. Every detail and rep were important to him, and time was never wasted in practice, giving him a very business-like approach." Casula, meanwhile, was not only the offensive coordi- nator at Ferris State during his two years on the job (2017-18), but also their running backs and tight ends coach. Prior to his stint with the Bulldogs, Ca- sula acted as the offen- sive coordinator and assistant coach at Davenport University from 2014-16, and was even their interim head man to close out his tenure there. Before Davenport, he worked with the tight ends and H-backs at Colgate in 2013 and the tight ends and full- backs at Western Michigan in 2012, after his time as a graduate assistant with the Broncos in 2010 and 2011. Finally, Larkins joined Bethune- Cookman in 2015, and spent the 2014 campaign as the cornerbacks/spe- cial teams coach at Jacksonville State. Prior to his time with JSU, Larkins enjoyed eight years with The Citadel, leading their defensive backs, line- backers and special teams. He mentored defensive backs at Wagner in 2005, handled the same position at Holy Cross in 2004, and got his coaching career started as a student assistant at Le- high (his alma mater) in 2003. As of Feb. 14, Casula was the only one of the trio that had been added to Michi- gan's official athletics staff directory, and he was given the title of special teams analyst. Earlier this offseason, Foot- ballScoop.com reported that former Georgia Tech (2018), Appalachian State (2013-17) and Wofford (2000-12) defensive coordinator Nate Woody would also join Harbaugh's staff in an off-field role. He now shows up in the U-M directory as a defensive analyst. Although the analyst roles obvi- ously aren't as well-known as some of the other positions on collegiate football staffs, Michigan has actually employed some significant individu- als in the capacity the past two years. The two most notable have been former Kansas State head man Ron Prince this past season (who left to take the vacant Howard coaching po- sition in December) and Scott Turner, the former Minnesota Vikings quar- terbacks coach and son of longtime NFL head coach Norv Turner, in 2017, before he left to become the Carolina Panthers' quarterbacks coach. — Austin Fox 2019 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Aug. 31 Middle Tennessee State Sept. 7 Army Sept. 21 at Wisconsin Sept. 28 Rutgers Oct. 5 Iowa*^ Oct. 12 at Illinois* Oct. 19 at Penn State* Oct. 26 Notre Dame Nov. 2 at Maryland* Nov. 16 Michigan State* Nov. 23 at Indiana* Nov. 30 Ohio State* Dec. 7 Big Ten Championship Game$ * Big Ten game; ^ Homecoming; $ at Indianapolis PERLES CASULA LARKINS