The Wolverine

March 2020 Issue

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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MARCH 2020 THE WOLVERINE 75   MICHIGAN FOOTBALL fortable," Warinner said. "I truly be- lieve Ryan is better in the left-handed stance, playing on the left side, than Jalen is, so I think we've got them right where they need to be. We're going to start with those guys there, and then build from there." The only other lineman with start- ing experience is redshirt junior An- drew Stueber, who missed the entire 2019 season with a torn ACL suffered in practice last fall. Stueber started the last two games in 2018 and was the likely starter at right tackle go- ing into this year before the injury. While he likely won't be 100 percent by March 18 (the start of spring prac- tice), he should be healthy for the start of the season. "His rehab is going well. Every- thing is going well," Warinner said of Stueber's recovery. "He might be available in spring on a limited basis, but the one thing I don't want to do is rush him back. He'll be kind of right on the edge of when he could or could not compete full-go in contact when spring ball is going on. "We'll be really cautious with him, but we'll try to do as much as we can do without putting him in harm's way, because we don't want to lose him again and then we've lost him for the season. We'll just get him back in the swing in spring, but I don't see him being involved in scrimmaging or full-go competition." Michigan's six-man sophomore class will all return as redshirt fresh- men. Karsen Barnhart, Zach Carpen- ter, Trente Jones, Trevor Keegan, Nolan Rumler and Jack Stewart all played in four games or less in 2019 and will battle for playing time in 2020. "Karsen Barnhart seemed to step to the forefront," Warinner said. "He stayed healthy, learned and played well. He was the backup left tackle to Runyan quite a bit, as Ryan Hayes was really playing behind Jalen. Karsen is a flexible guy. I could see him playing tackle or guard, either side, right or left. He'll have a chance to fit in there into the top five. "The guy who was the scout team player of the year, Zach Car- penter, really started to shine and show some things. He got hurt early in August and missed two or three weeks there with an ankle, and once he came back, got healthy and got rolling, he really showed that he can be an outstanding center. He'll be in there at the center position with Andrew Vastardis, a fifth-year senior that was our backup center this past year. Vastardis and Carpenter are probably working at center. "Trevor Keegan is another guy who has a ton of talent. He got a lot of reps in the two-deep in the bowl prep. That was what was nice about the bowl prep was Barnhart gets a lot of reps, Carpenter a lot of reps, Keegan a lot of reps, Nolan Rumler got a lot of reps." They'll battle redshirt junior Chuck Filiaga, who has been waiting his turn on the interior, and others. "He's got all the tools … big man, really working hard. Loved what he did in bowl practice," Warinner said of Filiaga. "I thought his De- cember bowl practices really helped him in my mind, and he took it seri- ously, got himself ready to go and made himself a better player. So I see Chuck having a legitimate chance to be a starting guard for us. He has flexibility, right side, left side. "Chuck got a lot of reps, Ryan Hayes … those are the guys that we kind of see at the forefront of the pack right now in terms of the youth. Very talented, very tough guys, very com- mitted, so just seeing who catches on the fastest, who starts to play the best. They'll compete it out, and it will be fun to watch. I'm excited, because as a coach, when guys are getting better, that's when you really get excited." — Chris Balas MICHIGAN FINALIZES ITS 2022 SCHEDULE Michigan added Connecticut to its 2022 schedule, completing the slate with an eighth home game. The Wolverines will play the Huskies on Sept. 17, 2022, the third week of the college football regular season. The two schools have met twice be- fore, with U-M winning the previous meetings (30-10 in Ann Arbor in 2010 and 24-21 in Storrs, Conn., in 2013). Michigan opens the 2022 non- Redshirt freshman Zach Carpenter was named the Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year, and is in the starting center competition according to Warinner. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN MICHIGAN'S 2022 SCHEDULE Date Opponent Sept. 3 Colorado State Sept. 10 Hawai'i Sept. 17 Connecticut Sept. 24 Maryland Oct. 1 at Iowa Oct. 8 Penn State Oct. 15 Nebraska Oct. 22 at Michigan State Oct. 29 Illinois Nov. 5 BYE Nov. 12 Indiana Nov. 19 at Rutgers Nov. 26 at Ohio State

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