The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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20 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Of Michigan's 22 projected starters this fall, 15 of them were either four- or five-star recruits out of high school. The Wolverines have five five-stars on their roster, and four of them are projected to start — junior quarterback Shea Patterson, sophomore wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, sophomore de- fensive tackle Aubrey Solomon and junior defensive end Rashan Gary. The lone man who isn't ex- pected to earn a starting gig is redshirt freshman linebacker Jordan Anthony. No starting po- sition has been cemented yet, though, so surprises could still emerge at a few spots through- out fall camp. Based on past production and the experience the Maize and Blue have coming back, most of the 22 projected starting jobs can be predicted accurately. The only positions that still seem to be a bit up in the air are at left and right tackle, along with one defensive tackle and one linebacker spot. Fifth- year senior Juwann Bushell- Beatty is projected to win the battle at left tackle and redshirt junior Jon Runyan should claim the right tackle position, with redshirt sophomore Michael Dwumfour and sophomore Josh Ross seizing the aforementioned defensive tackle and linebacker spots, respectively. Regardless, it's clear that Michigan will be playing athletes at nearly every position who were highly rated out of high school. Patterson, for example, will have the luxury of throwing to two receivers who were both top-80 recruits, in Peoples-Jones and redshirt freshman Tarik Black. On top of that, two of the three interior offensive linemen — junior left guard Ben Bredeson and sophomore center Cesar Ruiz — were each top-60 kids during their prep days, while the third — junior right guard Michael Onwenu — was rated No. 147 overall. The talent level for the Maize and Blue only picks up on defense. U-M will likely start two five-stars on the defensive line — Gary and Solomon — and at least one other four-star in fifth-year defensive end Chase Winovich. The linebacking corps is loaded as well, with four-star junior linebacker Devin Bush Jr. assuredly a starter, and a plethora of young talent vying for the spot vacated by the graduated Mike McCray. The chart below projects Ross to earn the gig, but it could also be claimed by redshirt sophomore Devin Gil, Anthony or redshirt freshman Drew Singleton, the latter two of which were among Rivals' top 52 overall prospects nationally. At cornerback, juniors David Long and Lavert Hill were each four-stars when they signed with U-M, both ranked among the top 176 seniors in the land com- ing out of high school. The narrative is the same at safety, where senior Tyree Kinnel was a top-250 kid out of high school. In all, the Wolverines expect to start two five-stars on defense and at least six four-stars. — Austin Fox Michigan Has The Third-Most Talented Roster In The Big Ten Michigan has 41 total four- and five-star players on its roster — 36 of the former and five of the latter — for the 2018 season. The U-M tally ranks third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State. The Buckeyes actu- ally lead by a wide margin, boasting a total of 61 such players on their team (51 four-stars and 10 five-stars). The Wolverines were narrowly edged out by Penn State for the No. 2 spot in the conference. The Nittany Lions' No. 5-ranked recruiting class in 2018 (which included two five-stars and 16 four-stars) has put them among the nation's elite when it comes to hauling in talent. The number of four-stars between Michigan and Penn State are close — the Nittany Lions boast three more four-star prospects — but the Wolverines have a 5-3 edge in five-star players. After those three aforementioned teams, there is an immense drop-off in tal- ent around the league. Nebraska checks in at fourth, but only has 24 four-stars and no five-stars. In fact, outside of the top three teams, only two other clubs — Maryland and Iowa — even possess a single five-star player on its roster. Having great success on the recruiting trail hasn't always equated to victories on the field, though, and vice versa. Perhaps the best example of this has been Michigan — despite reeling in back-to-back No. 4-ranked classes in 2016 and 2017, the Wolverines have not yet been able to win their conference, or even their division. On the flip side, Wisconsin — which only owns 14 four-star players and no five-stars — has been to the Big Ten championship game in three of the last four years, and has won at least 10 contests in each of those seasons. — Austin Fox Michigan's Roster Is Loaded With Four- And Five-Stars Sophomore Aubrey Solomon — Ri- vals.com's No. 2 defensive tackle and No. 31 overall prospect nationally coming out of high school — is one of five five-stars on Michigan's 2018 roster. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Where Every Projected Michigan Starter Was Rated Out Of High School Pos. Player Star Overall Rank Position Rank QB Shea Patterson 5 3 1 RB Karan Higdon 3 — 45 WR Tarik Black 4 76 11 WR Donovan Peoples-Jones 5 12 1 TE Sean McKeon 3 — 34 TE Zach Gentry 4 105 4 (PQB) LT Juwann Bushell-Beatty 3 — 33 LG Ben Bredeson 4 60 2 C Cesar Ruiz 4 41 1 RG Mike Onwenu 4 147 7 RT Jon Runyan Jr. 3 — 45 (OG) DE Chase Winovich 4 — 18 (OLB) DT Aubrey Solomon 5 31 2 DT Michael Dwumfour 3 — — DE Rashan Gary 5 1 1 (DT) LB Devin Bush 4 182 7 (ILB) LB Khaleke Hudson 3 — 26 (ATH) LB Josh Ross 4 222 15 (OLB) CB David Long 4 81 9 CB Lavert Hill 4 176 14 S Tyree Kinnel 4 225 15 S Josh Metellus 3 — — Four- And Five-Stars On Every Big Ten Roster Team Four-Stars Five-Stars Total Ohio State 51 10 61 Penn State 39 3 42 Michigan 36 5 41 Nebraska 24 0 24 Maryland 19 2 21 Michigan State 18 0 18 Wisconsin 14 0 14 Iowa 5 1 6 Illinois 6 0 6 Minnesota 5 0 5 Rutgers 5 0 5 Northwestern 3 0 3 Indiana 1 0 1 Purdue 0 0 0