The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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126 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY RYAN TICE Michigan hasn't enjoyed a marquee sea- son opener since the 2012 campaign, when the No. 8 Wolverines squared off with No. 2 Alabama in Arlington, Texas. Michigan returns to AT&T Stadium — the home of the Dallas Cowboys — for another headlining kickoff against a Southeastern Conference power, although this time it's Jim McElwain's Florida Gators. Michigan is also hoping the result will be different than the 41-14 beatdown it received from the Crimson Tide five years ago. Florida has won back-to-back SEC East titles thanks to a strong defense, but seven of its eight 2017 NFL Draft picks came on that side of the ball. Randy Shannon, who won national titles as a player and coach at Miami, takes over as defensive coordinator after di- recting the linebackers for the last two years. Shannon's top returning pieces include six of the 13 defenders who started at least six games last year — but none opened more than eight contests. Three of those players line up in the secondary, and that doesn't in- clude productive sophomore safety Chauncey Gardner, so despite losing the SEC's top cor- nerback tandem (second-round picks Jalen Tabor and Quincy Wilson) the pass defense should still be strong. Senior Duke Dawson, last year's nickel back, is an All-America candidate after moving to the outside. Although the experience isn't there, the talent most likely is to continue the school's impressive streak of nine straight years with a top-15 defense (No. 5 in total defense and No. 6 in scoring defense last year). A struggling offense has kept the Ga- tors from joining the nation's elite in recent years, but the unit appears poised to break out this fall. The biggest question mark is under center, where returning starter Luke Del Rio was set to compete with redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks. Del Rio — who underwent offseason surgeries on both shoulders — opened six games and passed for 1,358 yards and eight touchdowns last year, but Franks is considered more talented. Former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire joined the mix as a graduate transfer in early June. Zaire won the Irish starting job in 2015 — beating 2017 second-round draft pick DeShone Kizer — but then was lost for the year with an injury in game two. He boasts 816 career passing yards and six touchdowns against no interceptions, plus 324 rushing yards and two scores. Whoever wins the QB job will have plenty of weapons at his disposal and will be lining up behind an experienced line. Four starters return up front, including junior Martez Ivey — the No. 1 lineman in the 2015 class. Ivey will shift over to left tackle from left guard, where he was tabbed as an All-SEC second- team selection by the coaches and media. The skill positions are well stocked, too, with leading rusher Jordan Scarlett back for his junior campaign and classmate Antonio Callaway out wide. Scarlett averaged 5.0 yards per carry last year and is a powerful runner, while backups Lamical Perine and Mark Thompson are both north of 220 pounds and combined for 720 yards in limited action. Callaway leads a wide receiving corps brim- ming with potential — provided he doesn't face any disciplinary actions for an offseason arrest (not his first off-the-field incident). He's capable of making plays anytime he touches the ball — he's the first in school history to score a touchdown rushing, receiving, passing, returning a punt and returning a kickoff. He averaged 15.5 yards per punt return — while running two back for scores — as a true fresh- man, but that number dipped to 8.4 last season. The special teams won't be holding the team back, either — junior Eddy Pineiro made 21 of 25 field goals, including all three from 50 yards or more, while senior Johnny Townsend led the nation with a 47.9-yard average on his punts — so it's up to the offense to produce. Notes Athlon ranked Florida's wide receivers and tight ends group No. 4 nationally … Defensively, the magazine rated the Gators' secondary sixth, their line 14th, and their line - backers 23rd … ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. listed junior Antonio Callaway as the No. 3 underclassman wideout nationally, while DeAndre Goolsby was the nation's No. 3 senior tight end, Martez Ivey the No. 2 underclassman offensive guard, Eddy Pineiro the No. 1 underclassman kicker and Johnny Townsend the No. 2 senior punter. ❏ Defense Has Led The Way For Gators, So Onus Is Now On Offense 2017 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2016 Result Sept. 2 vs. Michigan* — Sept. 9 Northern Colorado — Sept. 16 Tennessee L, 38-28 Sept. 23 at Kentucky W, 45-7 Sept. 30 Vanderbilt W, 13-6 Oct. 7 LSU W, 16-10 Oct. 14 Texas A&M — Oct. 28 vs. Georgia^ W, 24-10 Nov. 4 at Missouri W, 40-14 Nov. 11 at South Carolina W, 20-7 Nov. 18 UAB — Nov. 25 Florida State L, 31-13 * at Arlington, Texas; ^ at Jacksonville, Fla. PLAYERS TO WATCH Offense: Jordan Scarlett, Jr., RB — The 5-10, 213-pounder started eight times while leading the team with 889 rushing yards and six touchdowns … Pro Football Focus credited him with 48 forced missed tackles in the regular season, which led the SEC and ranked 16th na- tionally … A total of 588 of his 795 regular-season yards came after contact (74.0 percent), which tied him for the highest percentage nationally in that category. Defense: Chauncey Gardner, So., S — Despite start- ing only the final three games, he was tied for second on the team with three interceptions … He logged a team-best 103 yards on interception returns, including a 58-yard touchdown runback on one of his two picks in the Out- back Bowl to earn MVP honors … Notched a career-high nine tackles against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Junior wideout Antonio Callaway caught five passes for 75 yards in Florida's 41-7 loss to U-M in the Citrus Bowl at the end of the 2015 season. PHOTO BY TIM CASEY/COURTESY FLORIDA GAME 1 • FLORIDA GATORS • SEPT. 2 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: U-M leads 3-0 First Meeting: U-M 38, UF 30 (Jan. 1, 2003, at Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla.) Last Meeting: U-M 41, UF 7 (Jan. 1, 2016, at Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.) Head Coach: Jim McElwain, 19-8 at UF (third year) and 41-24 overall (sixth year) 2016 In Review: 9-4 overall, 6-2 SEC (1st East) Final 2016 Ranking: No. 13 coaches' poll and No. 14 Associated Press poll Returning Starters: 15 (9 offense, 4 defense, 2 spe - cialists) Last Bowl Appearance: 2016 (Outback, vs. Iowa, W 30-3) Southeastern Conference Championships (last): 8 (2008) RETURNING LEADERS Passing: Luke Del Rio (1,358 yards, 8 TD, 8 INT) Rushing: Jordan Scarlett (889 yards, 6 TD) Receiving: Antonio Callaway (721 yards, 3 TD) Tackles: Marcell Harris (73) Sacks: Jabari Zuniga (8) Interceptions: Chauncey Gardner (3)