Michigan football news was overwhelmed this week with guys announcing they were either transferring or leaving for the NFL - oh, and the Jim Harbaugh-to-the-NFL drama - so yours truly just had no chance of keeping up with all those developments.
Posts on each one of these guys will be coming down the road to summarize their careers, but I wanted to address each one here and now.
DE Aidan Hutchinson: Hutchinson played four years at Michigan and could have returned for a fifth. He was the Heisman runner-up and set the school record for sacks with 14. He has nothing else to prove and will likely be a top-5 pick in the draft, so this was the right decision for him.
Draft projection: 1st round
OLB David Ojabo: Ojabo had 11 sacks rushing the quarterback opposite Hutchinson one year after making 1 total tackle. As a redshirt sophomore, he could have come back for a couple more seasons, but he's striking while the iron is hot. Hutchinson and Ojabo surely helped each other out, and there would be a risk in returning for 2022, considering there's no proven pass rusher on the opposite side. He could very well have returned and put up mediocre sack numbers, hindering his draft stock. Even though Ojabo is not a good run defender, he does have outstanding athleticism and could be a year one pass rusher for an NFL team.
Draft projection: 1st round
Hit the jump for more.
S Daxton Hill: The third-year player is a former 5-star who, in my opinion, never quite lived up to his billing. He certainly made some flash plays at times, but I expected him to make at least one huge play for the Wolverines, either as a returner or on an interception return. He's tough to beat because of his speed and athleticism, but he just didn't make a ton of plays on the ball. The speed, size, and tackling ability are all intriguing, though.
Draft projection: 2nd round
DT Chris Hinton, Jr.: This was probably the biggest surprise so far. I thought HInton struggled during the first half of the year, and despite turning it on during the second half, he basically has just a handful of games where he was a noticeably positive force. The 6'4", 310-pounder made 33 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, and 2 fumble recoveries during the 2021 season. The former 5-star doesn't run the risk of going undrafted, in my opinion, because he's athletic and has good bloodlines (his father had a long NFL career with the Colts and Falcons). However, I think he could have improved his draft stock by coming back for another year.
Draft projection: 4th round
LB Joshua Ross: The 6'2", 224 lb. captain spent five years at Michigan and went through some ups and downs in both his play and his health. He made 106 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, and 2 pass breakups in 2021. Ross is what I think of in the NFL as a two-down linebacker - in other words, he should be taken out during passing downs - but I'm not sure how much those guys exist anymore. I see him mostly as a backup or special teams player in the NFL.
Draft projection: 6th round
CB Vincent Gray: A 6'2", 192 lb. cornerback, Gray played four years at Michigan and could have returned in 2022. I have been fairly critical of Gray, but he did play fairly well in 2021, at least until the College Football Playoff semifinal against Georgia. I don't think he could improve his stock much by coming back in 2022, but at the same time, I don't see him offering an NFL team a whole lot. He doesn't have great athleticism, and my biggest issue with him is attitude/focus. He seems to be a guy who doesn't give 100% all the time, and I wish he would come back after a bad play, but his confidence seems to drop if he allows a big play.
Draft projection: 7th round
RB Hassan Haskins: Haskins turned into Michigan's grinder over the past couple seasons, and that included 261 carries - the most for a Michigan back since 2006 - and 20 touchdowns. The 6'1", 225 lb. back showed that he can break tackles and get first downs (he led the country in the latter), and chances are slim that he's going to get much faster. One key quality for running backs in the NFL is limiting wear and tear, and coming back for another 200+ carries is probably not good for his NFL career.
Draft projection: 4th round
WR Daylen Baldwin: Baldwin had an odd college career, going from Morgan State to Jackson State to Michigan. He also made just 17 catches for 256 yards and 2 touchdowns at the FBS level, playing mostly as a backup for the Wolverines in 2021. At 6'2" and 219 lbs., he has good size, but my issue with him all season has been his lack of awareness and route running adeptness. Perhaps only being in Michigan's offense since January was the biggest problem, but I still just didn't see the instincts I would expect to see in an NFL receiver. He's big and fast, though, so maybe he's worth a late round flier.
Draft projection: 6th round
Hutch: pick 1-3
ReplyDeleteOjabao wasn't trusted enough against the run, and has a lot of development there. But he should test well enough to get between 15-20
I actually liked Dax a lot. He was a Jabril light against the run, and only perfectly placed passes & great catches got by him. Yeah, no huge plays, but randomness comes into play. Getting body ragdolled by a UGa Receiver was his biggest disappointment
Hinton looked GREAT against iowa, pretty good against ohio, and much improved as the season progressed. I thought & hoped he'd come back, and think he could get into the second round with another season. Oh well
Wish Ross good luck, but he was too easily abused in pass coverage. Undrafted
Vincent Gray is going pro? Undrafted
Hassan, I will miss you!
Baldwin, undrafted
These guys delivered a great season and exceeded all expectations. May they continue to do so as they pursue their NFL dream
Well, I hope they all find some pathway to their dreams.
ReplyDeleteThe other day the name "David Molk" popped into my head, so I searched on his name. He's out of football for some time now, and he's working at his father's construction consulting business in the Chicago area. The picture I saw suggests he's dropped a lot of his playing weight. But he seems to be doing well.
Many years ago I worked with a guy who played Tight End back when Schembechler was coach. He was a walk-on, played sparingly, never got drafted, and ended up as a systems engineer in the computer technology space. He told me being an ex-football player was a great way to break the ice conversationally when first getting to know a customer.
Zoltan Mesko, the punter for Michigan a few years ago, spent some time as a data analytics sales person for IBM in the Cleveland area. He's moved on to other things now, but I think it's still in the data analytics space.
There is life after football.
You're more optimistic about Vincent Gray and Daylen Baldwin than I am. They both may not get drafted.
ReplyDeleteYou're right that they may not get drafted. But I have thought that before, and then guys get taken in the 6th or 7th round. So when it comes to the NFL Draft, I think sometimes I'm a little too pessimistic. Of course, when you go in the 6th/7th round, it's a bit of a crap shoot. There are guys who go undrafted who often end up beating out those guys for roster spots. Getting drafted that late is basically just a glorified invitation to training camp.
DeleteThis is so true. Just gotta hope for the best for each
DeleteCongrats to these young men. We all would prefer they come back but it's worth keeping perspective that this is the sign of a strong and healthy problem. It's good news, even though it doesn't feel like it at times.
ReplyDeleteStrongly disagree with Thunder's take on Hill. All conference 1st team player, best guy in our secondary (pass rush doesn't succeed without coverage and vice versa), and likely second round pick. We lose to PSU without Hill and that's not the only game where that goes, just the most obvious one. He was hugely successful and his defense was elite (as with Peppers). Most 5 stars don't touch that if they skip going to Bama. 3 year guys aren't going to rack up the careers that 4 or 5 year guys in general but Hill had a huge impact in 2021 and his career was a huge success IMO.
I'm surprised people are surprised about Hinton. He can improve his draft stock, sure, you can say that about almost anyone. What's a best case scenario here - moving up from 4th to 2nd round? Sacrificing a year of NFL earnings to get a bump on your first contract? It worked for Hutch (and other who can get up to the top 5) but dminishing returns later in the draft for "improving your stock". And even Hutch, if he lives up to his draft profile, will have given away money to do it. Hinton made it clear he's an NFL player and that's all you need. Given the season is a high note it's hard to make the case for coming back IMO. Though I certainly hope Mazi Smith does!
I'll be rooting for HH in the NFL. Would love to see him land in a place where there is opportunity.
I'll be a little surprised if Gray or Baldwin are drafted. Hope I'm wrong.
Good rundown Thunder.
Apropos this post, Mark Messner was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
ReplyDeleteFrom The Michigan Insider, "A two-time Big Ten champion, Messner started 49 games at defensive tackle for Michigan from 1985-89. He was named first-team All-Big Ten four times, one of just three players in history to do so (Michigan offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson and Michigan State punter Ray Stachowitz were the other two). He was named Big Ten defensive lineman of the year in 1988 and a first-team All-American in 1987 and 1988 — the latter season he was a consensus selection."
You ain't gonna see a college career like that one anytime soon.