The following depth chart has removed these listed players from the depth chart:
- QB Jack Tuttle (retirement/graduation)
- RB Tavierre Dunlap (transfer portal)
- RB Donovan Edwards (graduation)
- RB Kalel Mullings (graduation)
- WR C.J. Charleston (graduation)
- WR Tyler Morris (transfer portal)
- OT Myles Hinton (graduation)
- OT Jeffrey Persi (graduation)
- OG Josh Priebe (graduation)
- C Raheem Anderson II (transfer portal)
- DE Josaiah Stewart (graduation)
- CB Aamir Hall (graduation)
- S Quinten Johnson (graduation)
- S Rod Moore (graduation)
- S Makari Paige (graduation)
- S Wesley Walker (graduation)
It assumes that every currently rostered player and every currently committed prospect will be here in the fall of 2025, which is obviously not true.
Hit the jump for the depth chart.
QB: Bryce Underwood (Fr.), Davis Warren (RS Sr.), Alex Orji (RS Jr.), Jayden Denegal (RS Jr.), Jadyn Davis (RS Fr.)
RB: Benjamin Hall (RS So.), Jordan Marshall (So.), Cole Cabana (RS So.), Micah Ka'apana (So.), Donovan Johnson (Fr.), Jasper Parker (Fr.)
WR1: Kendrick Bell (RS So.), Amorion Walker (Sr.), Andrew Marsh (Fr.)
WR2: Semaj Morgan (Jr.), Channing Goodwin (RS Fr.), Jacob Washington (Fr.)
WR3: Peyton O'Leary (RS Sr.), Fredrick Moore (Jr.), I'Marion Stewart (RS Fr.), Jamar Browder (Fr.)
TE: Colston Loveland (Sr.), Max Bredeson (RS Sr.), Marlin Klein (RS Jr.), Deakon Tonielli (RS So.), Zack Marshall (RS So.), Hogan Hansen (So.), Brady Prieskorn (RS Fr.), Andrew Olesh (Fr.), Eli Owens (Fr.)
LT: Andrew Sprague (RS Fr.), Tristan Bounds (RS Sr.), Blake Frazier (RS Fr.)
LG: Dominick Giudice (RS Sr.), Connor Jones (RS Jr.), Nathan Efobi (RS So.), Luke Hamilton (RS Fr.), Avery Gach (Fr.)
C: Greg Crippen (RS Sr.), Jake Guarnera (RS Fr), Kaden Strayhorn (Fr.)
RG: Giovanni El-Hadi (RS Sr.), Ben Roebuck (RS Fr.), Brooks Bahr (RS So.)
RT: Evan Link (RS So.), Andrew Gentry (RS Jr.), Andrew Babalola (Fr.)
EDGE: Derrick Moore (Sr.), Kechaun Bennett (RS Sr.), Dominic Nichols (RS Fr.), Nate Marshall (Fr.)
DT: Mason Graham (Sr.), Rayshaun Benny (RS Sr.), Enow Etta (RS So.), Alessandro Lorenzetti (RS Jr.), Manuel Beigel (RS Fr.), Ted Hammond (RS Fr.), Owen Wafle (RS Fr.), Bobby Kanka (Fr.), Benny Patterson (Fr.), Travis Moten (Fr.)
NT: Kenneth Grant (Sr.), Ike Iwunnah (RS Sr.), Roderick Pierce (Jr.)
Rush LB: T.J. Guy (RS Sr.), Cameron Brandt (Jr.), Aymeric Koumba (RS So.), Breeon Ishmail (RS So.), Tyler McLaurin (RS Sr.), Devon Baxter (RS Fr.), Lugard Edokpayi (RS Fr.), Julius Holly (Fr.)
MIKE: Jaishawn Barham (Sr.), Jimmy Rolder (RS Jr.), Cole Sullivan (So.), Jason Hewlett (RS So.), Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng (Fr.)
WILL: Ernest Hausmann (Sr.), Jaydon Hood (RS Sr.), Micah Pollard (RS Sr.), Zach Ludwig (RS Fr.), Chase Taylor (Fr.)
CB: Jyaire Hill (RS So.), Myles Pollard (RS Jr.), Jo'Ziah Edmond (So.), Jayden Sanders (Fr.)
CB: Will Johnson (Sr.), Shamari Earls (Fr.), CB Ricky Johnson (RS Sr.), Kody Jones (RS Jr.), Jeremiah Lowe (RS Fr.)
Ni: Zeke Berry (Sr.), Ja'Den McBurrows (RS Sr.), Kainoa Winston (Fr.), Jordan Young (Fr.)
FS: Jaden Mangham (Sr.), Mason Curtis (So.), Elijah Dotson (Fr.)
SS: Brandyn Hillman (RS So.), Jacob Oden (So.)
K: Dominic Zvada (Sr.), Adam Samaha (RS So.)
P: Tommy Doman (RS Sr.)
Definitely need a QB and at least two WRs. OC, maybe a Guard. Tackle, but those are rare. RB? RB room is almost like WR last year: no proven playmakers
ReplyDeleteOn D at least one DT, maybe/hopefully a DE. Corner. I'd take a LB & S , but for competition
*Ka'apana should be ahead of Cabana. Only the former got on the field this year
The top potentially returning RB in '25 based on '24 usage is Ben Hall with 42 snaps and then Marshall with 15 snaps.
DeleteAt WR for 2024, Morris returned having played 348 snaps and Morgan returned having played 141 snaps.
Very different.
"playmaker" seems to be subjective but there's a lot less production and experience returning at RB in 2025 than there was for WR room in 2024.
I don't think it's a need, but I would not be surprised if MIchigan at least explores options with some veteran RBs in the portal or maybe guys they'd like to be in the portal.
--------------------
Based on this comment, every position group is open to portal additions? I agree, especially with more departures on the way in the next few weeks. Maybe TE is an exception? K if they convince Zvada to return?
@Thunder - what do you think about Berry maybe moving to CB full time?
DeleteWith the buzz about Rod Moore returning (potentially to nickel), Johnson off to the NFL, and Hall out of eligibility...corner seems like a place where we need somebody more than anywhere else in the secondary.
So you're thinking Bryce Underwood goes straight to the top of the QB room? Do you say that because you think he has the talent to do that? Or because the pressure on Moore to put Underwood in that spot will be too great to ignore?
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about Jadyn Davis being last in the QB room depth chart, even below Jayden Denegal, from whom we've heard absolutely nothing. Here again, is that because of youth (RS Fr.), or some assessment of talent/ability you're working from?
A 23 year old "legend" with "talent" who "beat OSU" getting benched for a freshman!?!?!
DeleteYour sarcasm is noted. The question remains, however. What I'm curious about is Thunder's criteria specific to the QB depth. I'm in no way suggesting Davis Warren should be the #1 QB, nor am I saying Bryce Underwood should *not* be the #1 QB. I'm asking Thunder, as author of this post, to shed some light on his thinking behind that particular line.
DeleteSorry for the snark. It's widely speculated that there will be a starting caliber veteran brought in via the portal.
DeleteI'm not Thunder obviously, but Underwood is on another level talent-wise than Warren and Thunder has been very vocal of his skepticism of Davis and Orji.
I don't know if Underwood goes straight to the top, like #1 for game 1. There's been a lot of talk that Michigan will bring in a veteran portal QB. I do think that Underwood will be the starter by the end of the year, at the very least - unless the portal QB is tearing it up.
DeleteI think Jadyn Davis is small and not super-athletic. And there have been some practice clips from this season where his mechanics look absolutely horrible. He's a project. And I don't know if he will stick around long enough to be molded by whoever the new QB coach/offensive coordinator is.
In general, I'm not a fan of Denegal, Orji, or Davis as future starters. Davis Warren might be the best of the bunch, so they've all got warts.
Still funny to me that Davis is repeatedly called out as "small" even though he's 1 inch shorter but heavier than Warren. Probably more athletic too. But this doesn't come up with Warren, who is instead described as "talented", even though he clearly is not, at least by Michigan QB standards.
DeleteIt's still funny to me that you're arguing about Jadyn Davis being referred to as "small." What size would he have to be before you agree that he's small?
DeleteThere are no Michigan quarterbacks who are smaller than Jadyn Davis. They just don't exist. You can go back 30 years and not find anyone shorter than him.
He's certainly not big. And he's not average, either. So...hmmm...not big...not average...I dunno what's left...it's a real stumper...
Jayden Davis Height is likely exaggerated, based on photos, videos & watching him during warmups near other players. Not an uncommon thing
DeleteDavis Warren is smaller. He's taller by an inch but weighs more. If you mean shorter, then say shorter.
DeleteMultiple QBs have been shorter than Davis - I've listed them before. McNamara and Robinson are 2.
Warren weighs 195 pounds. That's the smallest QB we've had that I can remember.
DeleteEven Denard was heavier than that. Davis is bigger, same weight as McNamara ~205. JJ measured over 20 pounds more at the combine.
Davis is 6'1. That's the same height as Cade Mcnamara and Nick Sheridan, 1 inch shorter than Warren, and a couple inches over Denard. Davis might be exaggerated... so might the other guys. JJ was measured at 6'2.5 by NFL but listed at 6'3 by Michigan.
Warren -- the smallest, not the shortest
Davis -- not the smallest, not the shortest
I was a stone throw away from him & Jordan Marshall; him & Alex Orji
DeleteJadyn Davis is 6'1 like Jabrill Peppers was 6'1
Same height as Cade McNamara. Sorry about the facts.
Deletesame LISTED height
DeleteSee Jabrill reference, or your own about JJ. Rosters exaggerate size, moreso for little guys (Lank on 9 Dec at 8:35PM)
Yep Cade's height is probably exaggerated. Davis might be taller.
DeleteMy guess is that if we get a decent enough Portal QB (Moss/Salter), Underwood is #2
ReplyDeleteDavis might be third, but he has to be at Warren. Orji & Denegal can stay, but I'm doubtful on the latter. Orji stays if Warren leaves, but am not sure of his role with Underwood probably a better runner
My highly speculative guess at the 2025 depth QB depth chart
ReplyDelete1. Moss (or other portal transfer)
2. Underwood
3. Orji
4. Davis
5. Denegal
6. Preferred Walk-On Freshman
Probably someone between 3 and 5 gets deleted though.
I will bet a million dollars that if Moss comes, Warren is not going to stick around to be a backup to him again like he was in high school.
In other words, with a more probable situation, you're willing to bet
DeleteAgainst good ol je93? Dodge!
Mullings handed OUT the beatings. Get it straight.
DeleteOkay, but those collisions take a toll. Dude barely saw the field in the previous four years, so I'm sure it added up
DeleteI'm happy to bet and undefeated in bets against jellly (1-0). Last time was a ban on posts and that was a good time.
DeleteI've offered two bets this season, and chased for a response for weeks each time ... you dodged
DeleteYou mentioned winning a bet in the past, but when I asked, you dodged
Name-calling. That's what you've got left, hoping to get me in on it so you can play the victim & claim it is me avoiding the issue
Your bets are trash and I don't care about them. Does not mean I'm against betting jellly. Both parties have to be interested and willing to make a bet. Yours were your own fantasies. Not interested. Don't care. But you just go right on bringing it up over and over lil fella. LOL
DeleteIs calling you "jellly" the name-calling you're referring too?
The bet you lost to me was a few years ago. You forgot about it then (you had to be remind with links and quotes) so it's not a surprise you would forget it now. You didn't pay up at first and ignored my call outs, but to your credit, when reminded of the bet you eventually paid up. In that case the pay off was not posting for a few months.
Frankly I don't remember the exact timing or parameters either but I just don't care enough to look it up. So call that a dodge if you want but you don't either.
Two lies, not at all surprising
DeleteDo you Lank, GO BLUE
No lies told as always. Keep your Lank fantasies burning hot tho.
DeleteNo evidence = lies
DeleteIt's not a fantasy to bet you no one would agree with you on the Washington game. Two months later, no one has. It's not a fantasy to bet you disagreed & called it loser thinking that our QB room looked like a 4 or 5 loss season
Oh that's the definition of lies? So every post you've ever had is all lies. I'm not surprised.
DeleteAll the L's in jelllllllllllllllllllllly aren't just for all the losses, it's for lies too I guess.
----------------------------------------------
Your proposed bets have nothing to do with me. I still disagree with you on the Edwards play and I proved it with quotes, links, and "experts" backing me up. You insist on arguing with something that I agreed with -- quotes and links provided on that too. Hence -- a fantasy. And then the "loser thinking" quote is one I don't remember and you dodge at linking to (no links, no quotes) but keep bringing up anyway (obsessed). I keep telling you the same thing -- it seems like the shoe fits in your case. Sounds about right!
keep up the fantasies tho. They make me laugh.
I've never lied on here, ever
DeleteThunder's OP said Washington D adjusted to the potential of Tuttle passing. You disagreed, made assumptions about a single play, then provided NO "quotes, links, and "experts" to back you up ... NONE. Instead, you misrepresented Due's Twitter post ... Meanwhile, I provided X & O bloggers, two former players and BOTH Head Coaches who agreed with the OP, and then bet that no one would confirm your stubborn claim. Two months later, I am right
https://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2024/10/washington-27-michigan-17.html
*I'll provide the link on "loser thinking" as soon as you accept the bet ... do you accept or are you still dodging? That's not a lie Lank, it's a promise
"No evidence = lies"
DeleteYour posts rarely have evidence of anything therefore they are lies. per you.
I have already quoted to you where I agreed that Washington's D adjusted with Tuttle. Here it is again. From the link you posted LOL:
"
LankOctober 8, 2024 at 4:09 PM
@Blue in NC
"100% clear that the offense opened up and was far more balanced to Wash with Tuttle in vs Orji. "
I agree and have not said otherwise"
Hold it up.
@jellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly
DeleteThe debate I had with you was about the Edwards play - how the Huskies D on that play were still entirely focused on stopping the run, and the opportunities presented by threatening the QB run.
You want to conflate the two things (the play - where we disagree, and the game - where you are arguing with your fantasy. see my quote above).
Dodge and duck all you want but you STILL don't have a single X's and O's diagnosis of that play. Washington D was not worried about the pass - they put 2 guys on 2 wide receivers, the end. I do have Xs and Os backing me up. I posted quotes, and links, logic, facts, evidence. These are not your strength -- stick to emojis.
As for your bet -- There is no dodge I am telling you straight up that I don't care. Your bet is trash. No thanks. Not interested. Have fun with your fantasy, what you said or didn't say actually has nothing at all to do with me.
"loser thinking" sounds 100% on point.
Two posts. Got em
DeleteAnytime I've been asked for evidence, I provide it ... except for the bet on QBs, which you continue to dodge. Take the bet
It's so easy to catch you in a lie that I can hardly believe it. Here you say "I have already quoted to you where I agreed that Washington's D adjusted with Tuttle" and then share this "100% clear that the offense opened up and was far more balanced to Wash with Tuttle in vs Orji"
That's an admission to what WE did, not the Washington Defense ... here's more of that SAME thread: "I don't think it's that simple. I agree that Tuttle presents more of a pass threat than Orji but I did NOT see a big change in the DEFENSE playing back. Did you? Offense was still reliant on the run in either case and the Washington D still focused on stopping the run, wisely"
Too easy: 8 Oct at 4:09PM
https://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2024/10/washington-27-michigan-17.html?m=1
But if you're backpedaling now, I accept your L
My FIRST X & O breakdown for the Edwards play was 7 Oct 3:13PM, you replied FIVE times in less than an hour ---> RENTFREE!
After that, we have been going on & on for two months, and like I predicted on 13 Oct 3:21PM, NO ONE has backed your stubborn assumption about Live Reads, Washington worried about Tuttle as a runner, or your lie that the deep Safety headed towards Tuttle & blitzing Safety was on his heels ... you dodge, pretend & lie, but that fact remains
THAT is why you won't take the bet
Deflecting to counting posts because you know you lost.
DeleteDiverting to "live reads" because you know you lost.
Was the defense worried about the pass on the Edwards TD or selling out to stop the run?
You know the answer but won't admit it.
You have no evidence to support you on this play. Xs and Os experts say it was a read. Defense defended it like it was a read.
Everything else is you ducking dodging and bullshiting.
Hold it up!
Pointing out your volume of lies is no deflection, it's picking apart your BS. And easy
DeleteDefenses that "sell out" for the run don't line up 13yds deep with 3yds to go against RunFirstRunOften MICHIGAN, or have a LB stuck in place, eating a block, as I broke down on 7 Oct 3:13PM https://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2024/10/washington-27-michigan-17.html?m=1
expertS said no such thing. YOU lied about ONE tweet from Due ... Busted again, on 8 Oct at 12:15AM
Everything else is backed with links and/or date & time stamps. YOU LOST. Move along
#links
#quotes
#evidence
Regarding Jayden Denegal ... he didn't appear in any games in 2024. Not so much as a single snap, from what I can figure. There's been no talk of him at all. He saw some action in 2023, then he dropped off the face of the earth.
ReplyDeleteHe's listed at 6'5" and 235 pounds. I have to believe he's athletic enough to be used somewhere or somehow. Is he too light for TE?
I don't think Denegal is athletic enough for TE, and would have to learn how to block. That would be a great portal pick up too, a mauler at TE to help our Tackle situation
DeletePerhaps
DeleteMullings never played a full season, and took a beating
But there's also The Don. Our offense wasn't good and his potential to BOOM had to be tempting
I think Denegal is athletic enough to play some tight end. I mean, some of the guys who get rolled out there aren't super athletic - Josh Beetham, Carter Selzer, etc. He just might not be open to the idea of switching positions. Or maybe the coaches just don't think he would be tough enough for the job.
DeleteAthletic enough to switch, but play meaningful snaps? In what role? Maaaybe he can catch, but we have that. Can he run a route? Does he understand Zone coverage (from a WR perspective)? Is he willing & able to block?
DeleteMy bet is, with two years of eligibility, it would take all of 2o25 to figure the position out. Might as well sit & get his Master's without adding a head injury in exchange for garbage time snaps, or transfer to a school he can compete for QB1 (that also has higher ed opportunities)
I asked the question above about Denegal not because I was invested in him being a TE, but rather by the curiosity of his status. His dropping completely off the radar map in 2024 -- not just playing time, but even in mentions -- is intriguing. Given the QB issues in 2024, I would think if there was *something* there, they might have been able to use him somehow. It could be that Denegal has found himself in the doghouse for some reason. Or it could be that he simply showed less at the QB position than Tuttle, Warren, and Orji, which says something in itself.
DeleteI think he just sucks. At least Orji was a bit of a run threat, but what did Denegal offer? Perhaps on a loaded team he can handle garbage time QB3 role, but not much more. On this team, with a subpar OL and near nothing at WR, it's not surprising the walk-on who made occasional plays was far ahead, and the gimmick found a role
DeleteDenegal probably just sucks, I agree with jellly. Move to TE? I mean it's worked before but also no real reason to think a guy will just move to another position he's never played and be good unless he has some outstanding traits. ORJI for example has been hyped for athleticism, so you can see it make sense maybe at another position. I haven't heard anything of the kind for Denegal and just being X tall and weighing Y is definitely not the same as being athletic.
DeleteThen it makes me wonder what they saw in him in the first place. Seriously.
DeleteIt's recruiting -- you take some shots and risk some guys being duds. Denegal got offers from some respectable programs so Michigan was not alone. He was far from the top target, so they probably took the best available option to get a guy, any guy, in the class.
DeleteDenegal looks pretty bad now but compared to say Davis Warren he was considered a vastly better prospect in High School. Also arguably compared to Orji too. Though Orji was a Va Tech commit we stole, it's possible that his athleticism and position-switch potential elevated his profile relative to Denegal.
Sometimes speculative developmental recruits pan out (Griese, Milton) and sometimes they don't (Villari, Denegal).
Adding to my comment just above ...
Delete... if we look back across the Harbaugh tenure, and I'm semi-including 2024 in that, we had one very good QB (McCarthy), one that seemed good enough to win the Big Ten (McNamara), and one transfer that would have been interesting to see him for another season (Rudock). There was a bunch of other ones that had potential but never panned out (Peters, McCaffrey), and just raw project types that never came around (Milton, Orji, Denegal). Wilton Speight showed some promise, but then got hurt.
That's not the best record. I wonder why that is.
Milton came around - he just did it in a different uniform. He is the second best QB recruit of the Harbaugh era. Not for what he did at Michigan, obviously, but he's one of 2 recruits that ended up in the NFL. It does not look like there will be a third.
DeleteMcNamara was carried to a big ten title by an absolutely elite team around him. He was the weakest link on the squad, by far. I think a number of the guys you listed above could have done what McNamara did in hindsight, if put in a position to succeed like he was. Rudock, Speight, Milton, Peters, Bowman...hell maybe O'Korn, Warren and Orji could have won the Big Ten that year. Michigan won despite McNamara in 2021. He has proven how trash he is every year since. We can't keep pretending like McNamara went off to success after 2021, he showed us who he is now multiple times. He was very lucky to be on that 2021 team with only a young for his age freshman QB to compete against, and he is very lucky that he had a coaching staff that managed him, put him behind the best OL in the country, and ran ran ran the ball...not to mention an excellent defense and an easy schedule. Dude could not have been luckier...and then still acted like a victim on his way out the door.
My Michigan QB hot take is that Speight was just as good as Rudock. I believe that if he had stayed healthy and stuck around to play his 5th year at Michigan would have out performed Rudock. Compare apples to apples (3rd year in college) and Speight looked a whole lot better than Rudock through his junior year.
DeleteSpeight fled due to Patterson. Rudock fled due to Beathard. They both went to quality schools as transfers and both were practice-squad caliber players in the NFL. They are solid college QBs but unexceptional. To me they are equivalent.
Their arcs were different though! Rudock finished his career healthy and successful at Michigan with a happy fanbase after 2015. Speight's career peaked in 2016 but even that was marred by that injury against Iowa - dude was balling out until that Iowa game and never got back to that after his injury. But you can compare the results of Speight in 2016 and Rudock in 2015 and they are very very similar (Passer Rating 146 vs 139, QBR 82 vs 75)
Rudock had a better career, but I think Speight was just as good of a QB. Not quite Devin Gardner (who I think is way better than both but faced unfortunate circumstances around him), but things could have gone better than they went for Speight.
My Michigan QB hot take is two-fold:
Delete(1) Jim Harbaugh is the "QB Whisperer" only when a great QB drops in his lap; otherwise, if he takes merely good QB talent, then they tend to remain merely good
(2) Jim Harbaugh did not do a good job with staff hires until the 2021 season; prior to that, some of his hires were question marks (Hamilton, Gattis). I can't prove it, but I have a very strong suspicion that papa Harbaugh and brother Harbaugh intervened and helped Jim Harbaugh get his mind in the right place for the 2021-2023 run.
I just drank a bottle of vinegar, and that's my take.
Including Joe Milton as an example of QBs who panned out under Jim Harbaugh is questionable at best
Delete@anon5:o5PM... this is the same guy who admitted Milton was garbage at MICHIGAN, and is now pretending to forget Milton was benched for McNamara
Delete#fantasies
Both McNamara & Davis Warren are frustratingly bad, and I complain about them more than most. But fact is, both have more wins as a starter at MICHIGAN, including winning The Game. As far as history will remember, those two were successful, while Milton was indeed garbage
@Anon 326
DeleteYou could be right on Harbaugh's QB development but it's hard to know. I don't think either McCarthy or Luck were considered to be 1st round talents before Harbaugh worked with them. Maybe they were destined to be regardless though. We do know he got a lot more out of Smith and Kapernick than others did. We know he managed McNamara, Speight, and Rudock's limitations pretty well. He optimized a lot of guys.
I don't agree with the 2021 narrative. Harbaugh had good hires before 2021 and he had bad hires after. The difference is that he hit the OC/DC hires out of the park with Moore, McDonald, Minter.
@Anon 505
Milton is the only other QB Harbaugh recruited that is an NFL player. He was a multi-year starter, put up a lot of stats, Orange Bowl MVP, etc. If we assess people only by what happens at Michigan, then Tom Brady is a solid collge QB but limited upside, barely worth drafting. We all know that's dumb.
Do not want to throw Underwood in there as a freshman. work him like they did JJ.
ReplyDeleteI am more concerned with the OL; we need a coach, a good coach, to shape this unit up back to where it was a couple years ago. Looks like have high level recruits coming in, and the 2024 class was supposed to be good, but I didn't see much from our Jr and Sr. Back to the portal we go, this is getting old.
Cade is available...again. He just set fire to another bridge. Where is that guy that ran he mouth all of 2022 about Cade was the better QB and JJ was overrated? Miss that guy.
Underwood will only start if he's already ahead
DeleteThat's why we need the portal; get someone he can learn behind
If the options remain as they are, there's no way Underwood isn't starting at some point in 2025. If he's not the day 1 starter, he'll be starting halfway through the year.
DeleteIf there's a portal QB, then all bets are off. That's impossible for me to gauge right now.
Agree!
DeleteEvery QB on the current roster is not very good so I tend to agree that Underwood would start over any of them. Underwood is already a better passer than Warren and probably a better runner than Orji too (?).
DeleteBUT
1. They're going to add a portal QB and that QB will be the favorite to start. It would be most accurate to just put in a placeholder in the depth chart since this is not just widely speculated upon and rumored by insiders but acknowledged (or at least not denied) by Coach Moore.
2. A new OC/QB coach might be able to develop Orji or Davis if they stick around. Might be temporary, but also might be enough for a game 1 start to protect the freshman.
Underwood at 1 is unlikely going into the season for the reason above and putting him at 1 is misleading IMO. But that's the nature of this roster projection which is already out of date and willfully ignoring near certain departures (like Mason Graham and the other first rounders) and near certain additions (like a transfer QB). Speculating on a depth chart for this fall with a roster that is about to see change in >20%, more if looking at starters, is kind of like trying to project a pro teams depth chart 2 or 3 years out - it's futile. Even if you're trying to use it to sketch out portal needs....there are new departures coming every day.
Bottomline -- it's impossible to know the depth chart if you don't know the roster.
Agree MM that OL is a key thing here. You don't want a broken QB.
3.
Luckily, these posts do not purport to "know" the depth chart, nor the roster.
DeleteIt's addressed toward the top of the post every single time:
"It assumes that every currently rostered player and every currently committed prospect will be here in the fall of 2025, which is obviously not true."
And yet the complaints continue.
Nobody knows the future. Of anything. Should we not post game previews/predictions? Should we not take guesses at which team will win which game before the season? Should we not ponder which recruits will be good and/or which ones won't?
I've been doing this stuff for years, you've been complaining for years, and it's not changing. Nor will it change. Sometimes I'm going to project depth charts. And they're never going to be 100% accurate. I don't know how many times I have to say this. Everyone knows it who reads it. Water is wet. The sun is bright. Night follows day.
Thunder ... there are people here that appreciate what you provide, and we don't spoil for a contrarian fight about everything. You were perfectly clear in your original post, and any thinking person understands that a lot can change between now and next year to affect these lists.
DeleteKeep doing what you're doing, and just ignore those posts you don't wish to engage.
In the same thread of praising Milton for making it to the NFL, this hottake places Speight (undrafted, cut in camp) to ruddddock (drafted, and playing in games before retiring)
DeleteThe funny part of debating Lank is that there is zero principle. Not even he agrees with his posts, but will argue for months out of desparation
Also, no one comments on these Depth Chart threads more than the guy who is against Depth Chart threads
Post whatever you like Thunder. The methodology is clear about who is included. The intended purpose of it is not.
DeletePredict all you want but you are here saying this isn't a prediction (for obvious reasons) except when it is a prediction.
"ignore those posts you don't wish to engage."
Indeed.
On today's MGo podcast, the guys talk about the dire need for WR transfers (3!) ... Seth doubts we lose Semaj or Fred because nobody is looking for them (NON playmakers)
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more
Yeah, I was hoping Michigan could land a ready-to-play freshman in the 2025 class. I'm not sure they did. But I thought a high schooler like Meadows would be wanting to play with Bryce Underwood. It's a tougher sell for a guy with less eligibility remaining.
Delete"rent free"
DeleteThey also want a whole new unit
Deletehttps://mgoblog.com/content/portal-primer-offense