18 Wolverines Who Might Get Drafted in 2016

Jourdan Lewis

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Michigan recently had three players drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft - two seniors and a true junior, the latter of which was talented but never really hit his ceiling while in college. Over the past few days, I have seen some gnashing of teeth amongst Michigan fans about whether or not anyone will be drafted in 2016. It's a somewhat valid concern because Michigan does not appear to have many superstars, and nobody leaps out as a likely first or second round pick for next year. However, there are numerous guys who could find their names called next spring. Here is a rundown of the players who could potentially get a phone calling bearing good news during next year's draft. Some of them are young players who might make the choice - wise or not - to leave after their junior or redshirt sophomore seasons.

SENIORS
Joe Bolden, LB (Sr.): The 6'3", 232 lb. senior became a part-time starter in 2013 and a full-time starter last year when he finished second on the team with 102 tackles; he also had 4 tackles for loss and 2 sacks. He will be counted on once again to be a leader on the defense, alongside fellow inside linebacker Desmond Morgan. Bolden has never been the most athletic linebacker, but he is known as a smart, high-character guy who usually gets to the right spot. If Jake Ryan is the standard for a 4th rounder, then Bolden might be a late-round selection.

Blake Countess (RS Sr.): Countess has had an up-and-down career for the Wolverines. After showing promise as a freshman, he tore his ACL in 2012. Then he had 6 interceptions in 2013, followed by zero - and basically losing his job - as a redshirt junior in 2014, when he did have 24 tackles and 3 pass breakups. If the odd year trend continues, he's poised for a big year here in 2015. The 5'10", 185 lb. Countess will be battling Jourdan Lewis and Wayne Lyons for playing time, but Countess has a shot to get drafted pretty high if he performs like he did two years ago.

Graham Glasgow, OL (RS Sr.): The 6'6", 303 lb. Glasgow comes with some off-the-field issues having to do with alcohol, but he has been Michigan's most consistent lineman over the past two seasons. He has the ability to play center, guard, or tackle, although his best fit is probably the guard position. He could probably carry some additional weight if necessary. If Michigan finds success on the ground, much of the credit will probably go to Glasgow, who will probably be the starting center this year now that Jack Miller has departed.

Hit the jump for some more seniors and some underclassmen who could be tempted to make a jump to the NFL.

Wayne Lyons, Wolverine

Wayne Lyons

I had been holding off on this until something official came from the university, but rising fifth-year cornerback Wayne Lyons is transferring from Stanford to Michigan and will play for the Wolverines this fall. He will be immediately eligible as a graduate transfer. This had been rumored for a while, and cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich confirmed Lyons' pending arrival in an interview on Thursday.

Hit the jump for a rundown on Lyons:

2011 Offer Board Update

Safety Wayne Lyons committed to Stanford

The 2011 Offer Board has been updated.  As you can imagine at this point, none of these recent commitments have gone in Michigan's favor:

Jon Lewis (DT) committed to Texas Tech.


Keith Lewis (OLB) committed to Ole Miss.

Armstead Williams (ILB) committed to Purdue.

Demetrius Hart (SB) changed his commitment from Michigan to Alabama.

Kris Frost (LB) committed to Auburn.

Wayne Lyons (SS) committed to Stanford.

Devondrick Nealy (SB) committed to Iowa State.

Quan Bray (SB) committed to Auburn.

Doran Grant (CB) committed to Ohio State.

Anthony Zettel (DE) committed to Penn State

Preview: U.S. Army All-American Bowl

Cornerback (and Michigan commit) Blake Countess is playing in today's U.S. Army All-American Bowl

Over at Maize 'n' Brew, I've posted a preview for today's U.S. Army All-American Bowl.  It discusses several Michigan prospects who are playing in today's game, several of whom are considering Michigan.

Blake Countess, Wolverine

Blake Countess (#1)

The cold, wet weather in Maryland had one advantage for Michigan and its fans.  Cornerback Blake Countess, from Our Lady of Good Counsel in Olney, Tweeted on Friday morning that he would be playing college ball at Michigan.  Countess is a 5'10", 174 lb. cornerback and a 4-star recruit to all three major recruiting services; he's also ranked anywhere between #13 and #18 in the country at the cornerback position.

Countess is a very solid corner.  I can't honestly say that he's "great" at any one thing.  But unlike several other cornerback recruits over the past few years (Justin Turner was too big, Demar Dorsey was too thuggish, Boubacar Cissoko was short and harbored too much ill will toward delivery boys), Countess doesn't have any glaring deficiencies.  He has decent size, runs well, has good hips, is a solid tackler, and tracks the ball well in the air.  He ended his senior season with 47.5 tackles, 15 pass breakups, and 2 return touchdowns, in addition to 21 receptions for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns on offense. The way he moves reminds me a bit of former Michigan cornerback Ty Law, although Law filled out to be a thick, physical corner at Michigan and later in the NFL.

He also seems to be an intelligent kid with good character.  According to his senior highlights (below), he has a 3.1 GPA and a 22 on the ACT.  He's well spoken in interviews and attends a respected private school.  Our Lady of Good Counsel consistently puts out a couple FBS prospects, including Jelani Jenkins (Florida) from the Class of 2009 and Vincent Croce (Virginia) from the Class of 2011, both of whom were offered by Michigan.  As for the pedigree of OLGC's football team, it went 10-2 and beat renowned DeMatha in the WCAC championship game this season by a score of 42-3.  For some perspective, Michigan offered five DeMatha seniors in the Class of 2010, and no less than ten DeMatha kids have offers to play FBS football in the Class of 2011.  On a team that obliterated a squad like DeMatha, Countess was a captain.  That bodes well for his future.

This gives Michigan four cornerbacks in the Class of 2011 - Countess, Dallas Crawford, Delonte Hollowell, and Greg Brown. I do not expect Michigan to continue recruiting cornerbacks for this class, at least not to commit immediately.  The coaches will likely stay in contact with kids like Daren Kitchen, Valdez Showers, Raymon Taylor, and James Richardson, but only to keep lines of communication open in case one of the aforementioned players decommits.  It's possible, even likely, that one of these four will move to free safety early in his career.  I also expect that Michigan will continue to recruit strong safeties like Wayne Lyons.

Overall, this is a solid development in Michigan's recruiting, especially during a time when Rich Rodriguez's future as coach is somewhat murky.  If Rodriguez can keep his job and hire a competent defensive coordinator, someone ought to be able to create a solid defense from the pieces being thrown together.

Scouting Report: Wayne Lyons, S - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Fort Lauderdale, FL safety Wayne Lyons

Height: 6'0"
Weight: 190 lbs.
Class: 2011
Position: Safety
School: Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL
40-yard dash: 4.55 seconds
Vertical: 31"

Notes: Holds more than 50 offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Stanford, and USC . . . Had 95 tackles and 2 sacks as a sophomore in 2008 . . . Had 87 tackles and 2 interceptions as a junior in 2009 . . . Holds a 4.8 GPA . . . 4-star recruit, #9 safety, #160 overall player, and #29 prospect in Florida according to Rivals . . . 4-star recruit, #6 safety according to Scout . . . 4-star recruit, 81 rating, #68 overall player, #7 safety according to ESPN . . . Missed large part of senior season due to MCL sprain

Strengths: Hard hitter . . . Instinctual playmaker . . . Rips at ball frequently when ballcarrier is stopped . . . Does a good job of avoiding overpursuit . . . Plays at a high speed with an aggressive nature . . . Very good feet and hips allow him to change direction in coverage and pursuit . . . Extends arms well to prevent blockers from getting into his body

Weaknesses: Good speed, but not great . . . Needs to bulk up physically . . . Attacks with bad intentions, but doesn't always hit with as much authority as he wants . . . Aggression sometimes gets body out of position to make tackles . . . Needs to break down sooner when tackling . . . Must be smart about choosing when to strip ball and when to make tackle

Projection: Lyons is a very smart kid who seems to understand how the offense is trying to attack the defense.  He's also a very good athlete whose hips and coordination outstrip his pure, straight-line speed.  Lyons could play free safety in a pinch, but his speed wouldn't be ideal at that position; adding 15 to 20 lbs. would make him a prototypical strong safety to help in the run game.  He could be a 3-year starter in a BCS-level program.