Here it is, the final countdown! I hope you guys enjoyed reading this year, which was a record for the number of posts. No other website profiles the top 131 players in Michigan's program, do they? Nope! And I'll tell you why:
Nobody else is that dumb.
I appreciate your reading TTB, and Go Blue!
- Aidan Hutchinson
- Cade McNamara
- Daxton Hill
- Josh Ross
- Mazi Smith
- Hassan Haskins
- Jake Moody
- Ronnie Bell
- Gemon Green
- Andrew Stueber
- Ryan Hayes
- Zak Zinter
- Brad Hawkins
- Cornelius Johnson
- Brad Robbins
- Donovan Jeter
- Blake Corum
- D.J. Turner II
- Erick All
- Michael Barrett
- Christopher Hinton
- Taylor Upshaw
- A.J. Henning
- a. Karsen Barnhart, b. Jordan Whittley
- Trevor Keegan
- Mike Sainristil
- Vincent Gray
- William Wagner
- Chuck Filiaga
- Makari Paige
- Roman Wilson
- Luke Schoonmaker
- Andrew Vastardis
- Trente Jones
- Julius Welschof
- a. J.J. McCarthy, b. Donovan Edwards
- Joel Honigford
- Gabe Newburg
- Anthony Solomon
- Kalel Mullings
- a. Alan Bowman, b. Daylen Baldwin
- Junior Colson
- David Ojabo
- Nikhai Hill-Green
- Braiden McGregor
- Louis Hansen
- Jaylen Harrell
- Mike Morris
- Jess Speight
- German Green
- Reece Atteberry
- R.J. Moten
- Jalen Perry
- Sammy Faustin
- Andre Seldon
- Jordan Morant
- Quinten Johnson
- Darion Green-Warren
- Nolan Rumler
- William Mohan (no profile due to transfer)
- Andrel Anthony
- Raheem Anderson
- Joey Velazquez
- Rayshaun Benny
- Cornell Wheeler (no profile due to transfer)
- Cristian Dixon
- Caden Kolesar
- Jaydon Hood
- Tavierre Dunlap
- Carter Selzer
- Tommy Doman
- Ja'Den McBurrows
- Griffin Korican
- Tyler McLaurin
- Eamonn Dennis
- Dan Villari
- Edward Warinner (no profile due to transfer)
- Kris Jenkins
- Jack Stewart
- Greg Tarr
- Greg Crippen
- Jeffrey Persi
- George Johnson III
- George Rooks
- Ikechukwu Iwunnah
- T.J. Guy
- Rod Moore
- Tristan Bounds
- Joey George
- Kechaun Bennett
- Kraig Correll
- Giovanni El-Hadi
- Ren Hefley
- Karl Kerska
- Phillip Paea
- Peyton Smith
- Max Wittwer
- Jerome Nichols
- Isaiah Gash
- Lucas Andrighetto
- Elijah Pierre
- Andy Maddox
- Luke Buckman
- Nolan Knight
- Mica Gelb
- Danny Hughes
- Keshaun Harris
- Leon Franklin
- Gaige Garcia (no profile due to transfer)
- Mahdi Hazime
- Mathew Harrison
- Matt Torey
- Izaak Gerkis (no profile due to transfer)
- Luke Fisher
- Christian Bartholomew
- Hunter Neff
- Joshua Luther
- Jake Thaw
- Sam Staruch
- Andrew Russell
- Noah Stewart
- Dominick Giudice
- Will Rolapp
- WR Peyton O'Leary
- LB Christian Boivin
- QB Davis Warren
- QB Max Bredeson
- LB Alexander Lidback
- OG Peter Simmons
- Willie Allen (no profile due to transfer)
- OT Noah Howes
Well done Thunder. The effort/content/thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI hope your reward is an enjoyable season.
Always a great read. I know you get busy, but we all appreciate the material!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe the team is in this condition after 7 years of Jim Harbaugh. No one would have said it would be like this when he was hired. Almost everyone, including Ohio St fans, would have thought the team was going to be a very tough and good team.If Michigan does not get 10 wins or more, he must be let go. But a better way, would be if he would resign.
ReplyDeleteI am very unhappy with most of his coaching moves. Some have been excellent. Some have been very bad. But I really don't know if he put long, and careful thought into the hires. I never thought I would question if Jim Harbaugh really does know football. He certainly does know the QB position. He played it professionally. But Everywhere else? I really have to wonder.
I strongly disagree with the order you have for #92 (Giovanni El-Hadi) and #93 (Ren Hefley)! It should be reversed! I can't believe you ranked them that way. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am, of course, just kidding. This was a nice job and a pleasure to follow as the days counted down. Thank you for the effort.
The fact that Hutchinson is #1 does, I think, signal something a little less positive about things. Normally I'd expect the QB to be #1, and by a fairly wide margin. But such is the state of the defense that our top guy is going to have to have a great season to hold things together. If our top guy has a so-so year, then it portends for less good things.
I'm fairly dis-invested in outcomes, so I'm not expecting much this season. I think 6-6 is a floor; I think 9-3 is probably a ceiling. My hope is not so much in the final record as it is in how things appear to be progressing. If even in losses Michigan plays smart and competitively, then it's a good sign. If they win some games *despite* their own mistakes and questionable coaching, then it's not a good sign. If Michigan loses games because of poor planning, poor execution, and poor coaching, then it's a very bad sign indeed.
So I'm hoping for them to decisively win the games they should (Western, Rutgers, etc.), play well and competitively in those games where a loss is possible (Wisconsin, Penn State), and play competitively with OSU, and have the outcome of that game be more about "good game, and the better team won" rather than "Michigan lost that game because they failed to do X, Y, and Z."
Thanks for doing this. Annually, this is a big "I'm getting ready for the season" ritual. I really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteMy most relevant difference in opinion is that I would rank Erik All in the top 5. Harbaugh loves his TEs and All has excellent upside. If Michigan is able to get up to 9 win territory I think it would be on the back of All being a dual-threat TE among the best in the conference if not the nation. For this offense to be what it needs to be the TE position has to be excellent. All COULD be that guy. We'll see if he is.
ReplyDeleteThere has been a lot of talk about the tight ends, including enough to make me question whether I underranked Carter Selzer (who is now on scholarship). Last year I didn't think All was any better than Schoonmaker as a receiver, though All is superior as a blocker.
DeleteI think All does a better job getting open but this is certainly opinion more than observation. Just a spot where I could see an overlap between opportunity/impact and potential/talent.
DeleteI can own it as a hot take. IF Michigan gets to 9 wins, I say All will be all-conference.
No game preview & prediction???
ReplyDeleteA lot of existential dread and apathy in the fanbase this year. I hope people can have fun with it, even if the team isn't real good. There are a lot of unknowns, more than usual (though I usually say that), but this probably isn't a very good team.
ReplyDeleteLike many, my expectations are low. The typical fan is optimistic most years (whatever Vegas says the wins will be plus 1, at least) but Michigan fans generally seem more resigned to 7 wins and firing Harbaugh.
I think 5 wins (-2) is more likely than 9 (+2). Just too many questions on the roster, at too many positions, with too many unproven coaches. But 10 wins (+3) is more likely than 4 (-3). Michigan still has a talent advantage against most teams they'll face. The energy WITHIN the program does sound better, though I wouldn't bet on that meaning anything.
The Fire Harbaugh talk is already exhausting. I hope to tune all that out when it comes. If/when JH is gone Michigan football will put accelerant on the road to irrelevance. On the other hand, Harbaugh doesn't look like the guy who can turn the bus around (it's rolling downhill, without any brakes, with OSU and everyone else giving it a push). I'm resigned to it, even as I hope that's not how it goes.
If Harbaugh is fired Michigan will be like any other average program - searching for a savior. A Bo Schembechler, a Barry Alvarez, a Jimmy Johnson, a Mike Belloti. But the hill will be harder and longer to climb than any of those guys had with the college football landscape being what it is.
Regardless of all that, I'm approaching the season very simply. This is my team and my school. I'm going to root for them and hope they can be better than expected. I like football. I'm going to watch every game I can. I won't promise to watch every snap if it looks like a sinking ship, but it really doesn't matter what's on my screen.
It seems like a good time to focus on positive things. The energy of the young coaches. The pure talent of guys like Hutchinson and Hill. The raw mass of our OL and DL. The spirit of Bell and McNamara. Everything about Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum. The possible redemption of Gray, All, and Harbaugh. The opportunities given to Gattis and McDonald. The passions of the students, especially the players.
Go Blue!
I don't expect. I cheer and hope.