2023 Season Countdown: #106 Hunter Neff

 

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Paul Sancya/AP/Shutterstock (10405418f) Michigan wide receiver Hunter Neff runs during warmups before an NCAA college football game against Army in Ann Arbor, Mich Army Michigan Football, Ann Arbor, USA - 07 Sep 2019

Name: Hunter Neff
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 231 lbs.
High school: Chelsea (MI) Chelsea
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt senior
Jersey number: #80
Last year: I ranked Neff #117 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He played in two games and caught 1 pass for 8 yards.
TTB Rating: N/A

Neff deserves some sort of award for stick-to-it-iveness. He joined the program as a walk-on in 2019, stuck through 2020, and stayed through 2021 without seeing the field. After three years of sitting and watching, he finally got on the field in a couple blowout games in 2022, even catching an 8-yard pass against Colorado State.

There probably won't be a big leap in 2023, but Michigan did lose several tight ends in the off-season - four, to be exact. Neff doesn't have the size to factor into the rotation much, but he could possibly move up slightly on the depth chart. A.J. Barner, Matt Hibner, and Colston Loveland seem to make up the top three, and then after that, things seem to be a little murky.

Prediction: Backup tight end