Name: A.J. Barner
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 251 lbs.
High school: Aurora (OH) Aurora
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #89
Last year: Barner played at Indiana. He had 28 catches for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: N/A
Somewhat ridiculously, Michigan lost four tight ends from last year who played regularly: Erick All (transfer to Iowa), Luke Schoonmaker (drafted by the Cowboys), Joel Honigford (undrafted free agent signed by the Arizona Cardinals), and walk-on Carter Selzer (graduation), the last of whom played in 28 games over the past couple seasons. That doesn't include Louis Hansen, who transferred to UConn.
Also somewhat ridiculously, tight end is still a position of strength for the Wolverines. The top guy is Colston Loveland, but Barner is pushing him, and they should make a good duo. Matt Hibner and Max Bredeson have also played quite a bit, and the fifth guy is 4-star Marlin Klein, whom everyone around the program thinks is a freak athlete.
The interesting thing about Barner is that he's a guy who can play both on and off the line - along with Loveland - so they can be used interchangeably, they can shift and trade, and it won't necessarily tip off defenses. Barner had a decent season for a struggling Indiana Hoosiers team last year and was named a team captain, so the leadership is there. I think it will be tough for any individual receiver (wideout or tight end) to put up great numbers because of the dominant running game that exists, but I think both Barner and Loveland will have some big plays this season because of their length and athleticism. They should be fun to watch.
Prediction: Part-time starting tight end; 20 catches for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns
VERY dominant running game 💪🏽
ReplyDelete"Stewart played at Indiana. He had 28 catches for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns. Substitute Barner.
ReplyDeleteGood catch! Thanks!
DeleteThere have been rumors of jumbo packages this year which makes nothing but good sense considering the quality we have in four guys competing for two tackle spots. Barner fits in quite nicely in any/all of the jumbo sets I can imagine.
ReplyDeleteWith Colston around, 20 catches for Barner feels pretty right, I do think that Barner can get behind people and can crack 350, maybe even 400 yards, as guys are gonna be sinking and stiffening up in order to try to shed him.
Roanman
I'm pro jumbo, especially if they throw a pass to one of the OL at some point
DeleteBoy, 350+ yards on 20-ish catches is a lot of yards per catch. He's not going to get there unless he has some freaky long plays for a tight end.
DeleteI do like the idea of some jumbo packages, because teams aren't built to stop them. And even if some teams do make adjustments to put in jumbo package-destroying defenses, they're not going to be well versed in playing those types of junk defenses.
I'm not exactly worried about TE, but am less bullish than Thunder. Barner and Loveland have a ways to go to block like schoonmacher and Honigford. Hibner and Klein are totally unproven. If the run game regress any the spots to look will be OC and TE
ReplyDeleteI don't think Barner and Loveland are on the level of Schoonmaker and Honigford when it comes to blocking, but I do think/hope that Michigan will do some personnel things to get a 6th or 7th lineman on the field. They might even do like they did with Trente Jones a couple seasons ago and give Myles Hinton jersey #86 and let him block. Imagine a 6'6", 340 lb. tight end on a down block against a 250 lb. Rutgers defensive end...
DeleteNot going to lie, I love this idea
Delete