Saturday, July 26, 2025

2025 Season Countdown: #56-60

 

Andrew Marsh

60. OT Connor Jones (RS Jr.): Jones is listed at 6'6", 320 lbs. in his fourth year in the program. Whereas there was some buzz around him earlier in his career, he seems to have fallen behind several other players at this point. He's not mentioned in the running to play much, but he is a backup option who could eat up some snaps during mop-up duty. He has played in just three games up to this point in his career. Last year's rank:#66.

59. WR Andrew Marsh (Fr.): Marsh (4-star, #16 WR, #117 overall) is a wild card for the 2025 season. He could do anything from lead the team in receiving to redshirt without playing much. At 6'0" and 175 lbs., he doesn't have overwhelming size and he's not necessarily a blazer, either. But the buzz has been strong about him looking like the best receiver on the field at various times. I tend to think it will be at least 2026 before we see him fully unleashed, but the potential is there for him to outplay the #59 ranking this season.

58. CB Caleb Anderson (6th): Anderson spent his first five seasons at Louisiana, where he was at one time coached by defensive backs coach Lamar Morgan. He made thirteen starts during his five years there, including four last year when he made 18 tackles. Injuries have been a bit of an issue, and that continued in the spring after he transferred in. I don't know what to expect from Anderson, but there is a track record of defensive backs transferring in to Michigan and not playing much, including Wayne Lyons (Stanford) and Casey Hughes (Utah). And while there are success stories, too (Josh Wallace from UMass, Aamir Hall from Albany), I lean more toward the talented defensive backs beating out the experience of Anderson. But it's nice to have a 6'3", 200-pounder with five years of experience under his belt.

57. QB Jake Garcia (RS Sr.): Garcia committed to Michigan this spring after bouncing around from Miami to Missouri to East Carolina. A highly touted high school quarterback, he has not played up to his ranking (4-star, #8 QB, #48 overall in 2021) and has managed just 60.6% completions, 2,376 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions while playing in fifteen total games over four years. At 6'4" and 203 lbs., he's a good athlete with a decent arm. I don't expect him to beat out Bryce Underwood or Mikey Keene (unless Keene's spring injury lingers), but he is a step up athletically from Davis Warren. In other words, Michigan should be better at quarterback in 2025 than they were in 2024 even if they get down to their third QB.

56. RB John Volker (RS Sr.): Volker is a 6'0", 210 lb. back who spent the past four seasons at Princeton. Probably best used as a short yardage back in his upcoming year at Michigan, he ran for 514 yards and 7 touchdowns on 89 carries last season. He does have 75- and 51-yard runs over the past couple seasons in the Ivy League, so there's potential for some bigger plays, but that speed will likely be negated at the Big Ten level. I think the players vying for the third running back job are all fairly equal overall, but I see Volker as the best option ahead of C.J. Hester, Micah Ka'apana, Donovan Johnson, and Jasper Parker.

5 comments:

  1. Oof, I forgot Jones was on the roster. OL is a question mark, so having that size just sitting around after 4yrs is a loss for the program

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    1. It makes me wonder what happened. It could be his natural abilities were simply outshined by competing linemen. Or it could be his work ethic didn't compel him to train and take coaching as well as the others. Maybe he lost his "love for the game" at some point and now is just coasting to get his degree.

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  2. I find this middle segment of the list fascinating. These are the guys that are on the outside of the starting rotation. Those that are third or fourth year will probably not make it. At a program like Michigan, however, it's probable they are good enough at the game to start at lesser programs. Some stay, some portal. What's the psychology of those that stay? I would imagine the camaraderie of shared training and shared practice keeps some here to simply enjoy that.

    The college years are special years, and for most they will never again experience the "band of brothers" type sense they have being part of a team, or a sub-group within a team. When I was in college back in the early 1980s, I worked for the campus police doing sports event traffic control. I was the student supervisor, and I had a core group of about a dozen, and were were tight. I'm 65 years old now, and despite years of working on other teams, I have never experienced anything like it. I'm sure even when the very good players move on to the NFL, the 'brotherhood' aspect is diminished from what they felt in college.

    Thunder, I don't know if in your high school coaching experience you see some of this at that age level. Perhaps for those not good enough to play in college it's similar.

    Human bonds are special things, particularly between men joined in a shared experience like football. Football may be unique in the realm of sports given how much the game depends on everyone coordinating. The other sports allow, to different degrees, domination by a single player. Football is truly a team sport.

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    1. I think youth sports are so formative for us as people that they create lifelong bonds. I've had a few old friends from Little League die over the past few years, and it just takes me right back to playing baseball with them and how they looked when they were 10 or 12 years old. There are guys who I played high school ball with who I'm still friends with or I think about often or I think of them when I see their jersey number. College is also extremely formative, and I wouldn't want to give up those bonds in my fourth or fifth year of college, either.

      Not that you CAN'T stay friends with those guys, but if you're not on the football team anymore and still go to the same school...who are you going to hang out with all the time when your teammates are practicing, lifting, traveling on away game weekends, etc.? It would be a major cultural shock to the system.

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  3. Yep I have irrational optimism with Marsh and expect him to be one of the top 3 receivers, maybe even #1. He's a freshman yes, but coming in with polished receiving skills on roster sorely lacking in fundamental receiving skills like route running.

    Perhaps recency bias here, but I expect Anderson to be in the top 3 outside CB rotation like Hall and Wallace were the last couple years. But Thunder is absolutely right that there are no guarantees we get such obvious success from a grad transfer again, and there is clearly nice young talent in the pipeline. I think one factor here is that Hill and Berry are still pretty green for being 2 starters. I think a veteran presence in the rotation will be needed, if one of the younger/more talented guys is doing bone-headed things for example.

    Jones just does not seem to be getting any mention so I'm surprised he's on this list where he is among guys who are far more likely to be rotational pieces.

    Garcia -- now this is an interesting one. On the one had he could be the backup who comes in if something happens bad with Bryce. On the other hand....woof. Sound the alarm bells if he is seeing meaningful snaps and doing anything other than handing it off.

    Volker - I kind of agree with Thunder that he might be the most likely option for RB3. I like his game and think there would be no real issue if he is seeing meaningful snaps stepping in as a backup for Hayes or Marshall. But yeah, he's not clearly ahead of the other options at RB3 so that will be fun to watch play out. I think the best scenario is a freshman pops and Volker's role is limited but we'll see.

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