#46. Bryzon Kuzdzal - RB - Grand Rapids (MI) Forest Hills Eastern: Kuzdzal is a 5'11", 210 lb. redshirt junior who was a walk-on in 2023 when the team won a national championship. He went from not playing in any games that year to playing on special teams in 2024 and then starting two games at running back in 2025 after Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall got injured. Kuzdzal had 76 carries for 326 yards and 4 touchdowns, including 20 carries for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns against Maryland. Perhaps an extra year in the weight room will help, but he's generally a pretty quick runner who didn't really show much ability to break tackles. After entering the transfer portal this off-season to find a bigger opportunity, he returned to Michigan after Justice Haynes jumped in the portal and landed at Georgia Tech. Kuzdzal will likely be the third running back this season, behind Marshall and freshman Savion Hiter.
#47. Deakon Tonielli - TE - Oswego (IL) Oswego: Tonielli is a 6'5", 246 lb. redshirt junior who made two starts at tight end in 2025, grabbing 8 catches for 72 yards. He didn't play in any games during his first two seasons on campus and then suddenly found himself starting at times, largely because starter Marlin Klein missed a big chunk of time due to a leg injury. The pecking order at tight end is questionable right now, but it appears that Hogan Hansen and Zack Marshall will be ahead of Tonielli on the depth chart. Michigan will also use an extra lineman in place of a tight end at times. I would not be surprised if this is his final season in Ann Arbor unless he can surge past one or both of those aforementioned players for some momentum going into 2027, but for now he should be a solid third tight end.
#48. Jordan Young - S - Monroe (NC) Monroe: Young is a 6'0", 195 lb. sophomore who played in ten games last season, making 15 tackles and 3 pass breakups. He has earned solid reviews from practices, but competition is stiff in the defensive backfield. It was thought that he could contribute at the nickel position, but defensive coordinator Jay Hill mentioned three players vying for time at nickel (Smith Snowden, Zeke Berry, Jyaire Hill) who weren't named Jordan Young. It also appears that Rod Moore and Chris Bracy will be the two starting safeties, so Young will be battling for a backup role somewhere. Some spots should open up in 2027 with eligibility running out for a few of the aforementioned players, so he might be a starter for the Wolverines in another year.
#49. Jalen Hoffman - TE - Burke (VA) Lake Braddock: The 6'3", 245 lb. redshirt junior Hoffman waited a few seasons at Michigan to replace Max Bredeson at fullback, only to have the offense change just before his big opportunity arrived. Hoffman played a fair amount in 2025 as Bredeson's backup and the highlight of his season was probably when he recovered an onside kick against Michigan State. I don't know exactly what to expect from the offense in 2026, but it feels like the fullback/H-back position might be de-emphasized when compared to the Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore eras. Michigan also has thumper Eli Owens as a somewhat similar fullback type to Hoffman, so it will be interesting to see how much these body types and skill sets will be used by new offensive coordinator Jason Beck.
#50. Jacob Oden - S - Harper Woods (MI) Harper Woods: Oden is a 6'1", 205 lb. redshirt sophomore who played in ten games on defense in 2025, making 3 tackles and 1 interception. The interception came against Washington when eventual first round pick Denzel Boston had an uncharacteristic drop after beating the defense, and Oden happened to be nearby on the ground, with the ball falling into his lap. It wasn't the most beautiful play, but it still goes in the stat book. Anyway, Oden will be a backup once again in 2026, battling with the likes of Jordan Young (see above) and Mason Curtis for playing time. Oden should also be a factor on special teams.
Lots of opportunity for RB3 in this offense, especially considering Marshall’s inability to stay healthy in years 1 & 2; dude runs so hard, and that’s taxing
ReplyDeleteWe may still used that FB role. Who is our 6th OL? And, can they be as versatile & impactful - a threat to touch the ball too - as say, Hoffman or Owens?
Well, the guys likely to start on the OL seem to include:
DeleteBabalola
Frazier
Guarnera
Link
Sprague
So that seems to leave the sixth OL as possibly Efobi, Norton, or Gach. Out of those guys, Efobi seems like a guy who could be the sixth lineman (or "Rhino").
I preferred Efobi over Norton last year, but where did he struggle most? At least early on, it was while pulling. Kinda lost out there
DeleteThe 6th OL must have that as a strength
je93 asked, "Who is our 6th OL?" You responded with "possibly Efobi, Norton, or Gach. Out of those guys, Efobi seems like a guy who could be the sixth lineman (or 'Rhino')."
DeleteWhen I think of a 6th OL, I revert to simple ideas of a heavy set for a goal line run play, but Jason Beck seems to have a more expansive use of this 6th OL, or 'Rhino.' Over at mgoblog, Alex Drain described the Rhino concept a bit, and it seems to be used in about half the plays, and both run and pass. Therefore, it would seem the Rhino would need to be good at both run blocking and pass protection. I think I recall Beck saying that often the Rhino was a better player than the five starting linemen, which suggests to me that players has be both versatile and very good.
Since this Rhino idea is a new thing at Michigan with Beck coming in, seeing a short write-up from you on what it is, and *your views* on what you see as the pros and cons of it, would be very interesting. I know you have other things on your plate, so time permitting, of course.
If they are using Rhino on half of snaps (as mgoblog said they did last year at Utah) then they could keep both Frazier and Babalola at OT and stick to Efobi or Norton as a starting OG.
ReplyDeleteSeems like Babalola would have to clearly be far superior to beat out a returning starter.
Regardless, bring on the beef.
I have my doubts about whether the Rhino will be used quite so often at Michigan in 2025. I think you can put a Rhino out there if he's one of your best ~11 athletes, but I'm not sure I would call the sixth lineman that. Here's one way to think about it, with 5 linemen because duh:
Delete1. Underwood
2. Marsh
3. Buchanan
4. Frazier*
5. Babalola*
6. Guarnera*
7. Link*
8. Sprague*
9. Jordan Marshall
10. Ffrench
11. Hiter
So...that looks like the best 11 athletes to me shows 20 personnel. I'm not sure I would classify a tight end as a top 11 athlete, but Hansen is pretty good when healthy.
12. Hansen
13. Moa?
14. Travis Johnson?
15. Efobi?
If you're trying to get your best 11 on the field consistently, I don't think it really includes lineman #6.
My point exactly
DeleteWill they use a sixth OL occasionally? Sure. But is this roster’s sixth OL among the top 11-13 players? I don’t think so, at least not considering last season
My OL would rank
Tier 1: Guarneri & Sprague
(big drop) Tier 2: Link & Frazier
(unknown but hyped) Tier 2: Babaloa
(even bigger drop): Tier 3: EFOBI
(another drop): Tier 4: Norton
I don’t see much benefit in Tier 3 and 4, at least not as valuable as a second RB (Hiter), Hansen, Marshall and perhaps Tonelli, and - if we’re passing - Moa, Ffrench and Johnson
This is a legit interesting debate. Bravo for that. There are multiple Anons here, plus JE and Thunder.
DeleteI would tier slightly differently:
1 Guarnera, Sprague (Locks / Potential All Conference)
2 Link, Frazier (High Confidence / Talent + Experience)
3 Babalola (Uncertain but talented)
4 Efobi, Norton (Reliable but low ceiling)
I think objectively Norton/Efobi/Babalola are probably above average big 10 players in a way that Tonielli, Hansen, Marshall, Hoffman and Ffrench might not be. But I think this is beside the point.
When you decide to play 6OL you are very clearly deciding NOT to play your best athletes. There's always a RB or WR on the bench who is a better athlete than 300 pound guy you are going to put out there instead. Usually a backup TE on the bench too. That's true on '25 Utah and it's true on '26 Michigan. For example Ffrench and Moa and Hiter are no contest better athletes than any OL. You do this not to out athlete people you do this to outsize them -- so you can overpower them.
So I disagree with the "best athletes" analysis, regardless of if Rhino is used 10% of the time or 50% of the time. If this is just semantics and you are saying best athlete but mean "best player" overall...well I think that just has to remain to be seen. Regardless if you think the 11th best guy is a big guy Babalola/Efobi/Norton or an athlete Ffrench/Johnson/Moa or something in between it's probably going to be close enough to where it doesn't change your gameplan.
What really matters is how that person complements the top 10 guys to be as effective as possible. IMO that's going to be dependent on the context -- what your opponents weak spots are and the scheme you want to employ to attack them. It also depends on what Bryce is doing well or not doing well.
In other words I don't think Ffrench's objective talent or Norton's objective talent will dictate too much if you want to try to throw the ball downfield or if you want to run it down their throats. That's going to be based on how effective the opposing D is and what their weak points are.
Of the 22 guys on the field -- the 22nd best one is not the one who dictates things.
I think this comes down to how you define "athlete." Jake Guarnera is a better athlete (football player) than Tomas O'Meara, even though O'Meara can probably beat Guarnera in a foot race, jump higher, jump farther, etc.
DeleteIf you think of "athlete" as in Madden Rating, it makes more sense. If your sixth offensive lineman is rated as an 82 and your fourth wide receiver is rated as a 67, you probably want a sixth offensive lineman on the field rather than a fourth receiver.
Lank’s favorite is to argue semantics
DeleteAs for use of the Rhino, it shouldn’t be surprising if we use one a lot; Beck wants to Run and Run some more
But if the discussion is on who we think our best players are or best path forward, I’ll restate my tiers: there’s a BIG drop from Guar/Sprague (both played damned good football) and Link (who sucked in 24 and was just okay last year) and Frazier (who got beaten like he stole something even as late as the Bowl game)
Efobi was okay, but again - even in the Bowl game - had issues pulling
I’m fine with Norton never playing again. Dude scored 36 in PFF run block, and was shoved around like he belongs at CalPoly
Beck will prefer the Run, so that’s probably what we get. But I feel better about our pass game than I have in a while. Just compare the options:
I’d take Bryce over Warren/Orji any day. Who wouldn’t?
JJ & Marsh or Morris & Semaj. lol, it’s not close!
Then you have Ffrench, Johnson & Moa v Fred Moore, OLeary and Ken Bell … we don’t have data, but I think most of us would rather have this year’s batch over the pLaYmAkErS
Loveland is the only obvious pick from THAT year, but he missed so much time that our current pass options are still much better for another playoff chance
Our better players are at skill positions, not the OL, and definitely not down to the sixth OL
Personnel decisions are about what can make Underwood and the offense most successful. It's more about how #11 complements #1-10 then evaluating #11 in a vacuum.
DeleteI'll set aside the athlete/player semantics for the sake of the more interesting element of the discussion. While I agree in principle with the idea of considering your "best 11" I think that obviously has limits. The Oklahoma State team that had Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders still just played one RB. The Ohio State team that had Williams, JSN, Wilson, and Olave still used 3 WR with a TE most of the time. You don't deviate too far from meeting positional and schematic needs.
In terms of who is objectively (in a vacuum) a better player (based on Madden rating principle that Thunder brought up). I'd speculate the following 8 are fairly locked into your best 11:
Underwood, Marshall, Marsh, Buchannan, Sprague, Guarnera, Link, Frazier
Certainly debatable on a few of them but I think there's little question those 8 are in your starting 11. And then practically speaking you need another OL (best of Efobi/Norton/Babalola), a TE (Hansen or Marshall) to get to 10. After that you have a choice for guy 11.
My point above is that you are NOT going to make the decision about guy #11 based on some more objective version of the madden rating. You have flexibility -- you can use an extra OL, a TE, a FB, a 3rd WR, or even a second RB. But I don't believe our coaching staff is going to make that decision based on a thought process that says "well Hiter is 82 caliber player and Norton is just a 74 caliber player so let's put 2 RB on the field instead of 6 OL". That's ridiculous IMO. Same thing with TE. We can have 20 WRs who are better objectively than our #1 TE but we are still going to put one on the field to execute the scheme, not suddenly become a run and shoot team. It might move things on the margins but your coaching staff is going to try to be who they want to be.
For this Michigan team -- I believe they're going to think about what complements their most important guys -- if Frazier is at LT getting cooked by an edge they're going to consider bringing in an extra blocker to help him. If defense is doubling Marsh but giving Underwood short passes and screens they might put in Moa to bring in a bigger YAC threat. If we're struggling to get open gaps in the run game they might put Hoffman in at FB or a second TE in an H-back role. Etc.
I think the pass catchers on this team look stronger than anytime since 23 (though no one is as good as Loveland, the depth seems much better) but I also think the OL is the best it's been since 23. It's kinda beside the point. Beck is going to try to run his offense in 2026.
I appreciate the point which boils down to "how good is our 6th best OL really" but frankly, even if it's a raw guy like Lee who can come in and change the game just by being a 360 pounder -- they'll probably use that. I mean they have used DL in the Rhino package right? Clearly not one of their best 11 offensive players. Maybe that guy can't be trusted to pass protect out at OT or even TE and therefore gets a madden rating of just 60 -- doesn't matter if he can bring 150 extra pounds of beef to the run game.
Moreover -- there's a real possibility that Michigan doesn't even play their true "best 5" on OL. If 4 of the best 5 are tackles, you might move one inside but still hold back and have another on the bench, ready to rotate in as needed at OT, or available for Rhino duties.
DeleteHaha, the rambling essay wasn’t enough. Classic lank
Deletedoesnt understand.
Deletesaid something about Efobi* so still thinks this is about Efobi probably.
cant keep up.
can't debate on merit or substance.
lashes out with insults.
never change
*BTW. Efobi had best PFF grade in the bowl game BTW of the entire offense. Guarnera struggled in both the last 2 games.
Lank, you being sensitive doesn’t make my post an insult. Come on, you’re tougher than that, right?
DeleteWho said anything about Efobi’s PFF? I haven’t, at least not since last year, when I compared it to how bad Norton’s was. What I said about Efobi had to do with pulling, an issue that came up again in the Bowl … it’s kind of easy to see, for those who know the game
more of the same as expected. some are built for cogent debate and some are eating crayons. GO BLUE!
DeleteYou’re projecting agin
DeleteI got the discussion going. You? Arguing semantics and trolling on NFL RB salaries
It’s your thing. It’s who you are
GO BLUE
I like Kuzdal from this group. He can get the job done and keep wear and tear off of Marshall and Hiter.
ReplyDelete