C.J. Charleston, Wolverine

 

C.J. Charleston (image via Tribune Chronicle)

Former Youngstown State University wide receiver C.J. Charleston has committed to Michigan out of the transfer portal.

Charleston was an unranked 2019 recruit who committed to the Penguins out of Gates Mills (OH) Gilmour Academy. He redshirted as a freshman and then played in five games during the COVID season, making 7 catches for 112 yards. Then in 2021 he made 16 catches for 147 yards before tearing his Achilles prior to the 2022 season, which caused him to miss the entire year. The 6'0", 190-pounder returned to play in 2023 and made 33 catches for 467 yards and 4 touchdowns while starting all thirteen games. He has two years of eligibility remaining, so he could be on Michigan's roster through 2025.

Here you can see him catching a 72-yard touchdown pass on a broken play against Illinois State last year:

Charleston does not have great speed or size, so he looks to be more of an intermediate possession guy. I'm not sure he offers much in the way of skills that Michigan does not already have. But he is another body to add to the room, and I would hope that his experience and time in a college strength and conditioning program will help him play a role as a leader and blocker.

Below are some highlights of the Charleston, who was a high school running back. As a senior in 2018, he ran for 198 yards, 2585 yards, and 49 touchdowns, albeit against some pretty weak competition. You can see his body type and running style lend themselves to the receiver position more, so that may explain why it took him some time to make an impact at YSU.

Dominic Zvada, Wolverine

 

Dominic Zvada (image via Northwest Arkansas Gazette)

For the second year in a row, Michigan has looked to the transfer portal to help shore up its kicking position. Last year Michigan landed James Turner from Louisville. This year they have possibly found their answer with Arkansas State transfer Dominic Zvada, who committed to the Wolverines.

Zvada is a 6'3", 174 lb. junior who had started for the Red Wolves for the past two seasons. He was 17/18 on field goals (the lone miss was from 51 yards) as a freshman in 2022 and 30/31 on extra points (the lone miss was blocked). Then in 2023 he was 17/22 on field goals and 41/41 on extra points. His career long came as a freshman when he hit a 56-yarder.

Zvada was a Lou Groza Award finalist in 2022 (the year Michigan's Jake Moody won the award) and was on the Lou Groza Award Watch List in 2023.

Arkansas State was Zvada's only scholarship offer coming out of Chandler (AZ) Valley Christian in 2022.

The head coach of Arkansas State is former Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones.

2024 NFL Draft Results: Michigan

 

Mike Sainristil

Here are the results of the 2024 NFL Draft for Michigan players:

2024
1st round: J.J. McCarthy - QB - Minnesota Vikings (#10 overall)
2nd round: Kris Jenkins, Jr. - DT - Cincinnati Bengals (#49)
2nd round: Mike Sainristil - CB - Washington Commanders (#50)
3rd round: Junior Colson - LB - Los Angeles Chargers (#69)
3rd round: Blake Corum - RB - Los Angeles Rams (#83)
3rd round: Roman Wilson - WR - Pittsburgh Steelers (#84)
3rd round: Zak Zinter - OG - Cleveland Browns (#85)
4th round: A.J. Barner - TE - Seattle Seahawks (#121)
5th round: Trevor Keegan - OG - Philadelphia Eagles (#172)
7th round: Michael Barrett - LB - Carolina Panthers (#240)
7th round: La'Darius Henderson - OG - Houston Texans (#249)
7th round: Jaylen Harrell - DE - Tennessee Titans (#252)
7th round: Cornelius Johnson - WR - Los Angeles Chargers (#253)

Jenkins joins a Michigan-heavy defense with the Bengals, who spent a first round pick on S Daxton Hill a couple years ago and a second round pick on CB D.J. Turner II in 2023.

The Chargers are coached by former Michigan head man Jim Harbaugh, who drafted Colson and Johnson, both of whom play positions of need for the team. The Seahawks are led by Mike Macdonald, whose lone pick from Michigan (A.J. Barner at #121 overall) didn't overlap with Macdonald's one season at defensive coordinator in 2021. Barner transferred from Indiana for the 2023 season. However, former Michigan assistant coach Jay Harbaugh is on Seattle's staff.

The following players signed undrafted free agent contracts with NFL teams:

Karsen Barnhart - OG - Los Angeles Chargers
Trente Jones - OT - Green Bay Packers
Braiden McGregor - DE - New York Jets
Drake Nugent - C - San Francisco 49ers
James Turner - K - Detroit Lions
Josh Wallace - CB - Los Angeles Rams

McGregor is the biggest draft snub of these players, in my opinion. At 6'5" and 257 pounds, I thought he showed adequate enough production and athleticism to get taken somewhere prior to the end of the draft. He was injured as a senior in high school and took a few years just to get back on track. I always thought he should have stayed in college one more year to continue ascending since 2023 was his first year as a starter; perhaps with that previous injury, he thought this might be the best time to try to make a jump for the NFL rather than risking another year in college.

Additionally, three former Wolverine signees were taken in the draft:

1st round: Xavier Worthy - WR - Kansas City Chiefs (#28)
4th round: Erick All - TE - Cincinnati Bengals (#115)
6th round: Joe Milton - QB - New England Patriots (#193)

Worthy signed with Michigan but was unable to enroll, so he transferred to Texas. All played at Michigan for three seasons (2020-2022) before transferring to Iowa in 2023. Milton spent three years in Ann Arbor (2018-2020) and then spent the next three seasons (2021-2023) at Tennessee.

J.J. McCarthy taken in 1st Round of 2024 NFL Draft

 

J.J. McCarthy

The Minnesota Vikings traded up one spot in the 2024 NFL Draft to select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He was taken #10 overall after the Vikings swapped picks with the New York Jets, who moved down to #11 and took Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.

McCarthy is the highest drafted quarterback to ever come out of Michigan, topping his head coach in college, Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh was taken #26 overall in the 1987 draft by the Chicago Bears. McCarthy is also the first Michigan quarterback to be selected since Jake Rudock (6th round, #191 overall by the Detroit Lions) in 2016.

McCarthy went 27-1 as a starter at Michigan over 2022 and 2023, with the lone loss coming to TCU in the 2023 College Football Playoff. He threw for 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions from 2021-2023. He set Michigan records for completion percentage in a season (72.3% in 2023) and in a career (67.6%) and won a national championship in 2023.

Of the quarterback-needy teams in the 2024 draft, I felt like Minnesota was the best fit for McCarthy. McCarthy's main competition to start will be journeyman Sam Darnold, but they have a good cast of weapons that includes standout wide receivers (Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison), an upper-echelon tight end (T.J. Hockenson), and a productive running back (Aaron Jones). I would like to see the Vikings beef up their running game with a complementary running back and/or some offensive line help, but they may address those issues in the draft or in subsequent years. 

2024 Mock NFL Draft

 

Two of these guys will be involved in the first round, and hopefully a third will get drafted on day two.

It's that time of the year for another mock NFL Draft. Here are my guesses for how the draft shakes out. If I guess wrong, oh well. And if I guess right? I'm a genius. That's just how it works.

1. Chicago Bears: Caleb Williams - QB - USC
Why? He seems to be the consensus choice here. This one seems obvious.

2. Washington Commanders: Jayden Daniels - QB - LSU
Why? A few months ago, I never would have believed that Daniels would hop ahead of Maye to be QB#2, but again, it seems to be the case.

3. New England Patriots: Drake Maye - QB - North Carolina
Why? Some people are running the angle of taking J.J. McCarthy as "another Michigan Man" to fill the shoes of Tom Brady, but when I've tried to make those connections in the past, it just rarely seems to work out that way. Maye is a bigger prospect, too, and I think some are concerned about McCarthy's sturdiness.

Hit the jump for more.

Nathaniel Marshall, Wolverine

 

Oak Park (MI) Fenwick defensive tackle Nate Marshall

Oak Park (MI) Fenwick defensive lineman Nathaniel Marshall committed to Michigan on Monday morning. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State, and USC, among others.

Marshall is listed at 6'4" and 265 lbs.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 83 grade, #4 DT, #78 overall
On3: 4-star, 93 grade, #6 DL, #71 overall
Rivals: 4-star, #1 SDE, #21 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, #11 DL, #73 overall

Hit the jump for more.

2024 Season Countdown: #120 Anthony Arnou

 

Anthony Arnou (image via Twitter)

Name: Anthony Arnou
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 226 lbs.
High school: Santa Monica (CA) Santa Monica
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #15
Last year: Arnou was at Pasadena City College and completed 58/98 passes for 620 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He also ran 20 times for 101 yards and 2 touchdown.
TTB Rating: N/A

Arnou is in his first year at Michigan after transferring in as a walk-on. The fall of 2024 will be his third season of college football after walking on at Fresno State in 2021, where he redshirted behind Jake Haener . . . and played for Kalen DeBoer, who went on to be Washington's head coach in 2022-2023 and whom Michigan beat for the national championship back in January.

Arnou then went on to play for Pasadena City College in 2022, where he played a fair amount. Watching his highlights from that season, he looks like a fine lower level college prospect. He looks like a Division II potential starter to me. But he's a little heavy-footed even at that level, and his arm strength and throwing mechanics leave something to be desired.

It's nice to have a player like Arnou on the roster for the scout team, but Michigan already has depth - not proven depth, but depth - at the quarterback position. There are about three guys vying for the starting quarterback job, and another couple with higher upside, including freshman Jadyn Davis. Other than the outstanding education, the awesome city that is Ann Arbor, and a chance to have some team success, I'm not really sure why a player like Arnou would transfer to Michigan if he's looking for playing time.

Prediction: Backup quarterback