2024 Season Countdown: #1 Will Johnson

 

Will Johnson (image via Wolverines Wire)

Name: Will Johnson
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 202 lbs.
High school: Grosse Pointe (MI) South
Position: Cornerback
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #2
Last year: I ranked Johnson #2 and said he would be a starting cornerback with 50 tackles and 4 interceptions (LINK). He made 27 tackles, 1 tackle, 4 interceptions (for 80 yards and 1 touchdown), and 8 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 91

Johnson went ahead in year two and staked his claim for being one of the top cornerbacks in Michigan history. He was a First Team All-Big Ten corner and an All-American, helping to slow down some of the best receivers in the country. The 6'2", 202-pounder limited Ohio State's Marvin Harrison, Jr. to 5 catches for 98 yards when matched up over the past two seasons, and top-10 pick Rome Odunze for Washington had 5 total catches for 87 yards and 0 touchdowns in the national championship game.

Some of Johnson's highlights include jumping a Harrison slant route for an interception and returning an interception for a touchdown against Minnesota. He's been making highlight-worthy plays since the second half of his freshman year, including a mostly stellar game against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game in 2022. Every player is going to get beaten sometimes, but it seems like challenging Johnson is almost always a poor choice.

I had a tough time picking a #1 player this season. It came down to DT Mason Graham (who was #3), TE Colston Loveland (who was #2), and Johnson. I was recently listening to the Move the Sticks podcast with Daniel Jeremiah, who talked about a study that came out comparing defensive performance between pass rush or coverage. The results of the study showed that good coverage helps out the pass rush more than a good pass rush helps out coverage. On top of that, Michigan has decent backups on the defensive line (T.J. Guy at edge, Rayshaun Benny at DT), but even Michigan's #2 corner Jyaire Hill is unproven. If Johnson were to go down, it would likely be up to Hill and FCS transfer Aamir Hall to hold down the corner spots. Ultimately, if Johnson were to get hurt, games against Texas's Quinn Ewers, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, and the wide receiver talent of Ohio State look a whole lot more difficult.

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 35 tackles, 3 interceptions

2024 Season Countdown: #2 Colston Loveland

 

Colston Loveland (image via SI)

Name: Colston Loveland
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Gooding (ID) Gooding
Position: Tight end
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #18
Last year: I ranked Loveland #16a and said he would be a starting tight end with 35 catches for 435 yards and 5 touchdowns (LINK). He caught 45 passes for 649 yards and 4 touchdowns.
TTB Rating: 85

Loveland took a big leap in 2023 despite the presence of Indiana transfer A.J. Barner, who then got drafted and made the Seahawks roster. Always a talented athlete, I thought he might just play second fiddle to other passing targets, but he was a prime target for quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Loveland finished #3 on the team in receptions, but it was by a thin margin: WR Roman Wilson had 48 and WR Cornelius Johnson had 47. They were a three-headed monster.

Though he has yet to have a 100-yard game, he did top the 70-yard mark four times last season, including a 4-catch, 79-yard, 2-touchdown performance against Michigan State. And he went for 5 receptions and 88 yards against Ohio State.

This year Loveland will be more of a focal point for opposing defenses because no proven receivers return. There's no speedy downfield threat like Wilson who has made plays downfield (though Fredrick Moore and Semaj Morgan have potential), there's no 6'3" target on the outside like Johnson (though Amorion Walker has potential), and there's no other proven tight end like Barner (though Marlin Klein has potential). So until those players show productivity on the field, it just makes sense that other teams would do their best to limit Loveland's catches. He's been talked about as the possible #1 tight end off the board for the 2025 NFL Draft, but with a weaker cast around him, it's likely to be tougher sledding in 2024.

Prediction: Starting tight end; 40 catches for 520 yards and 4 touchdowns

2024 Season Countdown: #3 Mason Graham

 

Mason Graham

Name: Mason Graham
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 320 lbs.
High school: Anaheim (CA) Servite
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #55
Last year: I ranked Graham #9 and said he would be a starting nose tackle with 45 tackles and 4 sacks (LINK). He started thirteen games and made 36 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass breakup, and 3 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating: 84

Graham was expected to be a huge impact player in 2023, and he did not disappoint. He was voted by conference coaches as a First Team All-Big Ten player (yeah!), by Big Ten media types as a Third Team All-Big Ten player (huh?), and by other media as Second Team All-American. And he deserved all that hype and more. After getting a PFF grade of 80.3 as a freshman in 2022, he topped it by scoring a 90.0 as a sophomore in 2023.

Graham had a cast on his arm for a chunk of the season, and he was beating Minnesota linemen to death despite being one-armed at the time. Graham is extremely quick off the ball, has powerful hands, plays with great leverage, and has the explosiveness to finish plays that other guys come close to making. Along with Kenneth Grant, Michigan's top defensive tackles are the best duo I remember in a Michigan uniform. There is no better tackle combo in the NCAA in 2024, at least.

This year could be Graham's final season in a Michigan uniform. He has been talked about as a potential first round draft pick, and I wouldn't blame him for jumping to the pros if he has another good season. The bar has already been set for all-conference and All-American accolades, so it might be hard to top that season. But Michigan has at least one season left (barring injury) to watch Graham and Grant manhandle opposing linemen. Let's enjoy it while we can.

Prediction: Starting defensive tackle; 45 tackles, 4.5 sacks

2024 Season Countdown: #4 Kenneth Grant

 

Kenneth Grant (image via Rivals)

Name: Kenneth Grant
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 339 lbs.
High school: Merrillville (IN) Merrillville
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #78
Last year: I ranked Grant #18 and said he would be a backup nose tackle (LINK). He started five games and made 29 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, 5 pass breakups, and 6 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating: 85

Grant made some giant leaps from 2022 to 2023. While he played in a bunch of games as a freshman, he made just 8 tackles and didn't really have a signature play. Linemen usually take some time to percolate in college, and . . . boy oh boy, Grant percolated.

He percolated into a 339 lb. defensive tackle who could chase down Penn State running backs in the open field from behind.

He percolated into a guy who could get his big, meaty hands in the path of quarterbacks' passes to break up 5 attempts and intercept another one.

And he percolated into a dude who perp-walked a Washington offensive lineman back into Michael Penix's face for a sack in the national championship game.

I often hear that planet-sized, athletic defensive tackles don't grow in the midwest like they do in SEC country, but Grant is an exception. He's quick, he's fast, he's strong, he can play low, and he has good anticipation. Physically, he's among the most athletic defensive tackles Michigan has fielded in my time watching the Wolverines, right up there with long-time NFLer Alan Branch and current NFLer Maurice Hurst, Jr.

I think Michigan's offense is going to struggle at times this season without an elite passer and without savvy veteran wide receivers - plus with a whole new offensive line - so there's going to be a ton of pressure on the defense to win games or at least give the offense a fighting chance. And without much proven depth behind the defensive tackles, keeping Grant healthy will be a big step toward battling for playoff contention in 2024.

Prediction: Starting nose tackle; 35 tackles, 3 sacks

2024 Season Countdown: #5 Donovan Edwards

 

Donovan Edwards

Name: Donovan Edwards
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 212 lbs.
High school: West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield
Position: Running back
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #7
Last year: I ranked Edwards #13 and said he would be a part-time starting running back with 1,050 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns, plus 30 catches for 350 yards and 4 touchdowns (LINK). He ran 119 times for 497 yards and 5 touchdowns; he caught 30 passes for 249 yards; and he completed 1/1 pass for 34 yards.
TTB Rating: 90

Well, Nostramagnus did a great job with the 2023 predictions, because I predicted Edwards would catch 30 passes and he did.

We're just going to ignore the fact that I predicted 1,050 rushing yards (he had 497) and 8 touchdowns (he had 5) and 350 receiving yards (he had 249) and 4 receiving touchdowns (he had 0).

Just ignore it.

Edwards struggled in 2023 by a lot of metrics. First, his production was way down, and his yards per carry was among the lowest of qualifying running backs in the Big Ten. He wasn't breaking big plays . . . or tackles. He supposedly started seeing a sports psychologist because of some of his on-field frustrations. And when he couldn't eke out a short yardage touchdown, he campaigned visibly to stay on the field . . . and the coaching staff still replaced him with Blake Corum to ensure they would score.

That's the bad stuff.

The good stuff is that he broke off a big touchdown run against Penn State and had two huge touchdown runs early in the national championship game (41- and 46-yarders) that set the tone against Washington. So he had his moments, but not nearly as many of them as we expected.

Now Corum is out of the way, and Edwards should be the unquestioned #1 back. He's on the cover of NCAA '25 and is rated as one of the top 50 players in the game. He got up to 214 pounds by the spring (now listed at 212) after being right around 200 earlier in his career, and the added weight/strength showed in the spring when he seemed a little more willing to try to bring the contact to defenders. A wholesale shift from finesse back to ground-and-pounder is unlikely, but if he can add a little thunder to his lightning for 2024, that would be an improvement. I have faith that Michigan's coaching staff is going to restore some of his confidence and figure out ways to help him return to his 2022 form, especially if he's on the field with run threat Alex Orji and fellow running back Kalel Mullings at times, because those are three dynamic runners that teams would have a very difficult time figuring out how to defend.

Prediction: Starting running back; 1,100 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns, plus 25 catches for 225 yards and 3 touchdowns

2024 Season Countdown: #6 Josaiah Stewart

 

Josaiah Stewart (image via 247 Sports)

Name: Josaiah Stewart
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 245 lbs.
High school: Everett (MA) Everett
Position: Defensive end
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #5
Last year: I ranked Stewart #23 and said he would be a backup defensive end with 25 tackles and 4 sacks (LINK). He made 38 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups, and 3 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating: N/A

Michigan was very lucky to land Stewart in the transfer portal from Coastal Carolina last off-season. The Wolverines needed some juice at pass rusher, and they were able to find it. It's not often that players spurn a Michigan offer out of high school to become a Chanticleer, but Stewart was one who did it, so it makes sense that the Wolverines circled back to him after he had made a name for himself for Coastal. And it paid off with Stewart being a key piece of the national championship defense. After struggling a little bit against the run early in the season, he was able to steel himself, improved throughout the year, and was on the field for the game-sealing 4th down stop of Jalen Milroe in the Rose Bowl against Alabama.

This year Stewart will step into a bigger role now that Jaylen Harrell is playing for the Titans in the NFL. He has some quickness off the edge, but perhaps his best attribute is the power he possesses despite being undersized at just 6'1" and 245 pounds. His leverage advantage and toughness have been a pleasant surprise, and with another year of technique and strength work under his belt, I expect him to be even better in 2024 than he was in 2023.

Prediction: Starting outside linebacker; 40 tackles, 7 sacks

Preview: Michigan vs. Fresno State

 

Fresno State QB Mikey Keene (image via AP/David Zalubowski)

RUSH OFFENSE vs. FRESNO STATE RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan finished #55 in rushing yards (169.1 yards/game) and #52 in yards per carry (4.5) in 2023. Those aren't the world's most impressive numbers, but the consistency with which Michigan pulled off its run game was. Whether it was a good opponent or a bad one, Michigan was willing and able to run the ball. The guy on the cover of NCAA '25 is senior RB Donovan Edwards (119 carries, 497 yards, 5 TD last season), who had 41- and 46-yard touchdowns in the national championship game. He struggled for much of last year and was near the bottom of the Big Ten in yards per carry until the game against Washington. The backup is former LB Kalel Mullings, a 6'2", 233-pounder who ran 36 times for 222 yards and 1 touchdown last year. Up front the Wolverines lost their top six linemen to the NFL (four got drafted, two got signed as UDFAs); the assured starters are OG Giovanni El-Hadi, OT Myles Hinton, who transferred from Stanford prior to 2023, and OG Josh Priebe, who transferred from Northwestern this year. For Fresno State, one of the better players is fifth year senior DE Devo Bridges (6'2", 255), who had 30 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks last year. The other bookend is former 5-star USC DE Korey Foreman (6'4", 245), who has 24 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and 1 interception over three years in college. Both starting defensive tackles are sub-300 pounders. The leading returning tackler is weakside linebacker Malachi Langley (6'1", 236), who made 84 tackles and 5 tackles for loss a season ago. The Bulldogs finished #97 in rush defense (166.2 yards allowed/game) and #81 in yards allowed per carry (4.33) last season.
Advantage: Michigan

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