Preview: Michigan vs. Ohio State

 

Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith (image via Columbus Dispatch)

RUSH OFFENSE vs. OHIO STATE RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan had a solid rushing effort last week against Northwestern and still ranks just #71 nationally (159.6 yards/game) and #62 in yards per carry (4.47). Kalel Mullings (12 carries, 92 yards, 3 touchdowns against Northwestern) is now up to 11 scores on the year, while Donovan Edwards (10 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD last week) had his second-highest rushing average of the year. Backup quarterback Alex Orji has 50 carries for 228 yards and 1 touchdown this year, but has two DNPs in the past five weeks, including against Northwestern. I would think Orji would get a few snaps just to give Davis Warren a breather from what will probably be a tough day of avoiding the pass rush, but maybe not. Meanwhile, Ohio State is #3 in rush defense (90 yards allowed/game) and yards allowed per carry (2.7). They have allowed more than 3.75 yards/carry to just two teams, Iowa and #1 Oregon. Junior LB Sonny Styles (6'4", 235) leads the team with 71 tackles, followed by senior LB Cody Simon (6'2", 235) with 65. Senior DT Tyleik Williams (6'3", 327) is a force in the middle of the defense with 25 tackles and 5 tackles for loss, and senior DE J.T. Tuimoloau (6'5", 269) leads the team with 11 TFL. Northwestern did a good job of stopping the run in the first half last week, but they ran out of steam in the second half and gave up. I don't think Ohio State is going to do that this year.
Advantage: Ohio State

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2025 Offensive Recruiting Update: November 27, 2024

 

Denton (TX) Ryan OT Ty Haywood (image via On3)

With National Signing Day looming in early December - and lots of recruiting movement - I wanted to catch up on some of the most recent happenings as Michigan tries to fill out its 2025 recruiting class.

QUARTERBACK

COMMIT: Belleville (MI) Belleville quarterback Bryce Underwood committed to Michigan (LINK). It seems as if Fort Myers (FL) Bishop Verot quarterback Carter Smith at least suspected that was going to happen, and he decommitted beforehand; Smith recently committed to Wisconsin and will be a Badger instead, perhaps with eyes on getting a bit of revenge against the Wolverines down the road.

KEEP AN EYE ON: Michigan will also be looking to add a quarterback through the transfer portal, and USC transfer Miller Moss has been rumored to be a possible candidate.

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2024 Ex-Wolverine Updates: Week 13

 

Matt Hibner (image via Instagram)

Here's a roundup of the former Michigan player, former commits, and former coaches (or players-turned-coaches). NOTE: I will not regularly post updates about offensive linemen since stats are minimal and just posting PFF grades is kind of boring, but I did this week just to show who's playing where and what their opening day role was.

FORMER PLAYERS

WR Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma): Anthony has not played since week one due to an injury.

LB Jeremiah Beasley (Missouri): Beasley made 2 tackles in a 39-20 win over Mississippi State.

QB Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State): Bowman did not play in a 56-48 loss to Texas Tech.

LB Semaj Bridgeman (Michigan State): Bridgeman has not recorded any stats yet this year for MSU.

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Michigan 50, Northwestern 6

 

Davis Warren

I'm happy for the seniors. FS1 put up a stat box at one point talking about the seniors on Michigan's team and their accomplishments. Over the past 3+ seasons, they have won a national championship, won the Big Ten three times, and gone 3-0 against Ohio State. We also saw senior Tavierre Dunlap score his first career touchdown on senior night at home. We saw Donovan Edwards get in the end zone for just the fourth time this year, which has been a disappointing season relative to expectations. There was Kalel Mullings scoring a career-high 3 touchdowns. We also saw transplanted players like Josaiah Stewart getting 2 sacks and Aamir Hall getting his first career interception in a Michigan uniform. This year has not gone according to plan overall, but at least senior night went well.

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Bryce Underwood, Wolverine

 

Belleville (MI) Belleville QB Bryce Underwood (image via Yahoo!)

Belleville (MI) Belleville quarterback Bryce Underwood flipped from LSU to Michigan on Thursday night. He picked the Wolverines over . . . everyone.

Underwood is listed at 6'3" and 205 pounds. As a junior he completed 179/276 passes (64.8%) for 3,329 yards, 44 touchdowns, and just 3 interceptions. Altogether, he has been responsible for over 165 touchdowns as a four-year starter at quarterback for the Tigers.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 5-star, 93 grade, #1 QB, #1 overall
On3: 5-star, 99 grade, #1 QB, #1 overall
Rivals: 5-star, 6.1 grade, #2 QB, #2 overall
247 Sports: 5-star, 99 grade, #1 QB, #1 overall

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Preview: Michigan vs. Northwestern

 

A.J. Henning (image via Draft Network)

RUSH OFFENSE vs. NORTHWESTERN RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan ranks #73 nationally in rushing offense (155.5 yards/game) and #74 in yards per carry (4.34). Indiana largely shut down the rushing game two weeks ago in a disappointing effort from the offensive line. Kalel Mullings (141 carries, 740 yards, 8 TD) still leads the team in rushing, but he has ceded carries lately to Donovan Edwards (114 carries, 513 yards, 3 TD) and even Benjamin Hall (4 carries, 9 yards against Indiana). Head coach Sherrone Moore hinted that a couple other backs could see playing time this week, including freshmen Micah Ka'apana and Jordan Marshall. The offensive line should see the return of starting RG Giovanni El-Hadi this week, but with RT Andrew Gentry out for the season and backup OT Jeffrey Persi working back from an injury, the right tackle spot will be manned by Evan Link. Northwestern is #28 in rush defense (114.6 yards allowed/game) and #28 in yards allowed per carry (3.59). The general trend is that the solid teams have run the ball well against the Wildcats, and the bad teams haven't; Washington, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio State have all gone for 144+ yards on the ground. Michigan hasn't been greatly effective at running the ball, but they are pretty committed to hammering away until they clearly can't do it. Junior weakside LB Mac Uihlein (6'1", 230) leads the team with 65 tackles, followed by redshirt junior CB (yikes!) Theran Johnson (5'11", 182) and redshirt sophomore nickel Robert Fitzgerald (6'0", 208) with 44 stops each. The defensive front is made up of fourth-year or older players, with 6'3", 310 lb. DT R.J. Pearson and 6'2", 297 lb. DT Carmine Bastone in the middle; one defensive end is Aidan Hubbard (6'4", 252), the brother of former Ohio State and current NFL defensive end Sam Hubbard. Hubbard and 6'3", 272 lb. DE Jaylen Pate lead the team with 5 tackles for loss each. I don't think Michigan will run over Northwestern, but I do think they will be able to keep the chains moving, especially if they can incorporate QB Alex Orji in some +1 runs.
Advantage: Michigan

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All-Time Leaders: Interception Return Yardage

 

Mike Sainristil (image via SI)

Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil recently finished one of the greatest defensive seasons in school history, notching 6 interceptions and returning them for 232 yards and 2 touchdowns. Altogether, he finished with 7 interceptions and 240 yards for his career. Where does that rank historically?

1. 431 yards on 25 interceptions - Tom Curtis (1967-1969)
2. 240 yards on 7 interceptions - Mike Sainristil (2022-2023)
3. 237 yards on 9 interceptions - Will Johnson (2022-2024)
4. 202 yards on 9 interceptions - David Brown (1972-1974)
5. 182 yards on 8 interceptions - Thomas Darden (1969-1971)
6. 169 yards on 10 interceptions - Marcus Ray (1995-1998)
7. 169 yards on 6 interceptions - Blake Countess (2013)
8. 145 yards on 6 interceptions - Raymon Taylor (2012-2013)
9. 141 yards on 8 interceptions - Tony Jackson (1980-1981)
10. 132 yards on 10 interceptions - Keith Bostic (1980-1982)