Youth Gone Wild!

When you size up both the University of Michigan Men's Basketball and Football teams, one thing is for certain: These boys are young! One look at either roster will see a large sample of freshmen and sophomores. In fact, roughly 81% of both rosters are made up of first and second year players. That is an incredible number! Hopefully it is a sign of good things to come in the next few years both on the court in the Crisler Center and out on the field in The Big House.

With the basketball team currently riding a nine game win streak that includes three wins over top ten teams (Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State), the youth in the gym has grown up rather quickly. After stumbling to a 6-4 record to open the season and losing last year's tournament star, C Mitch McGary, for the season due to a back injury, many had the vulnerable Wolverines written off as a shoe-in for the NIT. I have to admit, I did not think they would be undefeated in Big Ten play going into tonight's home game against Purdue. 

That was shameful! What little faith I had in coach John Beilein to get this team ready for the Big Ten schedule!

Freshman PG Derrick Walton Jr has put together a very solid campaign in his first year in Ann Arbor to form a formidable duo with sophomore Spike Albrecht. The two have been so effective that most fans have all but forgotten last year's AP Player of the Year, Trey Burke. 

Freshman SG Zak Irvin hasn't cracked the starting lineup yet as Walton has, but it really isn't due to any fault of his own. Any way you look at it, it would be hard to expect anybody to take a job away from the likes of sophomore's Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III, and Caris LeVert. All three of those kids got loads of experience last year as freshman and they continue to work hard every day in order to improve. You can see it on the court. Currently, Stauskas leads the entire conference in scoring while GRIII and LeVert are second and third on the team. Irvin, meanwhile, has been chipping in nearly seven points and a couple rebounds per game off the bench. That is respectable. 

Junior Jon Horford and Senior Jordan Morgan are the elders. They split the front-court duties under the net at the F/C position. Neither one would be starting if McGary hadn't gotten hurt. However, both men have stepped up their games to combine for 10 points and nine rebounds per night. Honestly, you couldn't ask for much more than that and their hard work inside makes more opportunities possible for the young guns on the perimeter. 

The football team, on the other hand, is coming off a disappointing year that resulted in a mediocre 7-6 record. While most fans will be quick to gripe about it while at the same time applauding the firing of OC Al Borges, I personally can't help but be positive about the upcoming year when I see all that youth.

Besides kicker and punter, every position group on the football team had at least one freshman and/or sophomore getting extensive action this past season. Over the course of the year, the Wolverines listed about 30 first and second year players among the two-deep rotation on the depth chart, including five linebackers (1 Fr, 2 So), two running backs (2 Fr), six offensive linemen (3 Fr, 3So), and six defensive linemen (3 Fr, 3 So). 

What does that mean? Well, if anybody had any questions as to why those four units had some struggles in 2013 you do not need to look any further than their lack of experience. It also means that we should expect things to change in 2014, especially when you consider how "highly-touted" those young players were coming in as recruits. 

Having said that, it's worth mentioning that the last two hauls of high school talent that Coach Brady Hoke and co. have brought in produced what many experts widely-considered top-tier recruiting classes. Many of those players will be vying for a starting position this spring and with national signing day less than a week away, it appears there will be even more young guys in town this fall that will be ready to compete for playing time.

Go Blue!