October Camp Updates

With a trip to Minnesota just a week away, here are some tidbits and predictions about how things are currently shaking out for the Wolverines on the depth chart.

Starting Quarterback: 

It seems like the Joe Milton hype train has fully left the station and is on its way to a prime time kickoff in Minnesota next Saturday night. Despite some sort of catastrophe, he is entrenched as the guy at the helm of this offense. Everybody in Michigan nation should be tuning in to watch. I mean, this is exactly the type of scenario they have been clamoring about for a few years now - a completely Harbaugh-developed quarterback (and team) with an legit NFL-level arm.

New Starting Wide Receiver:

Look, I've been saying it for months. It's in writing. I don't know why anybody is surprised. Cornelius Johnson is making all the moves to be a starter this year and he will probably be the second-most targeted player in the passing game this season. He has great size (6'3"/200lbs), runs smooth routes, and looks a lot like a running back once the ball is in his hands. I think he will end up being a three-year starter before his career is over here. Of course, Ronnie Bell will be the other starter with Giles Jackson and Mike Saintristil the other two guys in the main receiver rotation. 

The  Defensive Tackle Rotation:

Carlo Kemp is entrenched as one guy in the middle of the line. He was the only guy there last year and it took its toll on him. Now there are a couple of guys reportedly competing at a high level for the job next to him. Christopher Hinton, a sophomore who did start against Alabama, is ready to continue as the starter there, but senior Donovan Jeter may finally be putting it all together in a push for the job himself. By all accounts, it is fair to say that we will see a real three-man rotation on the inside, possibly more when you include Jess Speight, the other starter against 'Bama, and Mazi Smith. German-born Julius Welschof has also earned some early praise from coaches and we should start to see him getting some playing time in his third season on campus too, especially since his weight has went from about 250 to over 285lbs in two years. I really like how much this position seems to have improved. It gives the defense a lot more flexibility in the front seven, and I think we will probably see less of the Sam linebacker that was occupied by Josh Uche last year. Instead, there will be more four-man fronts where the defense will not need to rely on the blitz quite as much. 

The Secondary Situation: 

Brad Hawkins' and Dax Hill's names are basically etched in stone as the starters at safety. Vincent Gray is now the number one guy at corner while Gemon Green appears to be edging out a slew of competitors to be the other starter. Some waves were made last week when it was reported that Sammy Faustin had moved back to corner from safety. Immediately I thought he made the move because nobody was taking the job outright over there, but it seems the move was made more because of the emerging depth at safety than the lack of competition at corner. He simply wasn't needed at safety any more and could resume vying for a job at corner, where he was originally recruited to play. Green will still be the starter as far as I can see at the moment. And I believe both Faustin and D.J. Turner II will play in a lot of nickel and dime packages. Freshman safeties Makari Paige and R.J. Moten have made enough waves in their first camp to give the coaches a little more confidence with the depth there. Watch for both kids to get playing time in sub packages too, especially when you consider the fact that Dax Hill is probably the best cover player on the team and will most-likely be counted on to move over and cover number one wide-outs in third and long situations. IF they keep rising then Hill could move to playing corner on a more permanent basis.