Wolverine Stock Watch: Who To Play Against Penn State

QB - Cade McNamara - Well, this is a no-brainer. McNamara is playing better than Joe Milton. It's not even debatable. And if Harbaugh rolls out there with Milton as the starter again it will in fact be the last straw for me in regards to his credibility as a coach. I mean, how good would Milton have to look in practice this week for Harbaugh to be willing to throw him out there again? He is actually getting worse from week to week in actual game play. Milton is no doubt a rare physical specimen at the position, but at this point he has very little control over anything and opponents are taking advantage of him. It all even becomes more obvious when McNamara sets foot on the field and starts delivering strike after strike after strike. The fact that Michigan spotted Rutgers three scores before he entered the game with a less than a quarter to play in the first half, and the kid from Reno, Nevada was still able to pull out a win is incredible. At the very least this is getting extremely interesting. Yes, I'd rather be watching the team play for a championship, but to say that I am not currently being entertained would be a lie. If the Wolverines do not have to play from behind this week against the Nittany Lions then they should be in good position to get another check in the win column. 

QB Stock: Hit new lows not seen since Jon O'Korn, or maybe even Devin Gardner, but could it have already bottomed out with a sudden tick upwards? I for one am buying in right now. This stock could get high very quickly. 

RB - Hassan Haskins/Zach Charbonnet - I have to admit that I do like how the running back by committee approach is coming along but I am still disappointed in the overall production out of the backfield. There has been a nice mixture of plays being made but there have been very little consistency. I am also in the camp of people that has felt that Hassan Haskins deserves to get the ball more. He is just so naturally gifted as a ball-carrier. He is big (6'/220lbs), fast, and shifty. He can outrun a lot of defenders in the front seven, will lower his shoulder into a tackler to gain extra yardage, and can break tackles with a variety of moves. He's great. However, I am a bit perplexed by the fact that both Zach Charbonnet hasn't gotten more carries so far this year. His first carry of the season was by far his best run, being a 70 yard TD sprint, but he has only received 18 attempts since. He had nine carries for 48 yards (5.5 yards per carry) in the last two weeks. He is also a good pass-protector. In my opinion, he deserves more reps.   

RB Stock: Took a three week dip like the rest of the team but established a steady upward climb in the second half at Rutgers. 

TE - Nick Eubanks - Eubanks, a team leader, is playing well right now. In the last two games he has caught seven passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. Erick All, who struggled with drops when Milton was throwing passes, looks to have new life with McNamara throwing more catchable balls. Luke Schoonmaker hasn't really been targeted but he has gotten some reps as a blocker, which the coaches want their tight ends to prove they can do before getting playing time. This group could really be a catalyst in the passing game going forward. Watch for more targets and less drops going forward than we saw in the first half of the eight-game schedule. 

WR - Ronnie Bell/Cornelius Johnson/Mike Saintristil - This group really comes alive when McNamara is throwing passes to them. Again, I just believe the kid from Reno throws a more catchable ball. By that I mean that he doesn't hesitate and is decisive in his decision-making so that he hits his passing window while it's open, which means the receiver doesn't have to fight to make the play after the window has closed. They are getting hit in stride while they are open, so then they can take advantage of their "speed in space". The ball also isn't smoking hot when it gets there. It has a little more loft to it due to McNamara's superior touch and accuracy. Watch for Bell, Johnson, and Saintristil to continue being his favorite targets. Giles Jackson of course will be in the mix too, but he might be more valuable as a kick returner. 

OL - Karsen Barnhart/Chuck Filiaga/Zach Carpenter/Zak Zinter/Andrew Stueber - If Ryan Hayes and Jalen Mayfield continue to sit out due to injuries then this is the starting five the team should continue with going forward. Center Andrew Vastardis was also out, and he has played pretty well for the most part all season, but I thought Carpenter looked very good as the starter last weekend. He and right guard Zak Zinter could be quite a duo in the middle of the line in the near future. Barnhart looked pretty good out there at left tackle too, thus giving me a little more hope for the future of this line. Collectively, they got better as the game went on, which is what you want to see from your line, and they began to beat up on the Scarlet Knights in the second half. 

DL - Carlo Kemp/Christopher Hinton/Donovan Jeter/Kwity Paye - If Paye comes back this week, which I pray he does, then this group should quickly improve - at least a little bit. They had some real moments of weakness against Rutgers last weak but at least they didn't completely give up like they did against Wisconsin. I feel there was some improvement there, though in the end they still gave up way too many yards. Getting Paye back will definitely help fix some of the issues, but it won't solve everything. I think Kemp is suited to fill in at the anchor end position to fill in for the injured Aiden Hutchinson. Hinton and Jeter may have shown enough in the last couple weeks to earn starting nods. There really isn't anybody playing any better. This will produce a big line that could begin to do some damage up front if they begin to settle in and remain injury free. This lineup could also cut down to a three-man front easily enough too if needed. 

LB - Josh Ross/Adam Shibley/Michael Barrett - Ross is a stud who has been the best linebacker on the team this season so far. He could slide into the Mike position and make room for somebody else at Will if needed. If McGrone needs to miss more time due to injury then Shibley should continue getting reps in his absence. He didn't play too bad against Rutgers, though the defense gave up too many points once again. Once some consistency can be established then things might start looking up on defense a little bit more, but that's just hard to do when your team is ravaged by injuries. Honestly, if you really look at it, Michigan is without five of it's top seven defensive starters out due to injury (Hutchinson, Paye, McGrone, Hawkins) or opting out (Thomas). That is arguably difficult for any team to attempt to make up. 

DB - Dax Hill/Brad Hawkins/Gemon Green/Vincent Gray - The coaches don't have much choice but to give this starting unit another chance after possibly gaining a little confidence in last week's win at Rutgers. Honestly, the guy's that got picked on the most last week were Hill and Hunter Reynold's, who played after Hawkins was injured. Hill eventually made up for his earlier mistakes by picking off a pass on the final play of the game, thus securing a win. Reynolds is a former walk-on. Of course, it hasn't helped this group that there hasn't been much of a pass rush for a over a month, so any improvement in that department would be much appreciated back in the secondary. It would also be nice to see how this group performs with a lead. The only time this year they were able to do that was at Minnesota, and that seemed to work out fine for them. However, I would also like to see more zone coverages, but we probably won't get that any time soon.