SPORTS 11

Thursday, August 8, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Four position battles to watch as Michigan starts fall camp

It must be August already, 
because 
fall 
camp 
is 
just 
starting to ramp up under the 
distinct whiff of optimism. The 
possibilities for the Michigan 
football team are endless and the 
hope, as it always does about this 
time, springs eternal. 
This summer, that enthusiasm 
is catalyzed by the promise of a 
revamped, modernized offense 
from new offensive coordinator 
Josh 
Gattis. 
The 
Michigan 
offense returns at least seven 
starters from last year’s squad, 
led by senior quarterback Shea 
Patterson — and all-Big Ten 
caliber receivers, Nico Collins 
and 
Donovan 
Peoples-Jones. 
If Gattis is the engine behind 
the hype train, that trio is the 
wheels.
The 
defensive 
alignment 
comes with a few extra question 
marks this year. The Wolverines 
lost several key contributors 
from 
last 
year’s 
defense, 
including 
first-round 
picks 
Devin Bush and Rashan Gary, 
along with Chase Winovich and 
David Long, among others. The 
unit is once again backstopped 
by Don Brown, though, who 
has coached his defense to no 
worse than third in the nation in 
total defense during his time at 
Michigan. 
For now, that all amounts to 
a consensus, if not unilateral, 
anointment as the preseason Big 
Ten favorite. But there is still 
plenty to be sorted out before 
the ball kicks at the Big House in 
25 days. Here are four position 
battles — two on offense, two on 
defense — to monitor throughout 
the coming weeks.
Stueber vs. Mayfield at right 
tackle: 
The battle for the fifth and 
final starting offensive line spot 
appears to be the most high-
profile, mano-a-mano battle on 
the team. Junior Andrew Stueber 
played in 11 games last year, 
including starts against Ohio 
State and Florida when Juwann 
Bushell-Beatty was injured at the 
end of the year. Perhaps there’s 
something to glean from those 
starts, as Stueber largely held his 
own in both games. That hardly 
influenced the outcome of either 
game, of course — two losses by a 
combined 49 points.
Jalen Mayfield comes in with 

less experience, but might have 
the higher upside of the two. 
After coming to Michigan a 
highly-touted recruit, Mayfield 
secured his redshirt last season 
while still appearing in three 
games. He’s a guy who, long-
term, has the athletic build to be 
a starter at either tackle spot.
For now, this one seems to 
be roughly a coin flip. The two 
split reps in the spring game 
and 
spring 
public 
practices. 
Mayfield brings the upside and 
athleticism of a potential future 
NFL pick, Stueber carries the 
experience and reliability the 
coaches covet. Both will likely 
get their shot early in the season 
to be the entrenched starter, 
with the high likelihood — either 
via injury or rotation — that both 
see major time this year.
Who’s going to step up at 
running back?
Karan Higdon is gone, and 
so goes his 1,178 yards and 
224 carries from a year ago. 
The remaining running backs/
fullbacks on the roster — Tru 
Wilson, 
Zach 
Charbonnet, 
Christian 
Turner, 
Ben 
Van 
Sumeran and Ben Mason — bring 
a combined 119 career carries 
and 544 yards into fall camp. 
That’s not to say the cupboard 
is entirely barren, but for now, 
there are more questions than 
answers.
Much is made of Wilson’s 
tenacity and shiftiness, but what 
really endears him most to the 
coaching staff, and thus what 
makes him the safest option at 
the moment, is his sound pass-
blocking. He is the de facto 
starter until someone takes it 
from him. With uncertainty 
abound, that’s no inevitability.
Charbonnet 
has 
been 
handicapped by a knee injury 
that held him out of spring 
practice, 
making 
the 
uphill 
battle of freshman fall camp an 
even more lofty burden. He is, 
however, the most highly-touted 
running back recruit Michigan 
has had in quite some time — and 
the staff has done nothing but 
sing his praises in the interim. 
Turner flashed glimpses of his 
vision and quickness in the Peach 
Bowl loss to Florida, including a 
41-yard touchdown run that was 
eventually called back. He also 
tallied 55 yards in a win against 
Nebraska earlier in the year. If 
anyone is to snatch Higdon’s 
workhorse 
mantle, 
it 
seems 

likeliest to come from Turner, a 
running back of similar ilk.
Smart 
money 
is 
on 
a 
by-committee approach, with 
Turner ending up with the 
highest snap count of the group, 
and Van Sumeran and Mason 
grabbing a few carries here and 
there. Charbonnet, ultimately, 
is the wild card. If he makes the 
most of an opportunity early, 
he could ascend earlier than 
expected.
What will Daxton Hill’s role 
look like?
Is this a cop-out? Sure. But 
where — and if — Daxton Hill 
sees regular time from the get-
go might be the most intriguing 
defensive storyline still to sort 
out. He comes to Michigan one 
of the most coveted recruits 
in 
program 
history, 
with 
experience at safety but talent 
to play elsewhere. Safety is an 
option. He could slot at VIPER. 
He could play nickel. 
There 
is 
a 
more 
obvious 

immediate 
need 
at 
nickel, 
with scant cornerback depth 
potentially looming. If you view 
Hill as a plug-and-play, three-
year starter at safety, though, 
there is a real question as to why 
you’d then risk hindering his 
development simply to Band-Aid 
over a short-term need. This is a 
guy who could be a top-10 pick 
one day. You want to mess with 
that?
That all assumes Hill — who 
did not enroll early — is ready 
to go from day one. Even for the 
elite of the elite, that’s not an 
assumption you can bank on.
What happens to the second 
cornerback spot?
The cornerback room was 
already thin. Now, it appears, 
an injury to Ambry Thomas is 
adding to that strain.
“Ambry Thomas... he’s working 
through a little something right 
now,” Harbaugh told reporters 
at Big Ten Media Days. “We’re 
hopeful he’ll get back with us.”

That ambiguity cannot be a 
welcome sign, weeks before a 
season that portended Thomas’ 
breakout. He was the natural 
heir to David Long’s spot on 
the other end of Lavert Hill. If 
Thomas is in fact healthy and 
ready to go, he could still occupy 
that spot, all of that could still 
come to fruition.
If not, the Wolverines will 
have a competition of guys 
without much experience. The 
2018 recruiting class featured 
four 
cornerbacks, 
of 
which 
Vincent Gray appears the closest 
to breaking through. Gemon 
Green and D.J. Turner could 
figure into that mix, too. This 
spring will be about identifying 
which, if any, of those guys could 
be ready to play meaningful time 
— and if Thomas will be ready to 
go.
If 
the 
answer 
to 
those 
questions is no, the defense could 
find itself in some real trouble 
before too long.

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh has several decisions to make after the fall training camp though he’s returning several starters.

MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor

