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