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alaska

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Who do we think the Offensive and Defensive starters are and what does the depth chart start to look like for this fall?
 

alaska said:
Who do we think the Offensive and Defensive starters are and what does the depth chart start to look like for this fall?
Click to expand...

Offensive depth chart will look very similar to last year although there might be a little shuffling. Move Mo into the starting RB slot and CAB into the #2 receiver slot. Rest is basically in tact.

Defense has been discussed a million times here already. Just search for one of the 35 threads on it. :)
 

My guess at it...

QB: Morgan/Annexstad/Clark
RB: Ibrahim/Wiley/Thomas
WR1: Bateman/Green
WR2: Autumn-Bell/Jackson
WR3: Douglas/Brown-Stephens
TE: Spann-Ford/Paulson/Kieft
LT: Schlueter/Guedet
LG: Andries/Olson/Ruschmeyer
C: Schmitz/Olson
RG: Dunlap/Olson/Ruschmeyer
RT: Faalele/Guedet

Andries probably kicks out to either tackle spot if Schlueter or Faalele were to go down. I expect Jackson to see a lot of the field as a true frosh as they need to start grooming someone to take over when Bateman declares.

SDE: Otomewo/Anderson
DT: Dew-Treadway/Teague
DT: Schad/Carter/Cheney
WDE: Mafe/Rush/Harris (think Rush and Harris compete for backup)
LB: Sori-Marin/Gordon
LB: Oliver/Willis/Burns
CB: Durr/Smith
CB: St-Juste/Howard
NCB: Harris/Glaze
S: Howden/Swenson
S: Nubin/Sapp

thinking about DB depth, the Dickerson and Ortiz additions are going to be huge. Durr will graduate and I think St-Juste goes pro (he’s 23 and two years post grad) so we desperately needed some instant impact guys on the back end.

K: Lantz/Walker
P: Crawford
LS: Weeks
 


If there is one position where a younger player - true Fr or RS FR - might make an immediate impact, it might be at WR. One of the younger RB's could also get some carries.

On Defense, Nuts' depth chart looks good to me.
 


GopherNuts said:
My guess at it...

QB: Morgan/Annexstad/Clark
RB: Ibrahim/Wiley/Thomas
WR1: Bateman/Green
WR2: Autumn-Bell/Jackson
WR3: Douglas/Brown-Stephens
TE: Spann-Ford/Paulson/Kieft
LT: Schlueter/Guedet
LG: Andries/Olson/Ruschmeyer
C: Schmitz/Olson
RG: Dunlap/Olson/Ruschmeyer
RT: Faalele/Guedet

Andries probably kicks out to either tackle spot if Schlueter or Faalele were to go down. I expect Jackson to see a lot of the field as a true frosh as they need to start grooming someone to take over when Bateman declares.

SDE: Otomewo/Anderson
DT: Dew-Treadway/Teague
DT: Schad/Carter/Cheney
WDE: Mafe/Rush/Harris (think Rush and Harris compete for backup)
LB: Sori-Marin/Gordon
LB: Oliver/Willis/Burns
CB: Durr/Smith
CB: St-Juste/Howard
NCB: Harris/Glaze
S: Howden/Swenson
S: Nubin/Sapp

thinking about DB depth, the Dickerson and Ortiz additions are going to be huge. Durr will graduate and I think St-Juste goes pro (he’s 23 and two years post grad) so we desperately needed some instant impact guys on the back end.

K: Lantz/Walker
P: Crawford
LS: Weeks
Click to expand...
No Witham at TE?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
If there is one position where a younger player - true Fr or RS FR - might make an immediate impact, it might be at WR. One of the younger RB's could also get some carries.

On Defense, Nuts' depth chart looks good to me.
Click to expand...

WR and RB are the ultmate breakout positions I think. If a player can get open / avoid guys ... generally teams will look to get the ball to you.

So many other positions are more about bulking up and technique. Not to say WR and RB aren't about that, but if you can make space folks will notice fast.
 

^^^ I like JMS a lot and I think he will play plenty for us this season, but there is no way Olson is not a starter on the OL.
 

MplsGopher said:
^^^ I like JMS a lot and I think he will play plenty for us this season, but there is no way Olson is not a starter on the OL.
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I REALLY like that offensive line. If they stay healthy I think it's the best offensive line with the most experience that we have seen maybe ever. Hoping to see a continuation from what they did to Auburn's defensive line which was very talented and acclaimed.
 



If all six O-linemen are healthy, I’d expect to see a lot of that heavy package again this year, regardless of who the starting five end up being.
 


Word said:
No Witham at TE?
Click to expand...

he’ll definitely be in the rotation. Paulson and Kieft have been bigger parts of the offense as blockers from what I can remember though so going off history a bit there and obviously waiting for BSF to break out.

@MplsGopher I think JMS has to start and though there will likely be continued rotation, I gotta imagine Fleck wants some consistency at Center. It’s a tricky one on who to boot out. The left side is set and I think Dunlap flashed enough where now that he has a full year under his belt, he could take off as a second year starter....he also doesn’t have the versatility Olson does.

@Gophersince72 Dickson, Sassack, Norton and York not panning out really have come back to bite them from a depth perspective. If they can land Orr or James in the 2021 class they should be fine at Tackle imo but the interior of the line is what worries me. We recruit a lot of big bodied linemen which is great but few athletic guys that project to guard or center (we’ve only offered 6 interior linemen in the 2021 class). JMS will be a RS Senior in 2022, Nathan Boe will back him up that year as a RS Junior but beyond that there’s no one in the pipeline at Center. If Andries or Dunlap were to go pro early, you can plug in Ruschmeyer at either guard spot but beyond him there’s really only Beier and soon to be true frosh Aireontae Ersery as depth. They really need to prioritize the offensive line to close the 2021 class and 2022.
 

That's fine and all, maybe that's what it will be. But centers have to graduate eventually. JMS can rotate in, and he'll be the starter in 2021. Olson has earned the start, and would rather Andries and Dunlap start at guards.

My opinion and nothing more.
 



MplsGopher said:
That's fine and all, maybe that's what it will be. But centers have to graduate eventually. JMS can rotate in, and he'll be the starter in 2021. Olson has earned the start, and would rather Andries and Dunlap start at guards.

My opinion and nothing more.
Click to expand...

Could do what they did to finish the season last year and leave Olson in for every series, while rotating JMS, Dunlap, and Andries, giving them two series off. It went like this:

series 1: Andries, Olson, Dunlap
series 2: Andries Olson, Dunlap
series 3: Andries, JMS, Olson
series 4: Andries, JMS, Olson
series 5: Olson, JMS, Dunlap
series 6: Olson, JMS, Dunlap

And, so on.

That is how they finished the season when everyone was healthy. Of course, they played all six at times, as well.

Let's hope they all stay healthy and we continue to have debate as to whom gets to play.
 

I like that!

Andries can also play tackle. Might think about a tackle rotation for him, if Guedet is only the emergency backup (if two starting tackles go down), that keeps him practiced at tackle as well.
 

GopherNuts said:
CB: Durr/Smith
CB: St-Juste/Howard
NCB: Harris/Glaze
S: Howden/Swenson
S: Nubin/Sapp

thinking about DB depth, the Dickerson and Ortiz additions are going to be huge. Durr will graduate and I think St-Juste goes pro (he’s 23 and two years post grad) so we desperately needed some instant impact guys on the back end.
Click to expand...

I think Smith has to be an option at nickel. He is one of your top 4 DBs, it would be a waste, IMHO, to have him watching from the sidelines. Howard could be a factor at nickel, as well.
 

Gophersince72 said:
Yikes, this drives home how badly they need to develop another tackle or two. Maybe even a JUCO in class of 2022?
Click to expand...

It is very common to have reserve o-line listed in multiple spots on the depth chart so I wouldn't read too much into a lack of names listed. Obviously the need for continued development is always there and you want the rotation to be as deep as possible. I feel confident in saying there are other guys on the roster that would be legit options if needed, but hopefully we don't need to find out.
 

^^ to your point, I think that Andries is the first guy in at tackle, if someone goes down.

But maybe Guedet surprises everyone this summer/fall and is ready to get meaningful Big Ten game reps.
 

GopherNuts said:
My guess at it...

QB: Morgan/Annexstad/Clark
RB: Ibrahim/Wiley/Thomas
WR1: Bateman/Green
WR2: Autumn-Bell/Jackson
WR3: Douglas/Brown-Stephens
TE: Spann-Ford/Paulson/Kieft
LT: Schlueter/Guedet
LG: Andries/Olson/Ruschmeyer
C: Schmitz/Olson
RG: Dunlap/Olson/Ruschmeyer
RT: Faalele/Guedet

Andries probably kicks out to either tackle spot if Schlueter or Faalele were to go down. I expect Jackson to see a lot of the field as a true frosh as they need to start grooming someone to take over when Bateman declares.

SDE: Otomewo/Anderson
DT: Dew-Treadway/Teague
DT: Schad/Carter/Cheney
WDE: Mafe/Rush/Harris (think Rush and Harris compete for backup)
LB: Sori-Marin/Gordon
LB: Oliver/Willis/Burns
CB: Durr/Smith
CB: St-Juste/Howard
NCB: Harris/Glaze
S: Howden/Swenson
S: Nubin/Sapp

thinking about DB depth, the Dickerson and Ortiz additions are going to be huge. Durr will graduate and I think St-Juste goes pro (he’s 23 and two years post grad) so we desperately needed some instant impact guys on the back end.

K: Lantz/Walker
P: Crawford
LS: Weeks
Click to expand...

I agree with your lineup mostly, but fully expect to see Olson at TE in the 6 OL lineup with Span-Ford at the other TE against Iowa in the very fist series. A full dose of Mo with a mix of quick slants and bombs mixed in to keep the Hawkeyes honest.

You will see this offensive Philosophy against all the tough teams.
 

GopherNuts said:
My guess at it...

QB: Morgan/Annexstad/Clark
RB: Ibrahim/Wiley/Thomas
WR1: Bateman/Green
WR2: Autumn-Bell/Jackson
WR3: Douglas/Brown-Stephens
TE: Spann-Ford/Paulson/Kieft
LT: Schlueter/Guedet
LG: Andries/Olson/Ruschmeyer
C: Schmitz/Olson
RG: Dunlap/Olson/Ruschmeyer
RT: Faalele/Guedet

Andries probably kicks out to either tackle spot if Schlueter or Faalele were to go down. I expect Jackson to see a lot of the field as a true frosh as they need to start grooming someone to take over when Bateman declares.

SDE: Otomewo/Anderson
DT: Dew-Treadway/Teague
DT: Schad/Carter/Cheney
WDE: Mafe/Rush/Harris (think Rush and Harris compete for backup)
LB: Sori-Marin/Gordon
LB: Oliver/Willis/Burns
CB: Durr/Smith
CB: St-Juste/Howard
NCB: Harris/Glaze
S: Howden/Swenson
S: Nubin/Sapp

thinking about DB depth, the Dickerson and Ortiz additions are going to be huge. Durr will graduate and I think St-Juste goes pro (he’s 23 and two years post grad) so we desperately needed some instant impact guys on the back end.

K: Lantz/Walker
P: Crawford
LS: Weeks
Click to expand...
St Juste graduated early he is only 21! Still he’s talented enough to turn pro and will probably do so. The only position I don’t fully agree with is RB Ibrahim is definitely RB1 but the RB room is large and deep - tough to tell who will rotate in and who will move positions.
 

MplsGopher said:
^^ to your point, I think that Andries is the first guy in at tackle, if someone goes down.

But maybe Guedet surprises everyone this summer/fall and is ready to get meaningful Big Ten game reps.
Click to expand...

Yeah, with 6 starting level guys on the roster, if one goes down then the other 5 get reshuffled to fit accordingly (have seen it happen already). Honestly with the way our o-line is setup right now the depth chart should really look more like a basketball lineup then a traditional football depth chart with starters and reserves at each spot.
 

gopherall said:
St Juste graduated early he is only 21! Still he’s talented enough to turn pro and will probably do so. The only position I don’t fully agree with is RB Ibrahim is definitely RB1 but the RB room is large and deep - tough to tell who will rotate in and who will move positions.
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St-Juste was born in 1997 according to Michigan’s player page on him. So he’ll be 23 in September.

As far as RB, I don’t think we’ve seen anything out of Bryce Williams to expect he’ll be in the three man rotation. He started 2018 as RB1 but got beat out by Mo. This past season when Rodney, Brooks and Mo were all out injured against Georgia Southern, Cam Wiley was getting reps ahead of him and when Wiley got injured in that game, Williams really struggled. Williamson’s coming off a knee injury so he’s TBD, there’s been some talk of Potts moving to slot receiver and while Thomas will be a true frosh, he should be ready physically and I believe he has the vision and agility to really thrive in this system early
 

GopherNuts said:
St-Juste was born in 1997 according to Michigan’s player page on him. So he’ll be 23 in September.

As far as RB, I don’t think we’ve seen anything out of Bryce Williams to expect he’ll be in the three man rotation. He started 2018 as RB1 but got beat out by Mo. This past season when Rodney, Brooks and Mo were all out injured against Georgia Southern, Cam Wiley was getting reps ahead of him and when Wiley got injured in that game, Williams really struggled. Williamson’s coming off a knee injury so he’s TBD, there’s been some talk of Potts moving to slot receiver and while Thomas will be a true frosh, he should be ready physically and I believe he has the vision and agility to really thrive in this system early
Click to expand...

Just to clarify a couple things on this RB situation:

1. As far as how I believe 2018 played out (pretty sure this is correct): We started the season with Rodney Smith at #1 and Mo was #2. Rodney got injured in one of the first couple games (I believe early against Fresno) and then Mo took over. Mo was getting a lot of carries and then he pulled a hamstring on a long run (I think against Miami maybe). It was then that Williams became our featured back for a game or two while Mo recovered.

2. I believe the plan all along last year was to maintain redshirts for Williams and Wiley, so I think they both got some carries in a couple games. But I didn't see it as Wiley definitely over Williams type of thing. They were just using those guys strategically so they could keep them under the games played limit.
 

WriterGoph said:
Just to clarify a couple things on this RB situation:

1. As far as how I believe 2018 played out (pretty sure this is correct): We started the season with Rodney Smith at #1 and Mo was #2. Rodney got injured in one of the first couple games (I believe early against Fresno) and then Mo took over. Mo was getting a lot of carries and then he pulled a hamstring on a long run (I think against Miami maybe). It was then that Williams became our featured back for a game or two while Mo recovered.
Click to expand...

Rodney was the clear No. 1 to start 2018, Mo and Bryce were 2a/2b. Both got carries in the season opener in a rout of New Mexico State. Mo had a long run in the New Mexico State game and finished with 109 yards and an injury which forced him out the next two weeks.

Rodney blew out his knee on first run of Game #2 vs. Fresno State. Williams finished the game with 87 yards rushing, carrying the load. He was the main man the next week and rushed for 141 yards vs. Miami (OH).

Mo returned the next week in his home state of Maryland and was basically the No. 1 back the rest of the year.

Shannon Brooks had 154 yards in the Indiana game and was re-injured.
 

Gophersince72 said:
Yikes, this drives home how badly they need to develop another tackle or two. Maybe even a JUCO in class of 2022?
Click to expand...
I agree. Andries can probably kick over and replace Schlueter in 2021. And hopefully Big Dan stays through 2021. Will have depth issues at OT in 2021, and real issues in 2022 unless we strike gold in recruiting soon. Might need a transfer or JUCO for transition.
 

Punt/Kick returner? Hopefully someone better than Douglas
 

GopherNuts said:
St-Juste was born in 1997 according to Michigan’s player page on him. So he’ll be 23 in September.

As far as RB, I don’t think we’ve seen anything out of Bryce Williams to expect he’ll be in the three man rotation. He started 2018 as RB1 but got beat out by Mo. This past season when Rodney, Brooks and Mo were all out injured against Georgia Southern, Cam Wiley was getting reps ahead of him and when Wiley got injured in that game, Williams really struggled. Williamson’s coming off a knee injury so he’s TBD, there’s been some talk of Potts moving to slot receiver and while Thomas will be a true frosh, he should be ready physically and I believe he has the vision and agility to really thrive in this system early
Click to expand...

St-Juste was in Michigan’s 2017 class. If he turns 23 in September, he must have been a year older coming out of high school. I see that he already has his masters degree. He must be a very bright dude.

 
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PitinoFan said:
St-Juste was in Michigan’s 2017 class. If he turns 23 in September, he much have been a year older coming out of high school. I see that he already has his masters degree. He must be a very bright dude.

Click to expand...

So I was looking into this on a Michigan board and apparently there was some confusion at first when he committed there about whether he would be a part of the 2016 class (which would coincide with his age group) or 2017. After High School/Secondary school he went to a college prep school called Cégep du Vieux Montréal which would explain why he’s a year older. The Cegep programs in Quebec usually take 2 years to complete and it’s prep for a particular field you’re going into so as a result, you spend less time in college (he only spent a year in it according to Michigan forum folk). He probably got a head start on college credits from being in that program but what’s clear is Ben is super smart and seems to have no issue taking on an added workload. Who knows we may be talking about Dr. Ben at some point down the road.
 
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Flecknation said:
Punt/Kick returner? Hopefully someone better than Douglas
Click to expand...
Speaking of kicker...anyone better than Ryerse in the pipeline?

Being told not to kick touchbacks on KO during the bowl should have been a big signal going into this season.

I'll offer though we got a pretty good look at what the game might look like without full-fledged kick-offs happening, which has been offered from time to time. Still saw some big hits on the returns, but not the same as full-speed contact on a ball coming down on the 5 yard line and taken forward from there.
 

GopherNuts said:
So I was looking into this on a Michigan board and apparently there was some confusion at first when he committed there about whether he would be a part of the 2016 class (which would coincide with his age group) or 2017. After High School/Secondary school he went to a college prep school called Cégep du Vieux Montréal which would explain why he’s a year older. The Cegep programs in Quebec usually take 2 years to complete and it’s prep for a particular field you’re going into so as a result, you spend less time in college (he only spent a year in it according to Michigan forum folk). He probably got a head start on college credits from being in that program but what’s clear is Ben is super smart and seems to have no issue taking on an added workload. Who knows we may be talking about Dr. Ben at some point down the road.
Click to expand...
Plus P5 (maybe all of FBS, and even FCS these days?) kids all take summer school and get full scholarship (including room & board) to do so. When you're doing that, unless you're taking a minimal load in the fall during the season, there really is no good reason you can't graduate with an undergraduate in 3.5-4 calendar years.
 

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