Michigan Football: Preseason polls underestimate the Wolverines
By Peter Arango
Preseason polls don’t really matter that much, but Michigan football still deserved to be ranked higher.
Preseason predictions guarantee absolutely nothing, but any Michigan football fan is bound to feel the gorge rise, the temperature climb, the fists clench as Michigan in Jim Harbaugh’s third season’s falls outside the AP’s top ten.
Related Story: Projected DB depth chart
I get it. Eleven of the most impressive players from last year’s Michigan football squad will be playing in the NFL this season.
Jabril Peppers, last year’s most exciting player in NCAA football, will play with the Browns, Taco Charlton and Jourdan Lewis with the Cowboys, Chris Wormley with the Ravens, Delano Hill and Amara Darboh with the Seahawks, Ben Gedeon with the Vikings, Ryan Glasgow with the Bengals, Jehu Chesson with the Chiefs, Jake Butt with the Broncos, and Jeremy Clark with the Jets.
OK, pollsters figure that is a lot of talent to replace, and they know that Michigan’s spectacular recruiting class, however impressive, is untested.
Young teams, the pundits argue, have a tough time finding traction in a conference that has become bone-crushingly competitive. It takes time for a championship squad to gel. And then, they note, a much stronger Penn State team is aching for revenge after the Blue pasted forty-nine points on the bumbling Nittany Lions last season.
OSU is loaded (again) and loaded for Blue after barely escaping with a three-point overtime victory at the Horseshoe. Buckeye fans are still recovering from witnessing the phlegmatic Urban Meyer’s nose dive to the turf, rolling in relief as the game ended. Meyer running up and down the sideline. Panicked. Foaming. Not easy to forget.
All well and good, but … prognosticators may have overlooked significant factors that suggest that Michigan football is likely to do a bit better than the polls predict.
An impressive core on defense remains, still in the hands of coordinator Don Brown, who developed a unit that was essentially two-deep by season’s end and who saw plenty of time of the field last year.
Maurice Hurst, Bryan Mone, and Chase Winovich racked up a combined seventy-tackles, and the man-monster, Rashan Gary, now a fully seasoned and still speedy sophomore, packs 287 pounds on a 6-5 frame. How good are these guys?
Coach Brown does not mince words in describing the impact Gary is likely to have this season. ““Best I’ve ever seen,” Brown announced in the Detroit News. “Best I’ve ever seen combining speed, strength, change of direction, and the mental curve. He’s unbelievable. The sky is the limit.”
ESPN’s Todd McShay and draft guru, Mel Kiper, Jr. have already touted Hurst as the best defensive tackle available in the next draft. Worried about linebackers? Keep an eye on Devin Bush, a sophomore who will likely be in the middle, between senior Mike McCray and Khaleke Hudson, another sophomore turning heads in the spring game.
Michigan Wolverines Football
The defense is impressive, but there are some hefty boys up front on offense as well. Mason Cole (6-5, 304) may be the most talented offensive lineman in the nation, equally effective at center or tackle, likely to play left tackle this year with Ben Bredeson (6-5, 310) as left guard. Senior Patrick Kluger (6-5, 287) can hold down the center of the line with super frosh Cesar Ruiz (6-3, 315) next in line. Mike Onwenu (6-3, 340) has slimmed down and toughened up, showing impressive improvement at right guard.
And on offense?
The competition for the starting slot at quarterback is rough enough that highly recruited four star freshman, Dylan McCaffrey is not likely to get much time on the field this season. Wilton Speight, an experienced game manager has the edge, but both John O’Korn and Brandon Peters are in the mix.
Whichever QB that emerges will have offensive weapons including Chris Evans, an impressive running back and nifty receiver and fullback Khalid Hill who scored 10 touchdowns last year. Slot receiver Eddie McDoom gave defenses fits last season, averaging more than 12 yards per carry. Jake Butt is gone, but Ian Bunting at 6-6, 276 lbs. is a hard blocking tight end with great hands.
Two true freshmen may round out the attack. Tarik Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones have the edge on a mega-competitive pack of experienced wide receivers, giving Michigan yet another position that is way more than more than two deep.
Finally, Coach Jim Harbaugh and the culture of aspiration and grit that he has brought to Ann Arbor add an intangible dimension to the character of every game Michigan football plays.
Harbaugh is a demanding coach, a relentlessly competitive coach, but he is also a players’ coach. Every team comes to play, but Jim Harbaugh’s teams play with an intensity that matches that of their coach on the sideline; they run onto the field at high rev and stay revved until the final whistle. They don’t give up, and they don’t give in.
No one expected Michigan to claim national prominence in Harbaugh’s first or second season, but his energy and belief in his teams pulled the Blue from near obscurity to a commanding position as a contender for a national championship by the middle of his second season in Ann Arbor.
the AP and SI have dissed a Michigan team that won ten games and lost three by a combined total of five points, a one point loss to Iowa, a three-point loss (in overtime) to Ohio State, and a one point loss to Florida State in the Orange Bowl. This year Ohio State is ranked second and Florida State third in the AP poll, Florida State second and Ohio State third in Sports Illustrated. Both polls have Penn State finishing ahead of Michigan.
Next: Top 10 Michigan Running Backs of All Time
Nothing like disrespect to get the juices flowing, and no one like Jim Harbaugh to fan the flames. Keep an eye on the sideline during the season opener against Florida at Jerry World in Dallas. Chances are you’ll see a coach and a team with something to prove and the will to win.