Michigan Football: 5 freshmen that have impressed so far in fall camp

Chris Hinton

Another player that has gotten some mention early by Lorenz and other insiders ($), is defensive tackle Chris Hinton, a four-star recruit that was a borderline five-star.

Hinton was one of the biggest gets for Michigan football in the last recruiting class and at 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds (plus), he has all the physical tools to play right away in the rough-and-tumble Big Ten Conference.

The biggest issue facing Hinton’s chance to play this season is the depth chart ahead of him. It looks like the Wolverines may only use three defensive linemen for much of the year and that could leave the defensive tackle types fighting for snaps.

Carlo Kemp is one of the top guys at defensive tackle along with Donovan Jeter, who has been turning heads since spring. Michael Dwumfour is also in the mix. But Hinton is a beast and both he and Mazi Smith, another highly-rated newcomer have long been viewed as early contributors.

With Hinton, I believe his progress will be similar to that of Aidan Hutchinson a season ago. He will earn some rotational snaps and be effective against the run. My prediction is that he plays in every game and gets double-digit tackles, maybe even a sack or two. But I don’t see him starting or doing that right away. He does however, look the part early.