Michigan Wolverines

2014 Season Preview

Season Report Posted: April 10, 2010 01:36  

2014 Defending National Champion Michigan Season Preview

Michigan sets out to defend their national championship this year, minus a lot of key players. On offense, they lost the vast majority of their skill players. This includes their top 2 QBs, top 2 HBs, FB, TE, and top 2 WRs. Losing Mark Charles @ QB is by far the deepest cut this year. While it was very disappointing to lose him after only his SO season (and 1st year as a starter), Michigan fans everywhere will always be greatful that he helped put Michigan's program back where they belong. @ WR, Greg Banks will also be sorely missed. Last year he proved himself worthy of the priveledge of wearing the #1 jersey in a big way. While impact HBs Vincent Smith and Fitz Toussaint will also be missed, Michgan's team is in a better position to replace those 2 than they are to replace Banks and Charles. On defense, we don't lose as much talent as the other side of the ball. On the line, the only starter that we lost was DE Craig Roh, although Roh was a superstar as he led Michigan with 11 sacks last year. Likewise the only LB we lost was SR Brandin Hawthorne, but Michigan has developed quite a good stable of LBs to replace him. In the secondary, the only 2 players that are gone are a CB and a FS who've already been replaced by better players. Special teams could be interesting as both the K and P have graduated to be replaced by redshirt freshmen.

Here's a closer look @ the current crop of Wolverines.

Quarterbacks:
This is by far the biggest question mark on Michigan's team. As of right now, coach Jello has no clue which of 4 QBs will be the main guy. He'll play 3 of the 4 early on and then really hope that 1 will distinguish himself from the others. The options are:
YR NAME OVR SPD AWR THP THA RUNNING ABILITY
JR(RS) Derrick McGrew 84 80 great avg poor avg
FR(RS) Marvin Cooper 81 83 very poor good poor avg
FR Jacob Hawkins 77 86 avg avg poor poor
FR Brian Whitaker 80 74 avg good poor great

Michigan will likely prove the old adage that if you have 3 potential starting QBs, that means that you really have none.

Running Backs:
Michigan is very young @ HB, but also very talented. SO(RS) Lamont West will look to leave defenders in the dust with his blazing speed while SR(RS) Eric Ward will provide the power attack. You can also expect true FR HBs Robert Williams and Corey Temple to also see some playing time throughout the year. JR(RS) Brigham Rivera has really blossomed into a good FB as he's now a 90OVR with 86SPD. Coach Jello will need to find a way to get him more carries this year.

Receivers:
Outside of QB, this is the 2nd weakest part of the team. Banks' departure left a gaping hole and Michigan has noone to fill it. SRs(RS) Williams and Williamson will be the main 2 guys with their 90 and 89 OVR ratings. After those 2, they plummet down to 84 and 81 for the next two guys. Coach Jello likes to call a lot of 4 and 5 WR sets, but this may have to change this year. At TE, noone has progressed like coach Jello had hoped and Michigan has 3 mediocre TEs right now.

O-Line:
Coach Jello has prided himself on recruiting good offensive lines and this year's batch is no different. The ratings of the O-line are 90, 95, 99, 93, 87. While the tackles could be better, the middle of the line is very solid.

D-Line:
Michigan's defense is the strongest part of the team and it starts with the D-line. While we lost a 99OVR DE from last year, this line is still very solid. They are rated 91, 99, 95, 88. While, like the O-line, the ends are a little weak, you can expect a big year from stud DTs A.J. Keller and Wendell Campbell.

Linebackers:
The real story with Michigan's LBs is their depth. There are several very good backers in this corps. In the middle you've got SR(RS) and 3 year starter Jarrod Miller. He is backed up by a SO and FR who will both be 1st round draft picks by the time they leave. On the outside Michigan brings speed, speed, and more speed. These guys aren't just fast, they will knock more than a few players out of their cleats by season's end.

Secondary:
Michigan is finally getting the kind of speed that they want in the secondary. SR(RS) SS Jerome Williams headlines the secondary unit after leading the team in both tackles and interceptions last year. His counterpart, JR(RS) FS Chad Jones will be getting his first start, but he will be another good safety, although he's probably still 1 year away from true greatness. @ CB Michigan is fairly young as they have only 2 upperclassmen and 4 underclassmen. JR(RS) Montrell Miller will be the top guy after having a very good year last season as the nickle back. This year's nickle back is true FR Mark Perry. It's rare for a FR to not be redshirted, let alone see significant playing time for Michigan, but Perry is one of those rare gems that will eventually dominate the world of college football. Despite only being a FR and not starting, expect big things from Perry this year.

Special Teams:
Last year SR(RS) Fitzgerald Toussaint won the returner of the year award and became the first player during coach Jello's tenure to win any award. He's gone now, but Michigan always has dangerous backup players that can return kicks for them so they'll be alright there. We'll be starting 2 FR(RS) @ kicker and punter so only time will tell how those 2 will perform.

Prediction:
It's tough to tell how things will go for Michigan this year. We don't have a QB that can throw the ball nor do we have recievers who can catch it. This may make Michigan's run-heavy offense even more 1 dimensional than in the past. This too takes a huge hit as no QB can run the option half as well as Charles did last year. There are several questions about this team. If the answer to most of them is "yes", then we'll be okay and will compete for a chance to go to the Rose Bowl. If the answer to a lot of them is "no", then we very well may follow in the footsteps of the last 2 national champions Florida and Penn State. These questions are:
Will our defense play up to their potential?
Will 1 quarterback step up to the challenge of being the go-to starter?
Will this QB be able to run the option decently well?
Will this QB protect the ball without throwing it to the other team too often?
Will HBs West and Ward be able to carry the offense on their shoulders when the QBs can't get it done?
Will ND's players get into a horrific traffic accident on the way to the stadium?
Will the subpar WRs man up and play beyond their abilities to take the burden off of the QBs?
Will the FR K be able to handle the pressure and make the big kicks when needed?

The season is about to start, so let's start answering some of those questions.

As always, GO BLUE!