With Fall practice right around the corner and summer camps ending at UM (more on that later), it begs the question: What kind of season is Michigan football going to have this year?
Most followers fall into three categories: (1) Those who think the Wolverines are in for a lot of adversity this year and predict a 6-6 record; (2) those who think Michigan will be 7-5 this year; and (3) those optimists who think Michigan will surprise with a 8-4 or 9-3 season. I'll give my prediction later.
Let's take a closer look at the current two-deep, as well as the incoming freshman class.
Obviously, there is a glaring question at the Quarterback position. Redshirt freshman transfer Steven Threet continues to hold the edge on the starting job, but that isn't saying much since his competition has been limited to junior Nick Sheridan, a coach's son who never saw the field under the Carr regime.
Sheridan is competing hard but lacks the talent or arm strength to truly challenge for the starting role.
Incoming freshman Justin Feagin is the closest thing to a Pat White clone that Michigan has this year. Feagin is expected to step in and compete on day one of Fall practice.
Even if Feagin doesn't win the starting job, and most expect he won't, he will most likely be used in a Tim Tebow-like role when Chris Leak was a senior. In other words, they'll dumb down the playbook for Feagin by giving him 15-20 plays or so and expecting him to provide a different look for defenses situationally.
Moving on to Running Backs, this position is loaded with depth for Michigan. Juniors Brandon Minor, Kevin Grady, and Carlos Brown all look to challenge for the starting tailback position.
Brown was injured in a freak weight room accident this past offseason, so he is behind both Minor and Grady. Minor is said to hold the lead as of the beginning of practice.
Grady is in the best shape of his life and has a terrific attitude, but one must be curious as to who many touches he'll see in the spread offense given his size and lack of elite speed.
Minor has adequate speed, but Carlos Brown is the true home run threat of the three. WOTS is that Brown will be used in the slot as well and maybe even at quarterback given the fact he played QB in high school.
Also challenging for reps will be incoming freshman running backs Sam McGuffie, Michael Shaw, and Mike Cox. Whoever loses the Shaw/McGuffie competition will find himself redshirting or playing the slot wide receiver position.
Cox is more of a big running back and could find himself at the fullback position if tailback doesn't work out. Redshirt freshman Avery Horn may also play a role if he impresses. However, most see him landing at the slot receiver position or simply providing depth.
With the new offense, it can be expected that Michigan will be employing four and five Wide Receiver sets routinely. Coach Rodriguez has sophomores Toney Clemons and Junior Hemingway at his disposal, as well as senior Greg Matthews.
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