Michigan Football: Midseason Grades for Each Wolverines Positional Unit

Seven games into the 2015 season, all of the Michigan Wolverines positional units have largely succeeded—especially compared to the previous campaign.

Michigan has a balanced team that is consistently playing well all over the field, but one group sticks out above a slew of slightly above-average units.

The offense remains a work in progress, and the defense has established itself as one of the best in the nation, but identifying the strengths and weaknesses of their parts provides further insight into the Wolverines' performance.

Quarterbacks

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When an opponent invites Jake Rudock to stand in the pocket and wait for route concepts to create soft spots in zone defenses, the senior has excelled—see the Northwestern game.

Nevertheless, it's been an up-and-down season for the Iowa transfer. He's struggled against pressure and tight coverage, which is to be expected for a mid-tier college quarterback.

However, predetermining passes or not progressing through reads is Rudock's biggest issue, while lacking deep ball accuracy is a notable problem. He's leaving big plays on the table, missing a slant while focusing on a wheel, targeting a drag when a seam is wide open or flat-out misfiring downfield.

Rudock has played well enough to win six games—which is what head coach Jim Harbaugh wants from the quarterback—but that doesn't mean Rudock is a great player.

Grade: C+

Running Backs

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De'Veon Smith earned the starting nod and—excluding the game he missed due to injury—hasn't relinquished the title. He's notched 436 rushing yards with a 4.5 per-carry average and four touchdowns, adding eight receptions for 53 yards and a score.

The explosiveness Smith lacks can be found in the skill sets of Drake Johnson and Karan Higdon, but the production isn't really there from them.

Now, the team has eased Johnson back into action following an ACL tear, and the coaching staff recently inserted Higdon into the rotation, so both players have basically only faced Michigan's best competition. Higdon seems to have jumped Derrick Green, who offered nothing special in limited action.

Rudock and Sione Houma have each scored three times, and Ty Isaac reached paydirt once.

Smith hasn't ripped off big plays, but neither has his backups. Smith hasn't particularly wowed anyone, but with zero fumbles, he hasn't done anything to lose his job, either.

Grade: B-

Wide Receivers

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As expected, Amara Darboh is the No. 1 receiver in every category. He's led the team in yards four times, amassing a total of 28 receptions for 332 yards and two touchdowns.

But Jehu Chesson is the playmaker—and the in-the-right-spot-but-bad-throw victim. The senior speedster has snagged 17 passes for 190 yards, tallied 113 rushing yards and a pair of scores on six carries and regularly broken loose for downfield shots before an inaccurate pass doomed the play.

Michigan really doesn't rely on any other receiver, instead throwing to tight ends and running backs. Grant Perry, Drake Harris, Maurice Ways, Freddy Canteen and Brian Cole have combined for 13 catches and 110 yards.

Dropped passes haven't emerged as a huge issue, and the blocking has been fine. Essentially, the Wolverines aren't losing because of the receivers.

Grade: B

Tight Ends

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Jake Butt finished his 2015 debut with eight catches, 93 yards and a touchdown, but the junior tight end has slowed down since the offense shifted from playing catch-up at Utah to the anticipated run-first mentality.

Now, the biggest impact Michigan needs from its tight ends is blocking. Similar to the offensive line, though, that hasn't gone particularly well against strong fronts.

Otherwise, converted defensive end Henry Poggi has received a fair number of snaps, and A.J. Williams has worked himself into the lineup. Ian Bunting and Khalid Hill each offered one productive outing as pass-catchers.

Grade: B-

Offensive Line

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Led by senior center Graham Glasgow, the offensive line is markedly improved from last season. Left tackle Mason Cole has put together a solid sophomore campaign, and right guard Kyle Kalis is finally recognizing some of his 4-star potential.

But it hasn't been all great for the men in the trenches.

Though pass protection is the unit's biggest strength, Michigan does struggle while dealing with twists and stunts from the defensive line. And against loaded boxes—like at Maryland, for example—the Wolverines often fail to create much movement at the line of scrimmage.

The offensive line has improved from bad to decent. The next step is ascending from decent to above average.

Grade: B-

Defensive Line

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Chris Wormley burst onto the scene with seven tackles for loss during the first three games of the season, and Willie Henry has picked up where the senior left off. Henry has logged a total of 7.5 for loss in the last four outings.

The line as a whole has tallied 55 tackles for loss, which ranks 10th nationally, and the unit's 18 sacks are good for 26th. Additionally, since Utah ran for 127 yards, no team has managed more than 100 yards on the ground against the Wolverines. The 64.7 per-game average allowed is second-best in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Michigan's D-line constantly collapses pockets, so the best way for a quarterback to beat the Wolverines is with timing throws. However, MSU's Connor Cook was really the only gunslinger capable of accomplishing that.

The Wolverines posted three consecutive shutouts, and it all started with the dominance up front.

Grade: A-

Linebackers

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If the defensive line doesn't finish a tackle, Joe Bolden and Desmond Morgan are typically in the right spot to clean it up. The duo has combined for 84 stops and has played a significant role in Michigan not allowing seven points over a 20-quarter span.

Following Michigan's 38-0 blowout win over Northwestern, Morgan told the Big Ten Network that the defense's mentality has changed. According to Justin Hicks of MLive.com, Morgan said: "We just continued nonstop throughout the entire game. In years past, teams sometimes let off the pedal going into half with the lead we had, but the guys were persistent throughout and fought the entire game."

The unit lost Mario Ojemudia for the season due to an Achilles injury, but Royce Jenkins-Stone has filled in admirably with 12 tackles since then.

Grade: B+

Secondary

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Rounding out the elite defense is a terrific secondary that boasts a pair of stars in Jourdan Lewis and Jabrill Peppers.

Lewis exited the Oregon State tilt early due to a head injury, and that's essentially the cornerback's most glaring negative. He's broken up a stunning 14 passes—including six versus Michigan State—which is the second-best clip in the nation. Lewis also has 24 tackles and two interceptions.

Michigan has used Peppers in multiple positions, and the sophomore has responded by affecting offenses near the line of scrimmage, at the intermediate level and on the outside. He's managed 23 tackles and five pass defenses.

Jarrod Wilson, Delano Hill, Jeremy Clark and Channing Stribling have combined for 69 tackles and four interceptions, helping Michigan achieve its current No. 6 ranking in the nation against the pass.

Grade: A-

Specialists

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The low-hanging fruit here is picking on punter Blake O'Neill for the mistake on the final play against Michigan State. Yeah, it was bad. But the graduate transfer has otherwise been stellar. O'Neill has racked up 41.1 yards per attempt, blasting a long of 80 yards, dropping 17 kicks inside the 20 and allowing just eight total returns.

Place-kicker Kenny Allen has connected on six straight field goals and 10-of-12 overall, but more importantly, he seems to have gained the trust of Harbaugh. Allen's career-long 47-yard field goal at Northwestern was pure.

Michigan's kick-coverage team ranks No. 30 in the nation, the punt return unit (10.3 per attempt) seems destined to break a long one, and Chesson took a kickoff to the house.

More often than not, the Wolverines are consistently winning this phase of the game. And, as much as fans won't want to relive it, Michigan's special teams put the team in position to beat Michigan State before the offense flopped during the fourth quarter.

Grade: B+

All recruiting information via 247Sports. Stats from cfbstats.com. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.