2015 Season Preview: Football
8/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 19, 2015
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2015 OUTLOOK
Under first-year J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh, U-M returns 14 total starters (players who made six or more starts in 2014), including eight on defense and six on offense.
In 2014, U-M finished the season ranked seventh in the NCAA in total defense. Returning from that group to lead the way this fall are fifth-year senior linebacker Desmond Morgan and senior linebackers Joe Bolden and James Ross, both of whom were named to the 2015 Dick Butkus Award Watch List given to the nation's top linebacker.
That trio has 65 starts between them and bolsters a front seven that includes senior defensive tackle Willie Henry and a strong outside pass rush from senior Chris Wormley and junior Taco Charlton.
Junior cornerback Jourdan Lewis headlines the secondary for the Maize and Blue. His 2014 résumé of 39 tackles, six passes defended, two interceptions and 1.5 tackles-for-loss lead all returning Wolverine defensive backs. Seniors Jarrod Wilson and Jeremy Clark bring experience while sophomore Jabrill Peppers will be looked at as a major contributor with versatility and play-making ability.
On the offensive side of the ball, experienced pass-catchers come in the form of senior wide receivers Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh, while junior tight end Jake Butt will also look to provide a stable option for the U-M passing attack.
The battle for the starting quarterback position will continue to be waged throughout fall camp. Those competing for the spot under center include junior Shane Morris and fifth-year senior Jake Rudock, among others.
The offensive line is anchored by center Graham Glasgow, who leads the group with 24 career starts under his belt. Sophomore Mason Cole will look to build on a 2014 campaign that saw him earn True Freshman All-America honors from the Sporting News, and junior Kyle Kalis is expected to shore up the interior alongside Glasgow.
They will look to create holes for a stable of running backs that includes juniors Ty Isaac, De'Veon Smith and Derrick Green as well as senior Drake Johnson, who has worked hard to rehab his knee from an injury sustained against Ohio State at the close of last season. For the first time since 2011, a pair of U-M running backs posted multiple 100-plus-yard rushing games (Green, Smith).
STUDENT-ATHLETES TO WATCH
Joe Bolden -- Bolden made a career-high 102 tackles to finish second among all U-M defenders in 2014 after compiling 85 across his first two seasons in Maize and Blue. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native grew stronger down the stretch last fall, making a career-high 14 stops against Maryland (Nov. 22) before adding nine tackles and a QB hit against the Buckeyes in the season finale (Nov. 29). That 102-tackle total from 2014 paces all returning Wolverines, as Bolden looks to lead U-M both on and off the field this fall.
Jake Butt -- Butt figures to be among the most critical pieces to the Wolverine offense this fall. The 6-6 ft., 248-lb. tight end returned from a February, 2014 injury last season and hauled in 21 catches for 211 yards and two scores across four starts. He was named to the John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List this summer, given to the nation's top tight end and also received recent high praise from Coach Harbaugh. Now fully healthy, Butt has raised expectations for himself heading into 2015.
Jabrill Peppers -- Peppers was limited to just three games last fall due to injury, but flashed the big play ability that made him one of the nation's top recruits in the 2014 class. Now healthy, the New Jersey native can impact the game in more than just one way.
Jehu Chesson -- As Michigan's most experienced pass-catcher, Chesson brings seven career starts and nearly 30 receptions to the U-M receiver corps. He is a leader among a young group that the Wolverines will need significant production from, contributing to special teams as well as the offense. Chesson has built up his body, packing on nearly 30 pounds since his freshman season, and he was recently hailed by Coach Harbaugh as the fastest player on the roster.
Left: Joe Bolden // Right: Jehu Chesson
KEY COMPETITION
Sept. 3 at Utah
It's always important to get off to a fast start, and with the four-team College Football Playoff system in its second year, that cliché has never been more true. Michigan begins its season with its most highly touted nonconference opponent in Utah. When the Maize and Blue travel to Salt Lake City, the team will look to avenge its 26-10 defeat suffered at the hands of the Utes last fall. The game will also represent the first game for the program under Harbaugh, who is eager for the Wolverines' first victory.
QUOTABLE
J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh
On the team's expectations ... "Our expectations are very high. It'll come through work, but we have no predictions or crystal ball seeing into the future, nor do we want it to be that way. We embrace the fact that there will be great competition and we have to get ourselves prepared for that. (Whichever) team plays together the best as a team is going to stand the best chance of winning, and that's what we're doing now. We're becoming who we're going to become, and we're working to earn whatever we become ... We win as a team. That's the best way and the only way to get it done. And I have sensed that from our team. It's important to them; it means so much to them, that we win for those that want to see us do well, (people) that are for us."
On what type of balance fans can expect to see from the offense in 2015 ... "We'd like to be the type of football team that throws it 50 percent of the time and runs it 50 percent of the time. That'll be the goal. Now, whichever we're better at doing, the percentage may lean in one direction or the other, but having a great running game is critical. It's very important to football. Our objectives are to get better at every phase of our football -- offense, defense and special teams."
2014 RECAP
The Wolverines finished the 2014 season with a 5-7 record, including a 4-3 mark at Michigan Stadium. U-M was effective in close games, posting a 2-1 record in contests decided by seven points or fewer.
The offense was led by fifth-year senior quarterback Devin Gardner, who solidified his place in the U-M record books by closing his career ranked fourth in career pass attempts (787), completions (475) and passing yards (6,336), fifth in career completion percentage (60.4), sixth in touchdown passes (44), seventh in average passing yards per game (154.5) and eighth in passing efficiency (138.3). The Wolverines lost Gardner to graduation and will also look to replace the production of wide receiver Devin Funchess, who was selected No. 41 overall by the Carolina Panthers in the NFL Draft.
On defense, fifth-year senior Jake Ryan tallied 112 tackles at linebacker, the second-highest total in the Big Ten. He and senior defensive lineman Frank Clark both finished in the top five of the conference in tackles-for-loss, with 14 and 13.5 respectively. Clark and Ryan were also selected in the NFL Draft, taken in the second and fourth rounds, respectively and led the way for U-M's seventh-ranked defense.
Communications Contact: David Ablauf, Chad Shepard
