This is a definite rebuilding year for a linebacker corps losing two of three starters. Shawn Crable is the lone returning starter, and is expected to turn in an All-conference season. He is backed up by redshirt freshmen Jonas Mouton and Obi Ezeh at the SAM position. Freshman Brandon Herron also plays the SAM, and will probably redshirt.

Middle linebacker will be manned by both Johnny Thompson and Obi Ezeh. Thompson is a stronger player against the run, Ezeh against the pass. Junior College transfer Austin Panter does not yet have the strength to play against the run, but will likely earn some playing time this year. Thompson was a monster in the 2005 Iowa game in David Harris’s absence, but has not shown a whole lot in his other game experience. The other two players are relative unknowns.

At the weakside position, Chris Graham is expected to be the starter. Former safety Jonas Mouton, a redshirt freshman, is considered the stronger player in coverage, and may take over the starting role by the end of the year. Graham is a little guy at only 5-11, which may hold him back. Brandon Logan provides depth, and true freshman Marrell Evans will probably redshirt. In fall camp, he has looked impressive at the position, but needs a year of weight training to get up to playing size.

My completely arbitrary and meaningless rating: 5/10

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At Defensive end, Brandon Graham will hope to follow a less circuitous version of the Lamarr Woodley career path. The high school linebacker will likely never play that position in college, instead staying at defensive end his whole career. Graham has lost weight in the offseason, helping him maintain his speed, though he has battled minor injuries in training camp. The other side will be manned by Tim Jamison, a speedy penetrator who has been injured much of his career, which has kept him out of the starting lineup until now. He was widely considered the starter opposite Woodley last year until a freak ankle injury forced him to sit out and then take a backup role. The redshirt junior looks to finally put together a healthy season.

Backing up those two are a slew of unknowns in redshirt freshmen Greg Banks and Adam Patterson, after the dismissal of James McKinney. They will both be counted on to provide rest for the starters, as there will likely be more rotation this year to give experience to a wider range of players. True freshman Ryan Van Bergen is talented, but may sit out a year to get ready for the college game. LB Shawn Crable will step in on some passing downs.

Defensive tackle Terrance Taylor is the only returner along the defensive line, but he is a good one. Playing the nose position, he is a space-eater rather than a penetrator. He is a likely all-conference candidate. Next to him will be Will Johnson, who steps into a starting role after being a key reserve the past two years. In action last year, he impressed, and was only kept off the field by the exceptional players ahead of him.

Johnny Ferrara will back up the DTs, though he needs to work on his game fitness to be a true factor. The story is similar with Jason Kates. Freshman Marques Slocum will also factor in, as he is ineligible to redshirt after his bizarre academic sojourn to become a Wolverine (Slocum has been dinged up in fall camp with a shoulder injury, but he shouldn’t be sidelined too long). There is also a chance that he could be moved to offense down the road, as he was a VHT offensive tackle as a recruit. Slocum is in good shape, and is a strong player, in the style of a shorter Alan Branch. True freshman Renaldo Sagesse will almost definitely redshirt, as Canadian recruits typically do as he will need to assimilate into the culture a bit, and learn the game as it is played here. Brett Gallimore has been shuffled around during his career, and won’t likely be a factor anywhere.

With depth lacking on the edges, but strong in the middle, this unit earns a 7.5/10

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Mario Manningham would have been a first-team All-American last year had he not missed three games with a knee injury, and played at less than 100% in the final four games (he had nine touchdowns in the first 6 games, and not a single one after that). He is among the top wideouts in the country. Adrian Arrington was a very good #2 man last year, to both Manningham and the departed Steve Breaston. Arrington should be in great shape this year, after running the steps of Michigan Stadium for 60 straight days to earn his way back onto the team after legal trouble off it. Greg Mathews is described as a taller Jason Avant, which means very good things for the Wolverines if he is able to get more involved in the offense this year (he had only seven receptions last season).

Behind those players are a bunch of unprovens, starting with LaTerryal Savoy, a redshirt sophomore whose status on the team is unclear after he got into legal trouble in the offseason. Freshmen Toney Clemons (a speed demon with height), J.R. Hemingway (a fast leaper who can go over the middle), and Zion Babb (an athlete who must polish his skills at the WR position) will battle for playing time. Do not be surprised if one or more of them redshirts.

Carson Butler will be allowed to return to the team after clearing up his legal troubles, though he will be punished with reduced playing time, and Mike Massey will get the majority of the starts. Chris McLaurin is a blocking tight end, and won’t likely see much action in the passing game. Freshmen Steve Watson and Martell Webb will also be factors. Watson is a well-coached route runner (son of Denver Broncos WR coach), but does not look physically ready for the position. He will have to shed baby fat and put on muscle to be a player. Martell Webb will learn both the WR and TE positions, and he is physically skilled, but polished at neither spot. He is a Carson Butler-like physical specimen.

With the re-addition of Carson Butler, this unit becomes much stronger, earning a rating of 8/10

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At the quarterback position, Chad Henne will start. He has All-American, first-round NFL potential. He is widely considered in the top couple quarterbacks in the nation (along with Brian Brohm, John David Booty, and Andre Woodson). His backup, Ryan Mallett, would start at a lot of schools in America, despite being a true freshman. David Cone is still considered a career backup type. Steve Threet will likely lead the scout team in practice, as he will redshirt during his transfer year. The quarterback position has gone from razor-thin to fairly robust in no time at all.

At running back, All-American Michael Hart will carry the load for this offense. The fifth-place Heisman vote-getter is reportedly faster then he has ever been, after working his legs during the offseason while rehabbing after minor shoulder surgery. The stable will hope to spell him more often than last year, when he carried the ball a whopping 318 times (everyone else on the team combined carried 217 times, including 47 by Chad Henne, mostly sacks). Brandon Minor will be the key backup, and the 6-0, 213 pounder definitely looks the part. He is faster and stronger than Hart, but not as elusive or tough. He will likely take over primary duties upon Hart’s graduation, and must get his reps this year.

Carlos Brown has shuffled all over the place this offseason (including spending some time seeking a possible transfer), and broke his hand in fall camp. He won’t contribute until the second or third week of the season, but provides a burst of speed for Michigan out of the backfield. Incoming freshman Avery Horn has impressed in fall camp as well, prompting Fred Jackson to call him the fastest RB in his 16 years at Michigan. Junior Kevin Grady tore his ACL in the spring, and will probably have to take a redshirt this fall. He was a contributor in the backfield, but had been passed by Minor during last season. mainly due to his fumbling ways. If Grady redshirts, this would give Michigan 3 junior running backs in 2008.

Fullback is the key question for Michigan in the offensive backfield. Walkon Mark Moundros and early-enrolling freshman Vince Helmuth competed in the spring, with Moundros the slight leader, though no true winner was named. Moundros is a redshirt freshman, and earned a scholarship (one year, as he is a preferred walkon, though it can be renewed on a yearly basis). Helmuth played tailback in high shcool, and though he is a workout warrior, may benefit from a redshirt year building strength if he does not win the job outright.

Andre Criswell provides depth at the fullback position, as does Quentin Patilla. However, Patilla’s status is unclear, as he is involved in a legal situation off the field. If he returns to the team, he will not be likely to see much playing time.

With a lack of quality at the the FB position, and injuries creating depth issues at RB, it is hard to rate this group higher than 7/10

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Changes since spring: Schifano removed from team for unspecified medical issue.

The left 3/5 of the line is as close to set in stone as it can be. Jake Long was a first-team All-American last year, and has a pretty good chance of being the first lineman taken in the 20 NFL Draft. Adam Kraus is a likely first-team All-Big Ten performer this year as well. Justin Boren seems like a future All-American, but for now he probably won’t be. However, he will be in the All-Conference discussion this year.

The right side of the line is a little less firm. Alex Mitchell has struggled with his weight throughout his career, and this year is no different. He got burned a bunch of time in the Rose Bowl, though that doesn’t appear to have motivated him enough. He needs to get down to a more suitable playing weight if he wants to start this year. He is a good run blocker (though with his build not perfectly suited for the zone game), but lacks in pass protection. If he cannot, redshirt freshman Steve Schilling (who would have probably started at right tackle last year if not for mono and a separated shoulder) will step in to provide a far more athletic option at the guard position. At tackle, Schilling is in the mix if Mitchell is able to earn the RG position. It is a Schilling v. Ortmann battle over there, with Schilling being the more athletic of the two. UPDATE – Mitchell has injured himself in fall camp, and will miss the first couple games. Ciulla has taken over the RG spot, and I don’t see it likely that Mitchell will be able to get back into shape to reclaim his role.

The depth along the lone is good but not spectacular. Ortmann is probably the left tackle next year, so if Jake Long goes down (or is taken out in junk-time situations) Ortmann will get play over there (les likely if he starts at RT, in order to avoid injury to a starter). Tim McAvoy and provides solid-but-unspectacular depth at both guard positions. At center, Dave Moosman was close to Justin Boren in the race for the starting job, so he will be a good backup there. At right tackle, there is a host of players waiting to get their shot, including highly-recruited Corey Zirbel and Perry Dorrestein.

It’s hard to rate the position entirely accurately without knowing how the right side will shake out. However, the coaches will choose the best unit they can, and it’s hard to pick against 3 future NFLers on the left.

Rating: 8.5/10

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…and the Offseason of Infinite Pain continues.

I heard about this at the time, but didn’t post about it because my only tip was one of my friends (who was there) saying “Quentin Patilla and another football player beat the hell out of some guy at Touchdown’s.” She didn’t know who the other guy was, and I didn’t find any confirmation anywhere, so I held off on it.

Neither player was listed on the fall roster. Thornbladh was a walkon, and his removal from the team means next to nothing. Patilla famously switched positions about 300 times this offseason (eventually finding himself buried at the FB position), before being (maybe) removed from the team, so losing him wouldn’t hurt the team much at all, except in terms of reputation. Michigan is uncharacteristically kicking ass in the Fulmer Cup this year.

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If you thought off-field incidents for Carson Butler, Chris Richards, Eugene Germany, Adrian Arrington, and rumored incidents for Mario Manningham and Johnny Sears weren’t enough for the Wolverines, you’re in luck! The Ann Arbor News reports that two Michigan players have been spending their time doing something other than bowling.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Obi Ezeh has been charged (and pleaded not guilty) to a charge of driving under the influence. This is the first ever trouble for Ezeh that has gotten to the public in his time as a Wolverine, and he will likely be suspended. Ezeh is the backup to Shawn Crable at the Sam position, as well as a player in the mix to gain some playing time in the middle. If suspended, his loss will be noticed, but (barring injury) not severe.

Redshirt sophomore wideout LaTerryal Savoy has been charged with indecent exposure, also (to my knowledge) his first strike. Depending on circumstances, that charge can be grounds for removal from the team, as it can imply some mental instability with the player. Regardless, Savoy was buried on the depth chart, no higher than the fourth wide receiver, and likely to be passed up by some freshmen as well. If he is suspended, it will probably not be noticed unless there is a slew of injuries.

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I apologize for the somewhat random order. If you want a hi-res version of any of these images, post in the comments and I’ll see what I can do for you.

No snarky comments for now.

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A couple quick things, and I’ll post a bunch of pictures tomorrow. I took 400, so after paring it down there should still be plenty.

• Brandon Graham lost a bunch of weight this summer. He looks to be in really good shape to play at the defensive end.
• Marques Slocum worked out with various other athletes while he wasn’t eligible to join the team – including Michael Phelps. Slocum is a huge guy, and it seems like he’ll be a major factor on the DL. Also, he said the reason he persisted to become a Wolverine was: “I didn’t give up on them because Coach Carr never gave up on me.”
• Manningham said his knee was fine, and he could have participated in spring drills, but didn’t as a precaution. He spent all spring watching film instead.
• Bryan Wright will kick off, and various players pegged him as the favorite to win the PK job.
• Greg Mathews expects to play a big role in the offense this year, especially with UM losing its leading receiver in Steve Breaston.
• Speaking of Breaston, he speaks to his cousin, incoming freshman Toney Clemons, every day on the phone. He is practicing well, but Arizona is too hot this time of year (hear that, recruits looking at southern schools because of the weather?).

Photo album tomorrow, and maybe some interview clips coming on the next slow news day.

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…per the Free Press. Utah is a mid-major team that is probably better than a lot of low-level BCS teams, so this is a welcome addition, especially since it doesn’t require the promise of a return trip (as Bill Martin demands). That would mean the ’08 schedule is completed as follows:

Sept. 6 MIAMI (OHIO)
Sept. 13 at Notre Dame
Sept. 20 UTAH
Sept. 27 WISCONSIN*
Oct. 4 ILLINOIS* (HC)
Oct. 11 TOLEDO
Oct. 18 at Penn State*
Oct. 25 MICHIGAN STATE*
Nov. 1 at Purdue*
Nov. 8 at Minnesota*
Nov. 15 NORTHWESTERN*
Nov. 22 at Ohio State*

The article also gives confirmation that Carson Butler will rejoin the team, though it’s unclear whether that is based on more than just Lloyd’s vague Big Ten media day(s) statements, with fake sourcing to sound official (yes, real press do that all the time).

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