The latest edition of INSIDE THE FORT, including football, basketball, a bit of recruiting and more …
Starting with football, and Saturday’s injury report …
It’s been a busy week tracking down injuries, etc., and it started with a “report” that freshman running back Zach Charbonnet would miss Saturday’s game and several others after having his knee scoped. While they have been more tight-lipped than ever on injuries this year — there’s been as much misinformation as information, by design — we were informed by very good sources that the “report,” as such, was not entirely true.
We’d consider Charbonnet probable for Saturday’s game, but there’s really nothing to gain by telling Wisconsin who’s playing and who isn’t (even though fans obviously want to know).
Charbonnet’s presence is huge not just as a runner, but as the team’s best (by far) pass protector. Some feel this is the game to turn the receivers loose against overmatched Badgers’ DBs, but to do that they can’t have any whiffs like redshirt freshman Christian Turner’s in pass protection last week.
On the offensive line, we expect left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. to play. He’s been pointing to this one as a return date since the day he got hurt (one source told us prior to the Middle Tennessee State game, “he’ll be back when it matters”). Wisconsin was also the projected return date for junior corner Ambry Thomas, but he obviously returned earlier.
Redshirt frosh right tackle Jalen Mayfield was banged up last week, but he’s also expected to play.
On defense, the line is the big question mark in this one, and they need all hands on deck. Redshirt junior tackle Mike Dwumfour reinjured himself against MTSU and didn’t play against Army. It will be interesting to see how much he plays Saturday, knowing they really need him — it could also be very interesting to see how the rest of his season plays out if he doesn’t play.
Finally, conflicting reports on junior wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones. As of yesterday, he was expected to be on the travel roster; as of this morning, others are of the opinion he won’t make the trip. We hope to know more on this one this evening, but if he made the trip, he would likely be a game time decision.
Like Michigan, Wisconsin is also banged up and could be missing several key players heading into tomorrow’s game in Madison. Jake Kocorowski of BadgerBlitz.com provided the latest on all the team’s injuries.
“Starting [sophomore] nose tackle Bryson Williams (left leg) is out for Saturday's game according to Wisconsin's preliminary injury report released on Monday morning,” he wrote. “That position, like tight end, is thin — though freshman Keeanu Benton has played very well in his first two collegiate games. Two starters are questionable this week in [redshirt sophomore] right tackle Logan Bruss (left leg) and [redshirt sophomore] outside linebacker Izayah Green-May (right arm).
“Having Bruss back could allow UW to have its full set of starters on the o-line after missing the redshirt sophomore against Central Michigan, and it would also allow redshirt senior David Moorman — a very versatile reserve lineman — to assume pseudo-tight end responsibilities like he did against South Florida. Green-May is an athletic 'backer that has shown flashes of his pass rushing and play-making skills in fall camp and in the season opener at USF. He may need to add more weight in the coming years, but the redshirt sophomore has potential.”
Some of the Michigan players were asked this week about Wisconsin potentially wanting revenge after U-M blew out the Badgers, 38-13, last year, but the Wolverine athletes flipped the script by saying they’re actually the ones who want payback after losing, 24-10, in Madison two years ago.
Kocorowski gave his take on whether or not revenge is a factor this week from Wisconsin’s point of view.
“Based on player availability on Monday, I don't get that sense to be honest,” he revealed. “I didn't necessarily ask the particular Badgers that were available that very question; however, I think this team is looking to erase memories of last season's disappointing 8-5 mark after being ranked No. 4 in the nation to start. The defense wants to re-assert itself to be one of the top defenses in the nation and show that 2018 was simply an aberration marked by key injuries and playing inexperienced defenders. The offense still wants to show it can run the ball with [junior running back Jonathan] Taylor, but the unit also wants to keep defenses honest with the passing game (which it has done in the first two games, especially against Central Michigan).
“If Wisconsin can get the win against Michigan, that would go a long way to showing the program's first two victories weren't merely due to lesser opponents. It would also start their quest for a Big Ten West championship off on the right foot in what could be a very interesting year in the division.”
****
A bit of football recruiting …
Centennial (Colo.) Eaglecrest three-star offensive tackle and U-M commit Reece Atteberry has helped lead his Raptors to a 3-0 record so far in 2019, and will look to make it 4-0 tonight against the Legacy Lightning. Legacy head coach Corey Heinz provided a preview of tonight’s showdown by recalling what his memories are of Atteberry from last season’s 33-14 loss to the Raptors.
“Eaglecrest had three Power Five offensive linemen last year, so their unit as a whole was impressive,” Heinz noted. “Individually, Reece is big and strong and knows how to get forward in a hurry while finishing blocks — that was the most impressive thing to see from a high school kid, because it’s rare nowadays for kids to finish blocks the way he did. The offense they played in kind of required his nastiness, and it’s an example of what they needed and why they were so successful.
"They were a triple option offense last year. One of the most intriguing things about Reece is that this season marks the third different offense of his high school career. He’ll already have a great array of offensive knowledge [once he gets to college] since he’s played for so many coaches in his career. He’s been successful under all of them — I would think he’s a pretty smart kid to grasp all of those different systems, though I don’t know him personally. They’ve been a top team in Colorado the last few years though.”
Heinz also noted that he has spoken with the Eaglecrest coaching staff about the Michigan commit, and revealed just how highly they think of him.
“I know they’re excited about him and what his future holds, and they were saying he’d probably be the best of their three really good linemen — Barrett Miller is now a freshman at Stanford and Jake Wiley is a freshman at CU, so that just speaks to their program and what they’ve developed over the years,” Heinz said. “They’ve created an offensive line powerhouse the last few seasons.”
****
To basketball and recruiting now …
Everyone wants to know who Michigan head coach Juwan Howard’s best bet would be in landing a 2020 recruit — we think it’s Moses Moody, a teammate of pledge Zeb Jackson at Montverde (Fla.) Academy. Moody will visit Sept. 27, and he’s genuinely excited to see what U-M has to offer. Kansas, Ohio State (he has friends there), Florida, USC, Arkansas and others are also on his list.
We wouldn’t call U-M his leader, but the Wolverines are right in the mix.
Contrary to popular belief, we also believe U-M is in the thick of it for five-star shooting guard Nimari Burnett of Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep, as well. We just don’t think Michigan is his clear No. 1 as some have indicated.
Burnett’s father, Brian Burnett, and his family moved out to Napa to be close to their son during his time out West. They also plan on moving wherever their son ends up, too, so that’s what made the Sept. visit very important.
The Burnetts didn’t get to see everything on their winter trip, which is one reason an offer was delayed. They made it a point to look around town this time.
“We saw everything this time,” Brian Burnett said. “We saw more of Ann Arbor and saw there was more there than we expected. Nothing really surprised me — it was just more so that we just didn’t know that the town was the way, how it was set up … we thought it was just in the middle of nowhere, didn’t know they had things like WalMart, certain stuff people need to get by in life with, access to certain things.”
He also made it clear — very clear — that while their great and preexisting relationship with Howard runs deep, his son was going to go where he best fit. He was up front with Howard, as well.
“No other way. I told Juwan … I said, ‘Juwan, when you got the job and it was official, everyone was like, ‘Nimari is coming here'',” he said. “I tell everybody, I’ve got a job to do, and Juwan’s got a job to do, too. I expect Juwan respects me for that. We would have committed already if it was like that.
“But Juwan hired some great guys. Phil Martelli is a great guy. We got along great with all of them. We all liked them, his mom and me, Nimari … he’s put a great group together. He got a veteran coach to be an assistant. That was big on Phil, too, to come over there and be an assistant after being a head coach so long.”
Burnett fit well with the players, too, and he already had a relationship with seven-foot big man Hunter Dickinson of Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha. The four-star center, Rivals.com’s No. 37 player, also had a very good trip and the Wolverines set the bar.
Some believe that works in Michigan’s favor, and those two and Jackson (along with three-star Jace Howard, Juwan’s son), would wrap up a great class.
We are not ready to predict that, however. One Purdue source, in fact, believes the Boilermakers are back as the team to beat for Dickinson — that’s the vibe in West Lafayette. Dickinson, however, has gone silent with us and we aren’t certain what to make of it.
Starting with football, and Saturday’s injury report …
It’s been a busy week tracking down injuries, etc., and it started with a “report” that freshman running back Zach Charbonnet would miss Saturday’s game and several others after having his knee scoped. While they have been more tight-lipped than ever on injuries this year — there’s been as much misinformation as information, by design — we were informed by very good sources that the “report,” as such, was not entirely true.
We’d consider Charbonnet probable for Saturday’s game, but there’s really nothing to gain by telling Wisconsin who’s playing and who isn’t (even though fans obviously want to know).
Charbonnet’s presence is huge not just as a runner, but as the team’s best (by far) pass protector. Some feel this is the game to turn the receivers loose against overmatched Badgers’ DBs, but to do that they can’t have any whiffs like redshirt freshman Christian Turner’s in pass protection last week.
On the offensive line, we expect left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. to play. He’s been pointing to this one as a return date since the day he got hurt (one source told us prior to the Middle Tennessee State game, “he’ll be back when it matters”). Wisconsin was also the projected return date for junior corner Ambry Thomas, but he obviously returned earlier.
Redshirt frosh right tackle Jalen Mayfield was banged up last week, but he’s also expected to play.
On defense, the line is the big question mark in this one, and they need all hands on deck. Redshirt junior tackle Mike Dwumfour reinjured himself against MTSU and didn’t play against Army. It will be interesting to see how much he plays Saturday, knowing they really need him — it could also be very interesting to see how the rest of his season plays out if he doesn’t play.
Finally, conflicting reports on junior wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones. As of yesterday, he was expected to be on the travel roster; as of this morning, others are of the opinion he won’t make the trip. We hope to know more on this one this evening, but if he made the trip, he would likely be a game time decision.
Like Michigan, Wisconsin is also banged up and could be missing several key players heading into tomorrow’s game in Madison. Jake Kocorowski of BadgerBlitz.com provided the latest on all the team’s injuries.
“Starting [sophomore] nose tackle Bryson Williams (left leg) is out for Saturday's game according to Wisconsin's preliminary injury report released on Monday morning,” he wrote. “That position, like tight end, is thin — though freshman Keeanu Benton has played very well in his first two collegiate games. Two starters are questionable this week in [redshirt sophomore] right tackle Logan Bruss (left leg) and [redshirt sophomore] outside linebacker Izayah Green-May (right arm).
“Having Bruss back could allow UW to have its full set of starters on the o-line after missing the redshirt sophomore against Central Michigan, and it would also allow redshirt senior David Moorman — a very versatile reserve lineman — to assume pseudo-tight end responsibilities like he did against South Florida. Green-May is an athletic 'backer that has shown flashes of his pass rushing and play-making skills in fall camp and in the season opener at USF. He may need to add more weight in the coming years, but the redshirt sophomore has potential.”
Some of the Michigan players were asked this week about Wisconsin potentially wanting revenge after U-M blew out the Badgers, 38-13, last year, but the Wolverine athletes flipped the script by saying they’re actually the ones who want payback after losing, 24-10, in Madison two years ago.
Kocorowski gave his take on whether or not revenge is a factor this week from Wisconsin’s point of view.
“Based on player availability on Monday, I don't get that sense to be honest,” he revealed. “I didn't necessarily ask the particular Badgers that were available that very question; however, I think this team is looking to erase memories of last season's disappointing 8-5 mark after being ranked No. 4 in the nation to start. The defense wants to re-assert itself to be one of the top defenses in the nation and show that 2018 was simply an aberration marked by key injuries and playing inexperienced defenders. The offense still wants to show it can run the ball with [junior running back Jonathan] Taylor, but the unit also wants to keep defenses honest with the passing game (which it has done in the first two games, especially against Central Michigan).
“If Wisconsin can get the win against Michigan, that would go a long way to showing the program's first two victories weren't merely due to lesser opponents. It would also start their quest for a Big Ten West championship off on the right foot in what could be a very interesting year in the division.”
****
A bit of football recruiting …
Centennial (Colo.) Eaglecrest three-star offensive tackle and U-M commit Reece Atteberry has helped lead his Raptors to a 3-0 record so far in 2019, and will look to make it 4-0 tonight against the Legacy Lightning. Legacy head coach Corey Heinz provided a preview of tonight’s showdown by recalling what his memories are of Atteberry from last season’s 33-14 loss to the Raptors.
“Eaglecrest had three Power Five offensive linemen last year, so their unit as a whole was impressive,” Heinz noted. “Individually, Reece is big and strong and knows how to get forward in a hurry while finishing blocks — that was the most impressive thing to see from a high school kid, because it’s rare nowadays for kids to finish blocks the way he did. The offense they played in kind of required his nastiness, and it’s an example of what they needed and why they were so successful.
"They were a triple option offense last year. One of the most intriguing things about Reece is that this season marks the third different offense of his high school career. He’ll already have a great array of offensive knowledge [once he gets to college] since he’s played for so many coaches in his career. He’s been successful under all of them — I would think he’s a pretty smart kid to grasp all of those different systems, though I don’t know him personally. They’ve been a top team in Colorado the last few years though.”
Heinz also noted that he has spoken with the Eaglecrest coaching staff about the Michigan commit, and revealed just how highly they think of him.
“I know they’re excited about him and what his future holds, and they were saying he’d probably be the best of their three really good linemen — Barrett Miller is now a freshman at Stanford and Jake Wiley is a freshman at CU, so that just speaks to their program and what they’ve developed over the years,” Heinz said. “They’ve created an offensive line powerhouse the last few seasons.”
****
To basketball and recruiting now …
Everyone wants to know who Michigan head coach Juwan Howard’s best bet would be in landing a 2020 recruit — we think it’s Moses Moody, a teammate of pledge Zeb Jackson at Montverde (Fla.) Academy. Moody will visit Sept. 27, and he’s genuinely excited to see what U-M has to offer. Kansas, Ohio State (he has friends there), Florida, USC, Arkansas and others are also on his list.
We wouldn’t call U-M his leader, but the Wolverines are right in the mix.
Contrary to popular belief, we also believe U-M is in the thick of it for five-star shooting guard Nimari Burnett of Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep, as well. We just don’t think Michigan is his clear No. 1 as some have indicated.
Burnett’s father, Brian Burnett, and his family moved out to Napa to be close to their son during his time out West. They also plan on moving wherever their son ends up, too, so that’s what made the Sept. visit very important.
The Burnetts didn’t get to see everything on their winter trip, which is one reason an offer was delayed. They made it a point to look around town this time.
“We saw everything this time,” Brian Burnett said. “We saw more of Ann Arbor and saw there was more there than we expected. Nothing really surprised me — it was just more so that we just didn’t know that the town was the way, how it was set up … we thought it was just in the middle of nowhere, didn’t know they had things like WalMart, certain stuff people need to get by in life with, access to certain things.”
He also made it clear — very clear — that while their great and preexisting relationship with Howard runs deep, his son was going to go where he best fit. He was up front with Howard, as well.
“No other way. I told Juwan … I said, ‘Juwan, when you got the job and it was official, everyone was like, ‘Nimari is coming here'',” he said. “I tell everybody, I’ve got a job to do, and Juwan’s got a job to do, too. I expect Juwan respects me for that. We would have committed already if it was like that.
“But Juwan hired some great guys. Phil Martelli is a great guy. We got along great with all of them. We all liked them, his mom and me, Nimari … he’s put a great group together. He got a veteran coach to be an assistant. That was big on Phil, too, to come over there and be an assistant after being a head coach so long.”
Burnett fit well with the players, too, and he already had a relationship with seven-foot big man Hunter Dickinson of Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha. The four-star center, Rivals.com’s No. 37 player, also had a very good trip and the Wolverines set the bar.
Some believe that works in Michigan’s favor, and those two and Jackson (along with three-star Jace Howard, Juwan’s son), would wrap up a great class.
We are not ready to predict that, however. One Purdue source, in fact, believes the Boilermakers are back as the team to beat for Dickinson — that’s the vibe in West Lafayette. Dickinson, however, has gone silent with us and we aren’t certain what to make of it.
