In case you missed it, Jim talked about...
• Michigan's offensive line class highlights: "It was really, really important, this year, to pick up quantity in this class, in addition to quality. In particular quantity, because last year we really only signed two kids who will end up on the offensive line, at the end of the day. That's Jalen Mayfield and [Ryan] Hayes. We really needed to bring in numbers there.
"That's exactly what we did with the six signees on the offensive line. What I like about this group is, it's a nice mix of traditional interior mauler sort of players, like Nolan Rumler, who looked like he was already college ready when he was a high school freshman, or a kid like Zach Carpenter, who was a kid who was a rare freshman starter at Cincinnati Moeller, one of the most tradition-laden programs in the country.
"So you've got kids like that on one end of the equation, then you've got kids who really have their best football in front of them, in terms of having the frame, athleticism and body to really do something special at the next level. The two kids who really stand out there are Karsen Barnhart, out of the small Kalamazoo area school of Paw Paw, Michigan. I'm sure he's probably the first kid we've ever picked up out of Paw Paw.
"He's a kid who even split out and played a bit of wide receiver this year. He was off the radar until relatively late in the recruiting process, because of where he was playing ball. But at the end of the day, he could have about as much upside as any offensive lineman in the class.
"Another kid who has really been moving up like a bullet after the all-star games over the holiday season is Trente Jones, out of Loganville [Ga.] Grayson. Now he's a kid who got a little bit lost in the shuffle, because Loganville has got about a dozen kids in the senior class who signed with Power Five schools, including three or four kids who were five-star or high four-star types…
"After his performance down at the Under Armour All-America Bowl, Jones was shooting up the rankings, and several services had him as one of the top-100 players in the country, and one of the top offensive linemen in the country. That's a kid to be really, really excited about.
"We also picked up, late in the process, Trevor Keegan, another kid like Rumler or Carpenter, who has been a big-time contributor at a Midwest program, since really his freshman year at Crystal Lake [Ill.] High School. That's a pretty large school, and he was also a freshman starter there. Keegan, Rumbler and Carpenter have literally been on my radar, a couple of them even before their freshman year, but definitely by their freshman year."
• Running back Zach Charbonnet, and his potential to become a freshman starter: "He could … I think it's really too early to project that at this point. Even with the recent developments in the [junior] Chris Evans situation, and with [Karan] Higdon gone, and with [O'Maury] Samuels gone and Kurt Taylor having transferred, we still have Christian Turner, who is a solid freshman back, who I think is going to compete for that starting spot.
"We have a very high quality walk-on in Tru Wilson, who had his moments this year, seeing some quality time as our number three back. It's not like the cupboard is bare, but let me put it this way — it's just as bare as it was when Mike Hart came in. Mike Hart was a unique talent. He didn't have the raw skills and the size, the combination of size and speed that Charbonnet has, but the kid could block and the kid just had great instincts.
"He was ready to play as a freshman. Not all running backs, even the great ones, are ready to play from day one as a freshman. I'm not going to say he's going to be a starter, but I am going to say he's going to be heavily involved in the rotation from day one. I don't think there's any question about that.
"We're really going to need him to be. He'll be the highest-ceiling running back on the team from the moment he steps on campus."
• Michigan's defensive line highlights: [Chris] Hinton had a very, very strong U.S. Army Bowl week of practices, and a few of the services actually jumped him back up to five-star status after that. I don't know if he's a consistent five-star, but he has moved up after trending down for the past year, because there were questions about his explosiveness and play-making ability. I think he answered some of those questions at the camp and surely showed that he's really ready to come in and contribute at, really, a position of need at Michigan next year…
"Much like Zach Charbonnet, I'm not saying he's going to come in and start from day one, but I definitely think he's going to be able to come in and be on the two-deep from the first or second game on the season, just based on need.
"The other defensive tackle who could also come in and play early is Mazi Smith, from just up the road at East Kentwood, Michigan. He's also college ready. East Kentwood has got a really great strength-and-conditioning program. It's not going to be so much of a culture shock in the Michigan weight room, as it is for a lot of these other freshmen coming to Ann Arbor. He's well ready to compete for playing time from day one."
Here's the full podcast: https://michigan.rivals.com/publishing/contents/2011240/edit
• Michigan's offensive line class highlights: "It was really, really important, this year, to pick up quantity in this class, in addition to quality. In particular quantity, because last year we really only signed two kids who will end up on the offensive line, at the end of the day. That's Jalen Mayfield and [Ryan] Hayes. We really needed to bring in numbers there.
"That's exactly what we did with the six signees on the offensive line. What I like about this group is, it's a nice mix of traditional interior mauler sort of players, like Nolan Rumler, who looked like he was already college ready when he was a high school freshman, or a kid like Zach Carpenter, who was a kid who was a rare freshman starter at Cincinnati Moeller, one of the most tradition-laden programs in the country.
"So you've got kids like that on one end of the equation, then you've got kids who really have their best football in front of them, in terms of having the frame, athleticism and body to really do something special at the next level. The two kids who really stand out there are Karsen Barnhart, out of the small Kalamazoo area school of Paw Paw, Michigan. I'm sure he's probably the first kid we've ever picked up out of Paw Paw.
"He's a kid who even split out and played a bit of wide receiver this year. He was off the radar until relatively late in the recruiting process, because of where he was playing ball. But at the end of the day, he could have about as much upside as any offensive lineman in the class.
"Another kid who has really been moving up like a bullet after the all-star games over the holiday season is Trente Jones, out of Loganville [Ga.] Grayson. Now he's a kid who got a little bit lost in the shuffle, because Loganville has got about a dozen kids in the senior class who signed with Power Five schools, including three or four kids who were five-star or high four-star types…
"After his performance down at the Under Armour All-America Bowl, Jones was shooting up the rankings, and several services had him as one of the top-100 players in the country, and one of the top offensive linemen in the country. That's a kid to be really, really excited about.
"We also picked up, late in the process, Trevor Keegan, another kid like Rumler or Carpenter, who has been a big-time contributor at a Midwest program, since really his freshman year at Crystal Lake [Ill.] High School. That's a pretty large school, and he was also a freshman starter there. Keegan, Rumbler and Carpenter have literally been on my radar, a couple of them even before their freshman year, but definitely by their freshman year."
• Running back Zach Charbonnet, and his potential to become a freshman starter: "He could … I think it's really too early to project that at this point. Even with the recent developments in the [junior] Chris Evans situation, and with [Karan] Higdon gone, and with [O'Maury] Samuels gone and Kurt Taylor having transferred, we still have Christian Turner, who is a solid freshman back, who I think is going to compete for that starting spot.
"We have a very high quality walk-on in Tru Wilson, who had his moments this year, seeing some quality time as our number three back. It's not like the cupboard is bare, but let me put it this way — it's just as bare as it was when Mike Hart came in. Mike Hart was a unique talent. He didn't have the raw skills and the size, the combination of size and speed that Charbonnet has, but the kid could block and the kid just had great instincts.
"He was ready to play as a freshman. Not all running backs, even the great ones, are ready to play from day one as a freshman. I'm not going to say he's going to be a starter, but I am going to say he's going to be heavily involved in the rotation from day one. I don't think there's any question about that.
"We're really going to need him to be. He'll be the highest-ceiling running back on the team from the moment he steps on campus."
• Michigan's defensive line highlights: [Chris] Hinton had a very, very strong U.S. Army Bowl week of practices, and a few of the services actually jumped him back up to five-star status after that. I don't know if he's a consistent five-star, but he has moved up after trending down for the past year, because there were questions about his explosiveness and play-making ability. I think he answered some of those questions at the camp and surely showed that he's really ready to come in and contribute at, really, a position of need at Michigan next year…
"Much like Zach Charbonnet, I'm not saying he's going to come in and start from day one, but I definitely think he's going to be able to come in and be on the two-deep from the first or second game on the season, just based on need.
"The other defensive tackle who could also come in and play early is Mazi Smith, from just up the road at East Kentwood, Michigan. He's also college ready. East Kentwood has got a really great strength-and-conditioning program. It's not going to be so much of a culture shock in the Michigan weight room, as it is for a lot of these other freshmen coming to Ann Arbor. He's well ready to compete for playing time from day one."
Here's the full podcast: https://michigan.rivals.com/publishing/contents/2011240/edit
