The Michigan Wolverines dropped their first game of the season on Saturday, losing to Texas, 31-12.
It was a tough game to watch if you’re a Michigan fan, and the advanced stats from Pro Football Focus (PFF) agree with the eye test.
Let’s get into this week’s player grades and snap counts.
It appears that position battle is over, as Giudice played every snap along the offensive line on Saturday.
Additionally, it’s interesting to see Kendrick Bell’s snap counts increase from Week 1 (30) to Week 2 (39).
For a ground and pound team like Michigan is, it’s stunning that these two hardly played at all.
A season ago, Graham played 442 total snaps while Grant played 403 snaps.
Additionally, the linebackers were graded pretty harshly by PFF, with Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham both grading out below 50.
They gave Barham a very good tackling grade of 80.4, but nothing else was graded higher than 52.6.
PFF also dinged Hausmann for three missed tackles, and for giving up five catches on five targets in coverage.
Texas defeated the Michigan Wolverines 31–12 on Saturday to clinch their first game of the season. Fans of Michigan had a difficult time watching the game, and Pro Football Focus’s (PFF) advanced statistics support the eye test.
The player grades and snap counts for this week are as follows.
Offense.
OL Evan Link: 27 points overall and 57 snaps.
Dominick Giudice, OL, scored 57 out of 59 points.
OL Hinton, scoring 57 out of 55 points.
57 out of 66 points for OL Giovanni El-Hadi.
Josh Priebe, OL, scored 57 out of 65 points.
Davis Warren, the quarterback, scored 54 out of 76 points.
44 out of 55 points for TE Colston Loveland.
Receiver Tyler Morris: 40 out of 58 points.
WR Kendrick Bell (39 / 53 points).
Donovan Edwards, RB, 32 out of 71 points.
Semaj Morgan (WR): 31 out of 68 points.
CJ Charleston, wide receiver, 19 out of 62 points.
TE Marlin Klein, score of 17 out of 57.
WR Peyton O’Leary, grade of 15 out of 72.
RB Ben Hall: 14 out of 62 points.
Max Bredeson, TE/FB, scores 13 out of 73 points.
Kalel Mulings, RB: 13 out of 64 points.
WR Fred Moore (7 out of 52 points).
Alex Orji, the quarterback, is 3 out of 56 points.
WR Amorion Walker (-1/59) has no points.
Conclusions: Greg Crippen didn’t play at all against Texas this past week, following his rotation with Dominick Giudice against Fresno State last week. Giudice played every snap along the offensive line on Saturday, so it looks like the position battle is over.
And it’s interesting to note that from Week 1 (30) to Week 2 (39), Kendrick Bell’s snap counts increased. He kind of went unnoticed this offseason as players like CJ Charleston, Fred Moore, and Amorion Walker attracted more attention. He is currently the team’s third wide receiver, and the coaching staff appears to trust him the most.
Unexpected: Max Bredeson and Kalel Mullings only received 13 snaps apiece on Saturday, which is surprising. It’s amazing that these two barely played at all for a ground-and-pound team like Michigan. But I guess that’s what happens when you only manage a field goal to offset a 24 point deficit in the first half. That was probably influenced by the fact that the team was trailing by three touchdowns to begin the second half, but it is not good to leave two of your best offensive players on the bench most of the time. Poor quality.
Protective measures.
57 / 65 points for CB Jyaire Hill.
LB Ernest Hausmann scored 65 out of 43 points.
Jaishawn Barham, LB: 64 out of 43 points.
61 out of 56 points for S Makari Paige.
Kenneth Grant, DT – 60 / 61 points.
CB Will Johnson: 58 out of 70 points.
58 out of 67 points for DT Mason Graham.
57 out of 58 points for S Quinten Johnson.
Zeke CB – 50 out of 63 points.
36 out of 64 points, Derrick Moore’s edge.
Advantage: 45 out of 75 points for Josaiah Stewart.
DT Rayshaun Benny: 28 out of 74 points.
TJ Guy’s edge is 26 out of 64.
Take Cameron Brandt with a 25 out of 52 points.
Wesley S. Walker: 21 out of 55 points.
Aamir Hall CB – 17 out of 59 points.
Jimmy Rolder, LB, scores 13 out of 55 points.
Trey Pierce (DT): 7 out of 60 points.
Ike Iwunnah, DT: 6 out of 82 points.
4. out of 62 points for DT Enow Etta.
Kody Jones, CB: 3 out of 60 points.
Myles Pollard, CB, scored 2 out of 60.
Conclusions: If Mason Graham plays 58 snaps and Kenneth Grant plays 60, it might be harmful for them later in the season. Even the greatest defensive tackles in the nation will tire out if they play that many snaps in a game, despite the fact that they are two of the best.
Grant played 403 snaps last season, while Graham played 442 total. Graham has already accumulated 104 snaps in two games, compared to Grant’s 101. It’s absurd that they have already completed 25% of the games they played in the previous year.
Additionally, PFF assigned fairly harsh grades to the linebackers; Jaishawn Barham and Ernest Hausmann both received scores below 50. None of the grades were higher than 52 points6, but Barham received an 80 point 4 for very good tackling. Hausmann received additional criticism from PFF for missing three tackles and allowing five catches on five targets while in coverage. For the linebackers, it was an extremely difficult day.
