Happy Tuesday, folks. Welcome to Morning Brews. We’re now well into fall camp, but it’s eerily quiet. Nonetheless, we have a football focused installment of the Brews today.
Let’s get to it:
Four Wolverines make ESPN Top-50. On Monday ESPN released a list of their Top-50 players in college football, and Michigan was represented by Rashan Gary, Devin Bush, Shea Patterson, and Chase Winovich. Gary lead the way at No. 8, while Bush, Patterson, and Winovich were Nos. 22, 25, and 46, respectively. Gary was the third-highest ranked player from the Big Ten, with OSU’s Nick Bosa coming in at No. 6 and Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor coming in at No. 7.
Jim Harbaugh No. 4 most intriguing coach for 2018. At least that’s what Yahoo’s Pat Forde thinks. Forde says of the Michigan head man, “From savior to hot seat in three seasons, that’s the unexpected arc of Harbaugh’s tenure at his alma mater. . . . with a 1-5 record against rivals Ohio State and Michigan State, he hasn’t made enough headlines for winning the games that matter most. He has a roster flush with talent this year, though, creating the potential for a breakthrough season.”
Don’t sleep on Purdue this season, or in the future. So says Alex Kirshner over at the SB Nation CFB mothership. While Michigan doesn’t have Purdue on the schedule this season, this is an interesting look at a program that—all controversies aside—gave the Wolverines a much tougher game than expected last season. Kirshner points to Jeff Brohm’s on-field coaching prowess and off-the-field recruiting as what’s behind the Boilermakers resurgence to respectability. He notes in regard to the latter, “the 2019 class stands 21st nationally and fourth in the conference with about five months to Signing Day.”
Rookie Mason Cole now the starting center for Cardinals. 4-year starter at Michigan #cardscamp
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) August 6, 2018
After being selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Mason Cole is getting his shot right away. Just a couple days into camp, A.Q. Shipley who had started at center for the Cardinals the past two seasons, suffered a season-ending knee injury. Enter the pride of the Michigan Wolverines, Mason Cole.
Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary return to Ann Arbor as the only Power-5 edge rushing duo to record at least 50 pressures apiece last season pic.twitter.com/9pTEExL213
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 6, 2018
Have we mentioned recently that Michigan’s pass rush is going to be excellent this season? Because Michigan’s pass rush is going to be excellent this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary are some scary dudes—in fact, they’re the only P5 DE pair with at least 50 pressures each last season. These pressures were in addition to Winovich’s 79 total tackles and 8.0 sacks, and Gary’s 66 total tackles and 6.0 sacks last season. Opposing QBs better have their heads on a swivel come Fall.