PFF grades, snap counts from Michigan’s win over East Carolina

Ah, the Michigan football season opener. During a time of such monumental excitement, it’s hard to imagine actually paying attention to the small details, such as in-game happenings or statistical production.

With the dust having settled after a dominant 30-3 Wolverine victory over East Carolina, onlookers of college football rejoice knowing we have statistics and snap counts to dive into via data collected from our friends at Pro Football Focus.

Injury appeared to factor slightly into the game planning for this week on both sides of the ball, as standouts Rod Moore and Will Johnson were held out of the lineup, while others like Makari Paige, Tyler Morris and Darrius Clemons all saw reduced roles in favor of notable camp standouts.

Here are the snap counts and grades, courtesy of PFF.

Offense

J.J. McCarthy - 58 snaps, 93.0 overall grade

Myles Hinton - 58, 50.4

Zak Zinter - 58, 66.2

Trevor Keegan - 58, 71.8

Karsen Barnhart - 58, 69.5

Drake Nugent - 58, 60.0

Cornelius Johnson - 41, 70.2

Donovan Edwards - 37, 68.5

AJ Barner - 37, 50.9

Roman Wilson - 35, 77.6

Colston Loveland - 27, 71.9

Max Bredeson - 26, 68.7

Fredrick Moore - 24, 60.2

Blake Corum - 24, 71.8

Trente Jones - 24, 57.1

Karmello English - 15, 56.2

Darrius Clemons - 12, 65.2

Tyler Morris - 10, 55.1

Semaj Morgan - 9, 46.3

Andrew Gentry - 9, 60.1

Giovanni El-Hadi - 9, 42.3

Greg Crippen - 9, 67.0

LaDarius Henderson - 9, 62.5

Davis Warren - 9, 57.7

Josh Beetham - 8, 48.8

Kalel Mullings - 7, 67.4

CJ Stokes - 3, 63.5

Marlin Klein - 3, 58.2

Benjamin Hall - 2, 58.1

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Initial Reaction: The release of Saturday morning’s injury report provided plenty of clarity into the final result of Week 1’s snap counts. Both Darrius Clemons and Tyler Morris, who we’ve heard much about in camp, received limited snaps in favor of the freshman trio Fredrick Moore, Karmello English, and Semaj Morgan. We can see the Michigan Method working its magic along the offensive line, with this week’s starters not likely to be the same as what we see in Week 2 against UNLV.

Reading the tea leaves, you can make a good guess on who this coaching staff is high on for a shot at the offensive two- and three-deep. Giovanni El-Hadi, Andrew Gentry, Greg Crippen, LaDarius Henderson, Kalel Mullings, CJ Stokes, Josh Beetham, Marlin Klein, and Benjamin Hall all received snaps in relief of Saturday’s respective starters, while Davis Warren got in on the action late to take his mantle as the presumed number two quarterback on the depth chart.

Surprises: Possibly the most notable occurrence on the offensive side of the ball was the decision to start both Karsen Barnhart and Myles Hinton over Arizona State transfer LaDarius Henderson. Now, on a scale of 1-10, this is probably low on the list of shockers, as it has already been stated by Jim Harbaugh that the position battle will likely wage on into the season, but nonetheless, this development is still intriguing given the offseason hype that the former Sun Devil has received, as well as his experience at the position. For now, it’s looking like Henderson will get more of a chance to prove himself as a part of next week’s starting line against UNLV.

Also somewhat surprising was the involvement of Max Bredeson. The junior tight end has flown under the radar during camp, but seems poised to be featured somewhat frequently within the offense after keeping pace with fellow tight end Colston Loveland in snaps.

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Defense

Keon Sabb - 45, 78.5

Keshaun Harris - 45, 60.7

Josh Wallace - 36, 73.7

Mike Sainristil - 34, 78.2

Zeke Berry - 30, 69.2

Mason Graham - 27, 63.6

Junior Colson - 27, 76.1

Quinten Johnson - 27, 60.3

Ernest Hausmann - 26, 76.0

Braiden McGregor - 26, 65.8

Kris Jenkins - 24, 68.7

Derrick Moore - 23, 62.8

Michael Barrett - 23, 62.6

Jaylen Harrell - 21, 51.1

Kenneth Grant - 20, 85.5

Ja’Den McBurrows - 19, 64.1

Josaiah Stewart - 18, 65.3

Jyaire Hill - 17, 65.9

Jaydon Hood - 17, 61.9

Rayshaun Benny - 16, 59.5

Micah Pollard - 14, 64.6

DJ Waller Jr. - 13, 67.8

Cam Goode - 12, 65.2

TJ Guy - 10, 72.6

Makari Paige - 10, 62.9

Trey Pierce - 9, 56.4

Cameron Brandt - 9, 56.4

Kechaun Bennett - 9, 57.9

Reece Atteberry - 9, 56.5

Kody Jones - 8, 56.0

Brandyn Hillman - 5, 62.8

Christian Boivin - 5, 71.6

Joey Velazquez - 4, 59.9

Initial Reaction: Holy Keon Sabb! The sophomore safety came through in a pinch for the Michigan football secondary, outworking the entirety of the defense with 45 snaps, along with fellow defensive back Keshaun Harris. Not far off from that marker was Zeke Berry and Quinten Johnson, who accounted for 57 snaps between the two of them as well. With the help of team captain Mike Sainristil and UMass transfer Josh Wallace, the losses of Will Johnson and Rod Moore, as well as the limitations of Makari Paige, were hardly noticeable.

Also worthy of note was the utilization of linebacker triumvirate Junior Colson, Ernest Hausmann, and Michael Barrett. All three were given ample time to shine and were effective before being sidelined in favor of developmental reps for Jaydon Hood, Micha Pollard, and others.

Surprises: The big surprise here is finding out that Makari Paige only played 10 snaps against East Carolina. The next biggest surprise was the performance of the Wolverine secondary without the presence of three of its defensive standouts in Paige, Moore, and Will Johnson. With guys like Keon Sabb, Josh Wallace, Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, Keshaun Harris, Ja’Den McBurrows, Kody Jones, DJ Waller Jr., and Brandyn Hillman ALL having now seen significant playing time in a Michigan uniform, it’s not unreasonable to say that the depth of the Michigan football defensive back room may be one of the deepest in the country.