Michigan football redshirt tracker: Week 11 vs. Nebraska

The Michigan Wolverines coasted to a 34-3 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday to move to 10-0 on the season, which is the team’s first 10-0 start to a season since 2006.

All season long, Maize n Brew has been keeping tabs on the redshirt statuses of Michigan’s true freshman, and another player burned theirs in yesterday’s game. Let’s see where things stand after the Wolverines’ victory over the Huskers.

Players who burned their redshirts during the Nebraska game

• WR Tyler Morris (5 games)

Morris saw snaps at receiver for the second consecutive week, with the appearance against Nebraska meaning Morris burned his redshirt in the process.

Last week against Rutgers, Morris came up with a reception in the second half in a critical point in the game. This week, Morris made another reception for seven yards, but this time it came in the fourth quarter when the game was well out of hand.

Players who already burned their redshirt prior to the Nebraska game

• TE Colston Loveland
• LB Jimmy Rolder
• DL Mason Graham
• CB Will Johnson
• Edge Micah Pollard
• WR Darrius Clemons
• Edge Derrick Moore
• DL Kenneth Grant
• RB CJ Stokes
• WR Amorion Walker

Walker burned his redshirt last week at Rutgers and saw snaps again at receiver this week as the Wolverines look for answers at the position with many guys struggling.

One of the bright spots in Michigan’s passing game over the weekend was the performance of tight end Colston Loveland, who hauled in two catches for 40 yards with usual starter Luke Schoonmaker out. Loveland continues to see consistent snaps each week. Even when Schoonmaker returns, it will only help Michigan’s offense if he can continue to be a threat in the passing attack.

CJ Stokes saw more carries than usual as he was escalated to the second running back when Donovan Edwards left the game. Stokes answered the bell and ran for an impressive 68 yards on eight carries (8.5 yards per carry).

Along the defensive line, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant continue to impress, with Graham recording three tackles and a sack, and Grant making two stops.

Will Johnson also turned in another nice game at cornerback as he continues to ascend and help Michigan’s defensive backfield.

Freshmen who haven’t played in more than four games

• DB Keon Sabb (4 games)
• QB Alex Orji (3 games)
• DB Kody Jones (3 games)
• OL Andrew Gentry (2 games)
• OL Connor Jones (2 games)
• LB Deuce Spurlock (2 games)
• DB Myles Pollard (2 games)
• TE Martin Klein (2 games)
• DB Zeke Berry (2 games)
• QB Jayden Denegal (1 game)
• QB Brandon Mann (1 game)
• WR Logan Forbes (1 game)
• OL Dan Tarobi (1 game)
• OL James Kavouklis (1 game)

Zeke Berry played for the first time since the UConn game in Week 3, appearing on special teams. He could appear in Michigan’s final two regular season games and still preserve his redshirt, as could any true freshman listed above who hasn’t played in more than two games up to this point.

Keon Sabb would be Michigan’s next player to burn his redshirt if he appears in another game, as he has participated in four games this year.

Quarterback Alex Orji is a freshman to keep an eye on. It will be interesting to see if he would be involved in any power or goal line packages against Ohio State, or to simply use him in a quarterback sneak situation since McCarthy hasn’t gotten much push on those plays when the Wolverines have gone to it. He could play in one of the team’s two remaining regular season games and still keep his redshirt status.