A Comparison Of U-M & PSU, & Where The Starters Were Ranked As Recruits
Other than Ohio State, the Michigan Wolverines and the Penn State Nittany Lions have been the two best football recruiting programs in the Big Ten in recent years. Top-15 classes have been the norm for both clubs, which is one of the many reasons each team's respective struggles are so surprising in 2020.
Below is the projected starting lineup for each team heading into tomorrow's showdown in Ann Arbor, and where all 44 combined starters were ranked as recruits out of high school.
Quarterback
Both Michigan and Penn State have recruited quarterbacks at a high level, with each team's expected starter — U-M redshirt freshman Cade McNamara and Penn State redshirt junior Sean Clifford — rated as four-star prospects out of high school.
Two other quarterbacks could potentially see the field as well (one for each team) in Michigan redshirt sophomore Joe Milton and PSU redshirt sophomore Will Levis, with the former also rated as a four-star out of high school and the latter as a three-star.
It's too early in McNamara's career to predict whether or not he'll live up to his four-star rating, but Clifford, on the other hand, was living up to his when he tossed 23 touchdowns, 2,654 yards and ran for 402 yards last year.
The redshirt junior has regressed immensely in 2020 though, completing just 57.2 percent of his passes and already having thrown eight interceptions (he only tossed seven in 13 games last year).
Running Back
The case could be made that Michigan redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins was the least heralded of the four backs U-M currently rotates, with sophomore Zach Charbonnet and freshman Blake Corum each rated as four-stars out of high school and fifth-year senior Chris Evans as a three-star.
Haskins has outperformed his three-star ranking so far, rushing for 622 yards last year and a team-high 272 yards and four touchdowns this time around. The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, have recruited running backs at an extremely high level, with sophomores Noah Cain and Devyn Ford each rated as top-50 prospects out of high school, and a pair of freshmen in Keyvone Lee and Caziah Holmes tabbed as four-stars.
Injuries have unfortunately decimated their backfield though, with redshirt junior Journey Brown's career coming to an end prior to the season, Cain out for the year and Ford expected to miss Saturday's game, leaving Lee and Holmes as the team's primary contributors.
Wide Receiver
Michigan junior Ronnie Bell is the unquestioned leader of U-M's wideouts (leads the team with 22 catches and 361 yards), despite being rated as just a two-star prospect out of high school.
The Wolverines possess several other contributors who were rated as four-stars, meanwhile, in sophomores Giles Jackson and Cornelius Johnson, and freshman A.J. Henning (if it's fair to label him as a "contributor," seeing as how he only has three catches on the year).
Penn State has recruited very well at receiver too, with all three of its projected starters — junior Jahan Dotson, and freshmen Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith — all rated as four-stars out of high school.
Another contributor in redshirt sophomore Daniel George was also a four-star, though Penn State lost its highest-rated wideout prospect of all to transfer in late October in redshirt freshman John Dunmore, who was tabbed as the No. 92 overall player in the nation during his prep days.
Tight end
The storyline is much of the same at tight end, where both Michigan and Penn State have recruited successfully. Both of the Wolverines' top two contributors at the spot — fifth-year senior Nick Eubanks and sophomore Erick All — were four-stars during their high school days.
Though the Maize and Blue have recruited well at the spot, the Nittany Lions have done better, reeling in tight ends as well as — or perhaps even better — than any team in the nation lately.
Penn State has four tight ends who were ranked as four-stars, including projected starter in redshirt freshman Brenton Strange, while redshirt sophomore Zack Kuntz and freshman Theo Johnson were each tabbed as the fourth best tight end in the country out of high school in their respective classes, and junior Pat Freiermuth (who had been the team's starter before being lost for the year with injury) was rated as the sixth best tight end nationally during his prep days.
Offensive Line
If redshirt freshman Zach Carpenter starts at center over potentially injured fifth-year senior Andrew Vastardis for a second straight week, the Wolverines will be starting three players who were four-stars out of high school (redshirt freshman left tackle Karsen Barnhart, redshirt junior left guard Chuck Filiaga and freshman right guard Zak Zinter), and two who were three-stars (Carpenter and redshirt junior right tackle Andrew Stueber).
Barnhart and Zinter look like they're well on their way to living up to their four-star status, while Filiaga unfortunately has underwhelmed in a big way after being rated as the No. 175 overall player nationally out of high school.
Penn State fifth-year seniors Will Fries and Michal Menet, and redshirt sophomore left tackle Rasheed Walker, on the other hand, have all lived up to the hype they received during their prep days, serving as multi-year starters in State College.
Redshirt junior left guard Mike Miranda has exceeded expectations while also acting as a multi-year starter after being rated as just a three-star, while the jury is still out on redshirt freshman right tackle Caedan Wallace (though the fact he's already earned a starting job as a youngster is obviously an encouraging sign for the Nittany Lions).
Defensive Line
Michigan's group would look a lot different if junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and senior defensive end Kwity Paye were healthy (the former isn't expected to return this year but the latter may at some point), with redshirt sophomore Taylor Upshaw and redshirt junior Luiji Vilain being thrust into prominent roles as a result of the aforementioned duo's injuries.
Paye was exceeding his three-star ranking in a big way, while Hutchinson was living up to the hype (and then some) after arriving in Ann Arbor as the No. 129 player nationally. Sophomore defensive tackle Chris Hinton, however, has yet to live up to the lofty five-star rating he had in high school (though it's worth stressing he's still quite young and is in his first year as a starter), while Vilain has been a bust after coming to U-M as a top-80 prospect.
Penn State has a solid mix of four-star starters who are producing at the rate that was expected of them (redshirt sophomore defensive end Jayson Oweh and junior defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher), and three-stars who have exceeded expectations (fifth-year senior defensive end Shaka Toney and fifth-year senior defensive tackle Antonio Shelton).
Linebacker
It's worth noting above we expect redshirt junior Adam Shibley to start over injured redshirt sophomore Cam McGrone this weekend, but didn't insert the former's recruit profile because he didn't have one; in other words, he was a no-star during his prep days.
Both McGrone and redshirt junior Josh Ross have seen their share of ups and downs as starters at U-M after arriving as four-star prospects, while the jury is still out on redshirt sophomore viper Michael Barrett (a three-star in high school) in his first year as a starter.
Penn State's starting linebacking trio, on the other hand, is made up of three four-stars in redshirt junior Ellis Brooks, junior Jesse Luketa and sophomore Brandon Smith. The club lost an elite 'backer in junior Micah Parsons (the No. 6 overall player nationally during his prep days) before the year when he left early for the NFL, but may have another potential great one waiting in the wings in freshman Curtis Jacobs (the No. 60 player nationally out of high school).
Cornerback
A quick glance at both teams' projected starting cornerbacks reveals that recruiting at the position hasn't exactly occurred at a high level in recent years, with no players who were rated inside the Rivals250 expected to start.
It's worth noting, however, that Michigan senior Ambry Thomas was anticipated to be the club's No. 1 cornerback before deciding to leave for the NFL this past September (he was the No. 146 player nationally out of high school).
U-M redshirt sophomore Gemon Green arrived as a four-star but has struggled mightily this season, while fellow redshirt sophomore Vincent Gray has perhaps underperformed his three-star rating this season.
Penn State redshirt freshman Joey Porter, on the other hand, looks like he's on track to exceed expectations after coming in as a three-star.
Safety
Five-stars are the name of the game at safety for both squads, with each team possessing one — sophomore Daxton Hill for Michigan and senior Lamont Wade for Penn State.
Hill is in his first year as a starter and appears to be on track to becoming the elite player he was expected to be when he arrived, though the same can't be said for Wade. He has been a multi-year starter for the Nittany Lions, but hasn't turned into the dominant player many hoped he'd be after he came to State College as high school's top safety and the No. 11 overall player in the nation.
Senior Brad Hawkins was rated as a four-star outside the Rivals250 when he arrived in Ann Arbor, while Penn State senior Jaquan Brisker signed with the Nittany Lions as a junior college three-star and has exceeded expectations during his short time with the Blue and White.
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