Freshman phenoms lead Michigan over Illinois
Michigan has been dealing with injuries throughout its roster in recent weeks, against Illinois the Wolverines were as short-handed as they have been all season. The Wolverines were forced to lean on what ESPN's Molly McGrath called "unlikely heroes", but Jim Harbaugh was quick to correct her and said, "likely heroes". Possibly none stood out more than three freshmen who have been increasing their roles all season and posted career days against Illinois.
Mason Graham, the "gift from the football gods", has been on the map from the start of the season when Jim Harbaugh named him a starter in Michigan's base 3DT defense. While it has largely been a consensus that Graham was drastically underrated coming out of high school, playing and making an impact on the defensive line as a freshman is nearly impossible, but Graham has been doing it. His 2.5 sacks are tied for second most on the team and he has been creating pressure and filling gaps all season. Against Illinois, it was the physical domination we have seen all season from the LA Times High School Player of the Year, and he matched a career-high with 4 tackles.
No one would call Will Johnson underrated, Johnson was a consensus five-star and the number 1 player in the state of Michigan. Still, Johnson received a lot of camp praise with coaches all but confirming he would be playing early and often. Johnson has been valuable for Michigan's secondary but had largely been the CB4 in a deep group. In recent weeks Johnson's snap share has increased and so has his impact. Much like Graham, Johnson is light years ahead in his physical play and he had a career day against Illinois, with 4 tackles of his own and solid pass coverage all day.
A favorite of the Maize and Blue Review crew all year has been Colston Loveland. We pegged him early for a breakout and he seemed to be rising the depth chart every week. Unfortunately, the injury to Erick All accelerated Loveland's rise, and with Luke Schoonmaker shelved against Illinois, Loveland found himself in the TE1 role Saturday. What does he do with the spotlight on him? Only led the team in receiving with 3 receptions for 50 yards. It could have been a bigger day for the freshman tight end as JJ McCarthy aired a pass and missed him open twice.
Michigan is 11-0 and heading to Columbus with a Big Ten East title, a berth in the Big Ten Championship game, and a second appearance in the College Football Playoff on the table. So while there is no need to look into the future past the next few weeks, if you take a peak you can see Michigan is in great hands with this 2022 class led by Graham, Johnson, and Loveland.
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