The Michigan Wolverines kicked off their season with a 40-21 win over Middle Tennessee State last weekend, and will next host Army on Saturday at noon.
Charles Grevious of GoBlackKnights.com was kind enough to swing by and provide a preview of what the Maize and Blue can expect to see from Army this weekend.
Projected Starters on Offense:
• Senior QB Kelvin Hopkins — He ran for 80 yards and a touchdown in last week’s 14-7 win over Rice, while also completing 3 of 8 passes for 53 yards with a score. Hopkins enjoyed an outstanding 2018 campaign that saw him rack up 1,017 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground, with the latter number tying for seventh nationally.
• Senior SB (slotback) Kell Walker — He only carried four times for 25 yards against the Owls last Friday, but also hauled in a 17-yard touchdown reception. Despite being listed as a running back last season, Walker’s 11 receptions were actually tied for the most on the team, while his 170 receiving yards ranked second.
• Junior SB Artice Hobbs — He carried four times for 15 yards in the victory over Rice, and actually led the club in receiving yards with a lone reception for 19 yards. The 5-9, 175-pounder tied with Hopkins and three of the starting offensive linemen for the most offensive snaps played (64) against the Owls.
• Senior WR Kjetil Cline — He did not register in last week’s box score, despite seeing the field for 25 offensive snaps. Cline started eight contests last year, and hauled in three receptions for 69 yards.
• Junior WR Camden Harrison — Like Cline, Harrison did not show up statistically in last week’s box score either, despite playing the most snaps of any wideout on the roster (36). The junior was the club’s fourth-leading receiver last season, reeling in four grabs for 129 yards (32.3 yards per catch) and a touchdown.
• Senior TE Zach Saum — He owns just one catch in 23 career contests for the Black Knights, having been used primarily as a blocker during his career due to his 6-5, 250-pound stature.
• Senior LT Alex Herndon — He tied for the team lead with 64 snaps played last week against Rice, and according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), was dominant at his left tackle spot. The publication awarded him with an overall grade of 80.3 (64 is considered average), which was the second-highest mark of any of Army's offensive players.
• Senior LG Jaxson Deaton — The Texas native started all 13 contests for the Black Knights last season, and appeared in 12 of the team's 13 games as a sophomore in 2017. Deaton earned a 77.2 overall mark from PFF against Rice (a single-game grade of about 64 is considered average), including a 77 grade in the run blocking department.
• Junior C Peyton Reeder — He finished as Army's highest-graded player on the offensive side of the ball last week, with an overall mark of 83.4 per PFF. The Georgia native made 11 starts for the Black Knights in 2018, and even participated in 11 tilts as a freshman in 2017.
• Senior RG Jack Sides — Last Friday’s contest was only his second career start, with the 6-2, 285-pounder concluding with a slightly above average tally of 66.5 from PFF. Sides struggled mightily as a pass blocker against the Owls, though, getting slapped with an underwhelming grade of 29.
• Junior RT Luke McCleery — He checked out as the lowest-graded linemen last week of the five that Grevious projected to start against U-M, finishing with a mark of 55.8 in just 13 snaps. In fact, his 55.3 grade in the run blocking department was the third worst among the 20 offensive players who had at least one run-blocking attempt last week.
