Steele not high on U-M offense
Phil Steele is the go-to guy for many college football fans, who seek out his information in the preseason. Michigan followers, though, might be hoping he's wrong in a big way, with regard to his early All-Big Ten predictions.
Steele picks four teams on offense and defense, and only two Michigan names appear out of those 48 spots on the offensive side of the football. Junior wide receiver Devin Funchess does check in as one of the top three wide receivers on the first team, along with Maryland's Deon Long and Stefon Diggs.
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Then the landscape goes barren, all the way to the fourth team. That's where fifth-year senior quarterback Devin Gardner shows up, behind Ohio State's Braxton Miller, Michigan State's Connor Cook and Penn State's Christian Hackenberg.
Life gets a little better on the defensive side of the football, where the Wolverines return the majority of their starters from a year ago. Fifth-year senior linebacker Jake Ryan and redshirt junior cornerback Blake Countess each make Steele's first-team defense.
Senior linebacker Desmond Morgan is on the second team, along with senior defensive end Frank Clark. Meanwhile, junior linebacker James Ross makes the fourth team. Fifth-year senior Will Hagerup is the third-team punter.