Which Michigan Seniors, Fifth-Year Seniors Will Be Back In 2021?

Saturday was scheduled to be Senior Day for the Michigan Wolverines football team against Maryland. Six fifth-year senior scholarship players and three senior scholarship athletes currently reside on the U-M roster.

All nine of them were expected to be recognized at The Big House, along with presumably the redshirt juniors (a tradition head coach Jim Harbaugh began here, even though many of them wind up returning anyway).

The NCAA has already announced every collegiate football athlete in the nation can return next year if they want to (as if this year never occurred in regards to what year of eligibility a player is in), though plenty of them will undoubtedly choose to move on to either a pro career or life after football.

We reflect on the nine U-M scholarship seniors and fifth-year seniors below, recapping all of their careers and, in our opinion, estimating the likelihood that each of them returns to Ann Arbor next season:

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Career Summary: He has been a steady contributor in Michigan's tight end unit since the beginning of 2018, appearing in 31 of the team's 32 games since then. Eubanks has never been the primary option in Michigan's passing attack during his time in Ann Arbor, but he has nevertheless been a fairly steady target, hauling in 243 yards and four touchdowns as a redshirt junior in 2019 and 117 yards and one score so far this year.

The Plantation, Fla., native was named a team captain this season, after he decided to return in 2020 as a fifth-year senior following brief chatter of a potential early jump to the NFL at the conclusion of 2019.

Percent Chance He Returns Next Year: 50 percent. This one feels like it could go either way, due to the fact he has been outspoken about both his love for U-M and potentially returning for a sixth year in 2021 while discussing the situation with the media in August.

Career Summary: His Michigan career began with a bang, rushing for 614 yards as a freshman in 2016 and 685 as a sophomore in 2017, before turning in only 423 yards during an underwhelming and injury-plagued 2018 season.

Evans' career then hit a road block when he was suspended for all of 2019, though he handled the situation in mature fashion and did what he was supposed to do off the field to ensure his return in 2020.

His impact has been minimal so far this year (73 rushing yards and 87 receiving yards), though his athleticism and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield would likely land him a role once again in 2021 if he were to return.

Percent Chance He Returns Next Year: 58 percent. An NFL future doesn't seem too likely for Evans, who busted his butt away from the gridiron all throughout the 2019 campaign just so he could someday be a Wolverine again.

Career Summary: Hart came to Michigan as a walk-on before eventually being put on scholarship, first making a significant impact as a redshirt sophomore in 2018. He was named the Big Ten's Punter of the Year after averaging 47 yards on 43 attempts, with his 47-yard clip finishing as the fourth-best mark in the nation.

Hart regressed slightly in 2019 when he averaged 44.2 yards on 51 punts, before losing his job to redshirt junior Brad Robbins in this year's Halloween loss to Michigan State.

Percent Chance He Returns Next Year: 47 percent. Hart may look to play elsewhere next year when considering Robbins has earned the starting gig over him and has held onto it ever since, though slim hopes of an NFL future could undoubtedly bring him back to Ann Arbor for a sixth year as well.

Career Summary: He was originally signed by U-M as a wide receiver, but was switched to safety upon his arrival and has played in 42 of Michigan's 45 games since the start of 2017.

Hawkins' best season occurred as a junior in 2019 when he racked up 53 tackles and helped lead a U-M secondary that finished 10th in the country against the pass. He has been banged up a bit in 2020, but nevertheless checks in fourth on the defense in tackles with 39.

Percent Chance He Returns Next Year: 53 percent. As is the case with most of the players on this list, a potential NFL future for Hawkins is questionable, and the fact he never redshirted at U-M and is only a true senior could provide some incentive to return once again if he is on the fence.

Career Summary: Just the 15th player in school history to be named a two-time captain, Kemp has epitomized what the Michigan culture is supposed to look like in an era of U-M football where plenty of teammates have not held up their end of the bargain in that regard.

Several position switches during his career have landed him at defensive tackle, though he has also started games at defensive end this season in the wake of injuries to junior Aidan Hutchinson and senior Kwity Paye.

Kemp has expressed his love for the Wolverine program and what it means to be a Michigan Man throughout his tenure in Ann Arbor, and has provided stability to a defensive tackle spot that has been a weakness at times over the last two seasons.

Percent Chance He Returns Next Year: 62 percent. Yes, 2021 would be Kemp's sixth season in Ann Arbor, but again, it's obvious he loves being a Wolverine and may opt to do that for one more year instead of pursuing his slim NFL hopes.

Career Summary: He hasn't necessarily stuffed the stat sheets during his time at Michigan, but he has made a name for himself as a tenacious blocker. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has admitted in the past Mason is one of his favorite players on the team, and once said he's the kind of man any dad "would have been proud to have fathered."

Mason has been all about "The Team" since day one, evidenced by his his willingness to experiment as both a linebacker and a defensive tackle heading into the 2019 campaign and during the early portions of it, though he has since landed back at his more comfortable position of fullback.

Percent Chance He Returns Next Year: 64 percent. It wouldn't be shocking to see Mason stick on an NFL roster someday due to his blocking abilities, but spending one more season in Ann Arbor to physically destroy opponents seems like it would be right up his alley.

Career Summary: He has been a consistent contributor ever since his redshirt freshman season of 2017, gaining a reputation for the strong leg he possesses. This was on full display when he nailed a 57-yard field goal in last year's Citrus Bowl loss to Alabama, and when he hit two 50-yarders (a 50-yard field goal and a 55-yarder) in his first game action in 2017 against Florida.

Nordin grabbed the job from junior Jake Moody when he connected on 12 straight field goals from Nov. 2 last year until Nov. 14 this season, but missed all three of his attempts Nov. 21 at Rutgers and once again saw Moody handle the duties this past weekend.

Percent Chance He Returns Next Year: 46 percent. This one could go either way, though the chances likely decrease if Moody holds onto the job for the rest of the year. The allure of Nordin's strong leg could also be appealing to NFL teams.

Career Summary: He is the best player on this list, having produced for Michigan ever since the start of the 2018 season. Paye racked up 6.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss last year, and spurned the NFL to return to Ann Arbor for his senior campaign, being named a team captain in the process.

He has battled through an injury-plagued senior season so far (was injured Oct. 31 and didn't return until this past weekend), but immediately improved the team's pass rush as a whole upon his return against Penn State.

Percent Chance He Returns Next Year: 28 percent. It would be a shock if Paye returns again in 2021, and his departure would be perfectly fine; he would have his degree in hand, has given Michigan his all over the past four years and is viewed as one of the Wolverines' best pro prospects in the 2021 draft class. Several predict he is a possible first-round pick, including Pro Football Focus, who awarded him a top-10 projection in early November.

Career Summary: He came to U-M as a walk-on and was an afterthought for much of his career, before putting in the work to win the club's starting center job this year as a fifth-year senior.

His performances haven't exactly been impressive though, and redshirt freshman Zach Carpenter has started the team's last two games in the wake of an injury to the fifth-year senior.

Still, Vastardis was voted a team captain by his teammates in 2020, which is an incredible feat considering he earned the honor with no career starts under his belt.

Percent Chance He Returns Next Year: 37 percent. Vastardis is pursuing a Master's degree in physiology, and with an NFL future highly unlikely, will presumably next focus on life after football once 2020 comes to an end.

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