Michigan football Thursday mailbag: EDGE pecking order, J.J. McCarthy usage, more

Michigan football is in the middle of its second week of fall camp with full pads coming on in the last few days. There is still plenty to sort out on the field and clarity on position battles will come soon enough.

We took questions from The Fort, our premium message board, earlier this week to gauge where the fanbase is at with a little over three weeks to go until the start of the season.

Here is what was on their minds this week.

Michigan’s EDGE rotation/depth chart

“What’s the current depth chart of DE as of right now?” – MrMichiganfan

It is hard to know what Michigan’s depth chart looks like, but the belief entering camp is that Braiden McGregor and Jaylen Harrell are at the top with Josaiah Stewart and Derrick Moore mixing in. Starts may not be as important as snap counts are, though, and that is what will be sorted out over the next few weeks and well into the regular season.

It is a pretty safe bet that McGregor, Harrell, Stewart and Moore will be the guys that lead the way, but could there be more room for others to mix in? Both TJ Guy and Kechaun Bennett have positioned themselves for an opportunity, and true freshman Enow Etta could find his way into consideration with a strong fall camp.

As far as that top four goes, each guy has their fair share of questions about their game. Can McGregor start finishing plays? Can Harrell be more dangerous as a pass rusher? What will the jump in the level of competition be like for Stewart? How beneficial will dropping 20 pounds be for Moore? All of that is being worked on currently. For now, we would give the upperclassmen the nod.

The plan for J.J. McCarthy

“How much running should JJ do per game? His legs are a weapon, so it’s an advantage to run RPO, QB option, bootleg, etc. That said, we have a championship team, and he’s the most irreplaceable player on the roster. So do we need to hold back using his legs as a weapon for fear of possible injury?” – Ctblue

Playing scared and conservative with J.J. McCarthy is not the way to go. There are ways that Michigan can protect him within the confines of the offense, but holding him back would be a mistake. The Wolverines’ best shot at a national title revolves around the level of quarterback play it gets. Coaching scared could lead to something scary happening, either with the player himself or with the team’s goals and aspirations.

So what you do is find a way to work in a healthy dose of everything he brings to the table without overdoing it. Take what the defense gives you. Keeping McCarthy safe is actually incumbent on McCarthy himself. He has to get down much quicker when he runs or get out of bounds to not expose himself to a nasty hit.

Michigan should definitely find ways to use his legs more, especially in the option game. One of the most famous gripes from fans in recent years has been the lack of quarterback keepers. Most of those plays are not designed runs, but Michigan could use that to their advantage in key moments. Jim Harbaugh loves to set stuff up to bait teams later on in the season. If we see McCarthy run more, it might be later on this year.

Further Big Ten expansion

“Which 2 schools are the most realistic options to be added to the Big Ten to get to 20 teams?” – MGoLou

Once you start hopping time zones to add schools to the conference, everything is realistic and makes sense. The fact that everything has become chaotic puts everything in play. But if we are being realistic, take Notre Dame off the pile right off the bat. They continually refuse to join a conference, but then think they can dictate the terms of what the ACC decides to do despite not being a full member. Let them play their game of musical chairs.

Cal and Stanford make sense now that the Big Ten firmly has a foot up and down the west coast. Both are respected institutions and would add to the academic blueprint of the conference, which the presidents love. Since the Big Ten is in the game of scooping up TV markets – thanks, Jim Delaney – it would also check off the box of having the Big Ten Network on Bay Area cable packages in the San Francisco/Oakland area.

Clemson and Florida State rumors have persisted, but it still feels like more of a fit for the SEC. North Carolina would be an intriguing school given its status as an AAU institution, solid football and iconic college basketball.

But as we said at the top, everything should be considered in play. Especially with the TV networks pulling the strings.

Quick hitters

“Highest probability opponent for JJ to throw over 30 times?” – Scheins

He only did it twice all of last season – at Indiana and vs. TCU – but it is not hard to imagine that number doubling or tripling in 2023. Outside of those two games, he had six contests with 24 or more attempts. If Michigan is serious about being more balanced, it will happen far more. But if we had to pick an opponent, we’ll say at Nebraska and at home against Ohio State. Just a gut feeling.

“Who is currently in the lead for LT/RT?” – Maize N Blue

Most believe that Arizona State transfer LaDarius Henderson is the guy at left tackle. He was brought to Michigan under the assumption that would be the case. Karsen Barnhart has repped there in fall camp and also factors into the right tackle job. If it is Henderson, he is going to have to earn it. We think Barnhart will win one of the two open jobs at tackle. Trente Jones and Myles Hinton are working in, too.

“Who has the lead for the kickoff and punt return jobs?” – Nbolig

As of now, we would give Roman Wilson the edge for both, but other guys are working in. Keep an eye on freshman running back Cole Cabana as a potential dark horse here.

“Who is the No. 3 RB? Is the Tyler Morris hype real? How are the kickers and punters looking?” – QBall

CJ Stokes should be considered the favorite for now, and Morris should be the team’s starting slot receiver. As far as how the kickers and punters go, we have not heard it as an area of concern yet. James Turner is a more than adequate Jake Moody replacement, and some believe Tommy Doman has a chance to be Michigan’s best punter ever.

The post Michigan football Thursday mailbag: EDGE pecking order, J.J. McCarthy usage, more appeared first on On3.