Three things we think: Ryan Day loses (a staffer) to Michigan again

Michigan Wolverines football plucked a staff member from Ohio State (again), and preseason magazines are being released. Here are thoughts on those two topics in this week’s column.

1. Ryan Day loses (a staffer) to Michigan again

We’d imagine Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is irate, losing another staff member to Michigan, the reigning national champion and a program that’s become the class of the Big Ten. Erin Dunston, Ohio State’s assistant athletic director for football recruiting and events, is headed to Ann Arbor as director of operations, replacing Christina DeRuyter, who left for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dunston is the second Buckeye staffer to leave for Michigan this offseason, joining Tony Alford, the Wolverines’ new running backs coach and run game coordinator who spent nine seasons in Columbus (2015-13).

Alford made the move to U-M after OSU’s spring practices began, and Dunston — who’s been key for recruiting — right in the middle of official visit season. The timing alone has to make a head coach red-faced and upset.

Dunston was also described by Ohio State head of recruiting Mike Pantoni as a “rock star,” so she certainly seemed to have a big impact in Columbus. Buckeyes believe support staffers make a big difference, so this could be considered a significant loss for their recruiting efforts.

2. Comparison between 2019 and 2024

There are a lot of parallels to the 2019 season with these moves. Back then, defensive line coach Greg Mattison took a promotion by going from Michigan to co-coordinator at Ohio State, and Al Washington, a linebackers coach whose father was a captain for the Buckeyes, did the same. They joined Day’s staff heading into the head coach’s first year. Now, Michigan is entering Year 1 under head man Sherrone Moore.

Back then, Ohio State was coming off of two-straight Big Ten titles, but Urban Meyer — the boogeyman — was gone. The Buckeyes had a new quarterback and head coach, and had to go to Ann Arbor at the end of December.

The situation is completely flipped this year. Michigan has a new head coach, question marks at quarterback and will go to Columbus as part of its challenging schedule.

Michigan was picked to win the Big Ten in 2019, but Ohio State remained at the top of the league. This year, the Buckeyes are the favorite, but the Wolverines are intent on proving they’re still the best in show.

3. Michigan players being slept on

Michigan has six players who were named preseason All-Big Ten by Lindy’s. Junior cornerback Will Johnson, junior tight end Colston Loveland and junior defensive tackle Mason Graham landed on the first team, while senior running back Donovan Edwards, junior defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and graduate left guard Josh Priebe appeared on the second team.

If six — which is tied for the fourth most in the conference — seems like a low number, it’s worth considering that it’s automatically tougher to earn all-conference honors with four new teams in the league (Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington). The Wolverines had 17 players who were named first-, second- or third-team All-Big Ten by either the coaches or media last season — that was going to be tough to replicate anyway.

But it’s hard to figure that Michigan won’t have some players who surprise the national media (not those of us who follow this on a daily basis) this coming season.

The bulk of Michigan’s candidates are on defense, beginning with a pair of linebackers who should stack up with the best of them in the Big Ten: juniors Jaishawn Barham, a Maryland transfer, and Ernest Hausmann. Both are proven commodities, too, combining for nearly 100 tackles last season.

The EDGEs are also expected to have big seasons: senior Josaiah Stewart and junior Derrick Moore. Those two were key pieces a season ago even as backups, posting 5.5 and 5 sacks, respectively. Both have the chance to be double-digit sack standouts in 2024.

There are others, too, including senior offensive linemen in Greg Crippen and Giovanni El-Hadi who, despite having limited starting experience (Crippen has never started), have the potential to be All-Big Ten caliber. Graduate safety Makari Paige has been honorable mention the last two years and should have a massive role on the defense.

Michigan lost a lot from last season, and returning production is what informs many of these preseason projections anyway, but there’s still a lot of talent coming back.

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