Michigan releases availability report ahead of game vs. Minnesota

Michigan has released its availability report ahead of Saturday’s matchup against Minnesota. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Safety Zeke Berry, tight end Marlin Klein and running back C.J. Stokes are all listed as out for the game. Cornerback Ja’Den McBurrows, defensive lineman Mason Graham and offensive lineman Myles Hinton are all questionable.

For Minnesota, the Golden Gophers will most notably be without Chris Autman-Bell. He is one of the leaders for the Golden Gophers, but has yet to record a catch through three games this year. Seven other players are also out for Minnesota.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh previewed the matchup against the Golden Gophers earlier this week and offered high praise for what P.J. Fleck has done with the defense.

“Another really good defense, really stout,” Harbaugh said. “The quarterback’s really coming along and they have a tremendous ability to run the ball. (They’re a) physical team and I love how they play. It’s  an emotional, fired up type of team.

“PJ does a great job and you can always tell they’re confident no matter what the stakes are, the odds are, you’ll see it in the way they play, they play hard and it’s all it’s all you can ever ask for.”

How J.J. McCarthy can continue to improve his NFL Draft stock this season

Michigan is looking to continue its strong start to the year, bringing a 5-0 record and a scoring offense with 34.4 points per game into the game against Minnesota. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been the most efficient quarterback in the Big Ten, completing 79% of his passes entering Saturday’s matchup.

His NFL Draft stock is interesting, as well, and ESPN’s Jordan Reid pointed out some things he has to do to make his case even stronger to be an early-round selection.

“The thing with J.J. is that he’s a perfect compliment for what they want to do. He’s awesome off of play-action. I think, this year, he’s completing, like, over 85% of his passes off of play-action,” Reid said on First Draft. “We know, Harbaugh? He wants to run the ball. Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards – a fantastic tandem that they have. Roman Wilson, a receiver that he’s pushing the ball to quite frequently that’s playing really well. I still think they’re kind of holding JJ’s hand a little bit.”

On3’s Nick Kosko and Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.