Report Card: Grading Michigan's offense at the midway point

Michigan is off to a 7-0 start for the second straight year for the first time since 1973-74, and there doesn’t seem to be any slowing the Wolverines on the way to a Nov. 26 showdown in Columbus. There’s a good chance, in fact, that both U-M and Ohio State will be undefeated when the two teams clash, with a Big Ten East title on the line for a second year in a row. 

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Here are the Michigan grades for every position, starting with the offense:

Michigan running backs — A

Junior Blake Corum has been everything hoped for and more in the first seven games, rushing for 901 yards and a nation-leading 13 touchdown — and that’s with playing only half games in Michigan’s first three blowouts. He ran for 243 yards against Maryland at home, has been over 100 yards in his last four games, and put up 166 on Penn State’s No. 5-ranked rush defense nationally in a 41-17 Michigan win. 

Corum is averaging 6.2 yards per carry and has a number of explosive runs this year, including a 61-yard touchdown against the Nittany Lions and a 50-yarder in a win at Indiana. 

Sophomore Donovan Edwards is starting to realize his potential, as well. He had his breakout game against PSU, running for 173 yards and two scores on only 16 carries, and is averaging 7.14 yards per rush. He’s put up 307 yards and has also added 8 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown this year. 

Wide Receivers — A-

As expected, grad student receiver Ronnie Bell has led the way here, having caught 35 passes for 429 yards and a touchdown. He’s come on strong after the first two games, when he dropped a few balls and looked a bit tentative coming back from knee surgery. He’s also been one of the Wolverines’ best blockers regardless of position — also as expected. 

Junior Roman Wilson missed a game due to injury but has added 253 yards on 16 catches, while senior Cornelius Johnson is at 225 on 15 grabs. Sophomore Andrel Anthony is due a breakout game, waiting his turn. 

The positives here — all three of the top guys have caught deep balls this year, an area in which there’s room for improvement. Bell’s long is 49, Wilson 61 (granted, on a play that started at the line of scrimmage), and Johnson 54. When that starts clicking, this offensive will be even harder to stop.

Michigan Quarterbacks — A-

Senior Cade McNamara had a great fall camp, but he seemed to succumb to the pressure in his first start. Enter J.J. McCarthy, who has been outstanding for most of the year. Though he’s still working on his touch on the deep ball, his numbers — 111-for-144 (77.1 percent!) for 1,297 yards with 9 touchdowns against 2 picks have been outstanding. He’s still working on ball protection — he’s been fortunate his teammates have recovered his fumbles and to have had a few potential picks dropped, etc. — but he’s been incredible for a first-year starter. 

In addition to being a great game manager, McCarthy is also starting to pick it up with his feet. He had 57 rushing yards against Penn State and has 147 this season, averaging 5.3 per rush.

Offensive line — A

They said this line could be better than last year’s, and it’s shaping up that way. Injuries prevented the starting five from playing together for much of the non-conference — now that they’re back, they’re starting to dominate, even with senior Trente Jones out vs. Penn State with a high ankle sprain. Senior Karsen Barnhart stepped in for him and played extremely well, not missing a beat. 

This unit is at its best run blocking, led by the interior. Grad student Olu Oluwatimi is one of the strongest centers we’ve ever seen at Michigan, a road grader. Junior right guard Zak Zinter and senior left guard Trevor Keegan have been nasty, and grad student left tackle Ryan Hayes is getting better and better. Sophomore Giovanni El-Hadi, too, is showing signs of being an outstanding guard down the line, having filled in for some of his injured linemates.

These guys are nasty.

Michigan Tight Ends — A-

Senior Erick All has missed the last several games with a reported back injury, and we don’t expect to see him for the rest of the year. Enter grad student Luke Schoonmaker, who has been outstanding as a pass catcher and — at times — as a blocker. He’s proving to be one of the league’s best tight ends, as head coach Jim Harbaugh predicted he would, having caught 23 passes for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s averaging 9.96 yards per grab, and there are times he’s thrown key blocks on big runs. 

Walk-on Max Bredeson has been a pleasant surprise, having added 74 yards. His blocking has been the most impressive part of his game. He hits with a purpose and has moved up the depth chart because of it. The Wolverines are also getting solid contributions from veteran Matt Hibner and true freshman Colston Loveland, who looks like a future pass-catching star.

Michigan offense Grade Overall — A-

We’d like to see a bit more from the passing game and more balance overall, and we probably will. At the same time, there’s no arguing with bullying people into submission on the ground. The offensive line has set the tone, and McCarthy has been outstanding as a sophomore game manager and leader.

Corum, though, is the MVP. Enjoy him while you can, folks.