Michigan lost to Illinois, but if you’re looking for a bright spot, we’re starting to see some true freshmen emerge. One of them ended up burning his redshirt on Saturday:
The Michigan Wolverines dropped another game, this time to the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday. The team now sits at 4-3 on the year.
Quarterback Jack Tuttle had 208 passing yards and found true freshman Hogan Hansen to be a reliable target. Hansen had four catches for 50 yards, setting two career-highs.
This was the fifth game he’s participated in, meaning that Hansen has burned his redshirt status.
Here are the true freshmen who have played this season. An asterisk (*) indicates they saw playing time against Illinois:
- RB Jordan Marshall (1 game)
- OL Andrew Sprague (1 game)
- OL Jake Guarnera (3 games)*
- TE Hogan Hansen (5 games)*
- LB Cole Sullivan (6 games)*
- Edge Dominic Nichols (4 games)*
- DL Manuel Beigel (1 game)
- DB Mason Curtis (3 games)*
- DB Jo’ziah Edmond (3 games)*
Two other young players stood out on the defensive side of the ball this week — Mason Curtis played some snaps at safety and Jo’Ziah Edmond came in at cornerback. The Wolverines are dealing with some injuries in the secondary, including losing Will Johnson for most of the game. Curtis assisted on two tackles and Edmond made his first solo tackle of the year.
Overall, Michigan’s secondary held Illinois to just 80 yards passing and only allowed about 8.9 yards per completion. These young guys are showing some promise early, and in a position that’s struggled so much with injuries, it’ll be good to bring some experience into next year when they’ll be needed more.
Other true freshmen to see playing time were Dominic Nichols and Cole Sullivan, who both played on special teams. With the return of Derrick Moore, the Wolverines didn’t use Nichols at the edge position this week, instead going with TJ Guy and Cam Brandt. Similarly, Sullivan has seen a few snaps at linebacker, but with Jimmy Rolder able to go against Illinois, there wasn’t a need for the young player at that position.
The Wolverines are back at the Big House next weekend for a rivalry game against the Michigan State Spartans . Last season, the Wolverines showed up big by defeating Michigan State, 49-0. This rivalry game has always been an emotional one for players and coaches, we’ll see if Moore and Co. choose to call on any young guys in the game. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and will air on Big Ten Network.