A handful of freshman are now just one game away from burning their redshirts after Michigan’s big win against Michigan State on Saturday:
The Michigan Wolverines hosted in-state rival Michigan State on Saturday and picked up a huge 24-17 victory.
This win mostly came on the backs of veteran players, and while a few more true freshmen are close to burning their redshirts, we didn’t see much from the young players on Saturday. Most players were on the field for special teams except for tight end Hogan Hansen.
Here’s who’s had a chance to play as a true freshman this season. An asterisk (*) indicates they saw playing time against Michigan State:
- RB Jordan Marshall (1 game)
- WR Channing Goodwin (1 game)*
- OL Andrew Sprague (1 game)
- OL Jake Guarnera (4 games)*
- TE Hogan Hansen (6 games)*
- LB Cole Sullivan (7 games)*
- Edge Dominic Nichols (4 games)
- DL Manuel Beigel (1 game)
- DB Mason Curtis (4 games)*
- DB Jo’ziah Edmond (4 games)*
- DB Jacob Oden (1 game)*
The Wolverines continue trusting Hansen with snaps at tight end, which is encouraging given the likely departure of Colston Loveland at season’s end. While he didn’t have any receptions in this game, the experience in this rivalry will certainly help in years to come.
Michigan used Jacob Oden for the first time on special teams, and since he’s from Detroit, he likely understands just how much this rivalry means. Oden had 14 pass breakups as a senior in high school, two forced fumbles, four interceptions, and even had two touchdowns scored. It’s nice to see him get a few snaps in a game that means so much to players, especially those from the state of Michigan.
With Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart healthy and TJ Guy continuing to improve each week, the Wolverines didn’t use Dominic Nichols in this one. He had more playing time a few weeks ago, but it’s becoming clear that was likely out of necessity.
The Wolverines host the top-ranked Oregon Ducks on Nov. 2. With the injuries this Michigan team is still dealing with, it won’t be surprising to see some of the freshmen listed above get a few more snaps, even in a game against a top-ranked team.