2006 Michigan football preview

2005 Record: 7-5 (5-3 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Lloyd Carr

Players Drafted:
Gabe Watson DT - Round 4 - Arizona
Jason Avant WR - Round 4 - Philadelphia
Tim Massaquoi TE - Round 7 - Tampa Bay

Top Recruits:
Brandon Graham ILB - 6'2" 235 Detroit, MI
Carlos Brown RB - 6'1" 195 Franklin, GA
Justin Boren OG - 6'4" 295 Pickerington, OH
Adam Patterson DE - 6'3" 260 Columbia, SC

Key Players Returning:
Mike Hart RB
Chad Henne QB
Steve Breaston WR
Mario Manningham WR
David Harris LB
Leon Hall CB
LaMarr Woodley OLB

Michigan Offensive Outlook

The two most notable returnees include junior QB Chad Henne and junior RB Michael Hart. After a fantastic 1000+ yard season as a freshman, Hart battled through injuries in 2005 but still managed to rush for 662 yards while averaging 4.4 yards per carry. Henne also struggled at times as a sophomore despite passing for over 2500 yards with 23 TDs and just 8 INTs. The media and fans around Ann Arbor came down hard on Henne at times, but the inconsistency in the running game made his job much more difficult. If Hart can stay healthy in 2006 look for Henne to be the beneficiary. At WR look for senior Steve Breaston and sophomore Mario Manningham to be Henne’s favorite targets as well as TE Tyler Ecker.

Michigan Defensive Outlook

For the last few seasons now, the Michigan defense has been the big disappointment. In fact, during the 2004 and 2005 season the Wolverines defense has held their opponent in single digits just once over 24 games. OLB LaMarr Woodley leads the Wolverines defense and comes into the season as the school’s all-time leader in sacks. We could see him hit double-digits in sacks in 2006. CB Leon Hall has been named to the preseason Thorpe Award watch list. Michigan will need to improve on the defensive side of the ball and avoid giving up the big plays as they allowed 11 of 12 opponents to score 17 points or more in 2005.

Michigan Special Teams

Both kickers return in 2006 led by K Garrett Rivas who has 47 career FGs. While he struggled at times in 2005, Rivas was able to bounce back on many occasions and has a lot of experience in crunch-time. Expect to see Breaston light it up returning kickoffs and punts if opposing kickers have the guts to kick to him.

2006 Overview: My two keys to Michigan improving from their disappointing 2005 season are 1) to keep Hart healthy and 2) improve the defense. With both coordinators leaving for NFL jobs, Carr promoted from within, but the Wolverines must do a better job on the defensive side of the ball by stopping long drives and getting the ball back into the hands of Henne and Hart. If Michael Hart stays healthy and the defense steps up their game as a unit I can see Michigan winning 10-11 games or more. However, if Hart again struggles with injuries and none of the young RBs behind him step up, and the defense struggles as they did in 2005, Lloyd Carr and his 102-34 record at Michigan may be in trouble.

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