Grades, Snap Count Analysis From Michigan Wolverines' Blowout Win vs. UTEP

The Wolverines moved to 3-0 on the season and Michigan was able to get a lot of players snaps vs. UTEP.

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The Michigan Wolverines moved to 3-0 on the season after a 52-17 win over UTEP on Saturday. It didn't look like a blowout was in store after the Miners took a 14-7 lead in the first half, but the Wolverines scored 10 unanswered in the fourth quarter to take a three-point lead and Michigan never looked back.

Michigan still has some work to do — mainly working on not putting the ball on the ground — but there were areas to be excited about. Bryce Underwood continues to get better and Savion Hiter had two scores in the game.

We are going to look at Pro Football Focus and show who earned the best grades, along with snap count observations.

Top 10 offensive players

1. QB Tommy Carr - 91.1 grade
2. RB Jordan Marshall - 85.1
3. WR JJ Buchanan - 77.6
4. RT Blake Frazier - 74.8
5. WR Andrew Marsh - 73.7
6. QB Bryce Underwood - 72.2
7. RG Brady Norton - 70.4
8. LT Evan Link - 67.8
9. LG Nate Efobi - 66.9
10. TE Hogan Hansen - 66.7

What the snap counts say

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Something we like to monitor every week is how much Michigan uses the rhino. This week, Manuel Beigel saw 29 snaps, which is on pace with what he's played this season. He has seen 26, 29, and 29 snaps in the first three games of the season. It's clearly going to be a big staple in Jason Beck's offense at Michigan.

While Beigel played a lot again, we did see an uptick in production at the WR position. For the first time in his career, Salesi Moa earned the starting nod alongside JJ Buchanan and Andrew Marsh, and Moa saw 28 snaps. Travis Johnson played in 23 snaps and was WR4 on the day. Both Jaime Ffrench and Channing Goodwin were in the game for nine snaps each.

There was also a change of the guard at TE. Jalen Hoffman has dominated the snap count in the first two games, but he saw 15 snaps against UTEP. Zack Marshall drew the start and earned 25 snaps. It's also worth noting that Hogan Hansen played his first snaps of the year and played in 13 snaps.

Top 10 defensive players

1. DT Jonah Lea'ea - 92.0 grade
2. Edge Tariq Boney - 82.8
3. DT Enow Etta - 78.9
4. Edge Benny Patterson - 77.0
5. Edge John Henry Daley - 76.6
6. LB Chase Taylor - 75.7
7. S Jacob Oden - 74.7
8. LB Max Alford - 71.8
9. S Rod Moore - 71.5
10. DT Trey Pierce - 71.4

What the snap counts say

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There was some heavy rotation from the Michigan defense this week, ahead of the Iowa showdown. The Wolverines ended up in full control in the third quarter and Jay Hill opted to play 35 players during the game, with Shamari Earls earning the most snaps, with 34.

Starting with the edge rushers, there were eight edge rushers who saw snaps in the game and John Henry Daley had the most snaps with 19 in the game. The Wolverines were fairly even across the board and as you saw, Michigan didn't lose a step.

• John Henry Daley - 19 snaps
• Dom Nichols - 17
• Tariq Boney - 16
• Carter Meadows - 16
• Cam Brandt - 13
• Benny Patterson - 11
• Nate Marshall - 9
• Lugard Edokpayi - 9

The other position that stood out as far as snap counts go was at safety. Granted it was a blowout by Jordan Young saw the most snaps at safety with 25. Chris Bracy (24), Mason Curtis (23), Rod Moore (22), Jacob Oden (13), and Ernest Nunley (4) all saw action on Saturday.

With Big Ten play starting next weekend the Wolverines were able to rest some of their stars, while getting backups some meaningful playing time.

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