USA Today
Grading Michigan's Week 1 Offensive Performance By Position
When a game is filled with as many explosive plays as Michigan's 49-24 victory over Minnesota was, it can be difficult to keep track of what all went right for the Wolverines.
Of course, Zach Charbonnet and Hassan Haskins had long runs that easily stand out on at their position, but U-M also incorporated a heavy rotation of receivers on the outside, and Joe Milton had success connecting with those players as well.
To help break down the varying degrees of success experienced by Michigan, here are the Pro Football Focus College grades from the Wolverines' season opener:
| Position | Player | Grade |
|---|---|---|
QB | Joe Milton | 71.8 |
QB | Cade McNamara | 59.2 |
RB | Hassan Haskins | 79.5 |
RB | Blake Corum | 66.3 |
RB | Zach Charbonnet | 65.6 |
RB | Chris Evans | 54 |
WR | A.J. Henning | 86.5 |
WR | Ronnie Bell | 75.6 |
WR | Giles Jackson | 69.3 |
WR | Mike Sainristil | 63 |
WR | Jake McCurry | 60.5 |
WR | Roman Wilson | 60.4 |
WR | Nate Schoenle | 60 |
WR | Cornelius Johnson | 52.6 |
TE | Ben Mason | 74 |
TE | Erick All | 63.5 |
TE | Carter Selzer | 60 |
TE | Luke Schoonmaker | 56 |
OT | Jalen Mayfield | 80.3 |
OT | Zak Zinter | 75.5 |
OT | Joel Honigford | 68.2 |
OT | Ryan Hayes | 63.1 |
OG | Andrew Stueber | 69.9 |
OG | Chuck Filiaga | 63 |
OG | Karsen Barnhart | 62.9 |
OG | Zach Carpenter | 60 |
OG | Trente Jones | 60 |
OG | Griffin Korican | 60 |
C | Andrew Vastardis | 72.2 |
n/a | n/a | n/a |
While this chart is far from an exact science, it shows in general terms who the most successful players were for Michigan at each position.
Unsurprisingly, Joe Milton graded out as the top QB after his sound effort of 15-for-22 for 225 yards and one touchdown through the air. Milton looked composed in the pocket, and he spread the football around to a litany of speedy U-M playmakers.
At the running back position, Hassan Haskins leads the way with his two touchdown performance on Saturday. Most of Haskins' yardage came on a 60-yard chunk run, but he was effective in finding his way across the goal line twice on the night.
From the wide receivers, A.J. Henning displayed why he received so much offseason attention for his speed on the outside. Henning is dangerous in space, and his quick change of direction helps him get clean releases off the line of scrimmage. He wasn't called upon an abundance of times last weekend, but he proved his ability to create separation is fact and not fiction.
Graded as a tight end, Ben Mason posted the highest grade thanks to his tenacious blocking style but also his nose for the end zone. Mason took a pass and leapt end-over-end for a touchdown early on, and his score of 74 led the tight ends group.
At offensive tackle, Jalen Mayfield was dubbed as the leader of the group over the summer both before and after he opted out of the 2020 season, and he proved why. Mayfield helped keep the pocket clean and gave Milton ample time to execute Michigan's offense against Minnesota.
From the offensive guard spot, veteran Andrew Stueber nearly hit the 70-point threshold. He was a dependable blocker throughout the game, and that reinforces the report on his play all throughout fall camp.
Andrew Vastardis was the only center to log game time last weekend, so he was a shoe in for the top position there, but his 72.2 grade is nothing to scoff at either and underscores a strong overall performance for the senior blocker.
Do you agree with these grades? Do any stand out to you as too high or too low? Let us know!
