Michigan's Breakout Player In 2020 Will Be ...
Michael Spath: Joe Milton, Giles Jackson, Dax Hilll ... the easy choices for breakout player this season for Michigan. I'm going outside the box with fifth-year senior tight end Nick Eubanks. As I mentioned recently, Eubanks should get more opportunities in the red zone for the Wolverines and, I hope, more chances overall, as tight ends are en vogue presently in the NFL and college football.
Las Vegas' Darren Waller, Kansas City's Travis Kelce and San Francisco's George Kittle all lead their respective NFL teams in receptions while in college football, three of the top 20 most productive receivers (and a fourth at No. 26) are tight ends, including Kyle Pitts of Florida, who ranks second nationally in TDs with seven despite playing in just three games.
With a (potentially) greater focus from his coordinator and quarterback, Eubanks should have a career season and his three-year numbers - 35 catches for 461 yards and five touchdowns - could be his total alone for 2020. That's a shade under four catches and a shade over 51 yards receiving per contest.
Eric Rutter: One player that has been on the receiving end of excess offseason praise is Michigan defensive end Luiji Vilain. While both Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson tend to receive the bulk of attention on U-M's defensive line, Vilain is a high ceiling pass rusher who is known to move explosively along the edge and could be in store for an impactful year if all goes as planned.
Even though Vilain has been injured throughout his time in Ann Arbor, he finally enters the 2020 season healthy and should be the No. 2 weak-side defensive end on Michigan's depth chart. Paye discussed at length how well Vilain has recovered from his prior injuries, and he's also received compliments from U-M defensive coordinator Don Brown and defensive line coach Shaun Nua at various times recently, so he's been turning heads throughout fall camp thus far.
It is well known that Brown likes to sprinkle in different defensive line combinations, and having a varied front allows for the Wolverines to stay fresh when attacking the quarterback. Vilain should be in line for a quality role and consistent playing time this year, and his progression would help keep Paye rested for key moments during games this season.
Steve Deace: For Michigan to have the special season that has eluded the program for far too long now, it needs the answer to this question to be Joe Milton. Therefore, because I desperately want to experience a special season as a fan once more after waiting far too long, Milton will be my call. I predicted here on the site he would be the starting quarterback back in January, and he was always the quarterback in the program with the highest ceiling. It was just a matter of whether he could raise his floor high enough to justify handing him the keys to the car. It's almost impossible to have a special season in today's college football without having a special quarterback. So if anyone else other than Milton is your breakout player, that probably means the Wolverines had their typical good but not good enough season.
(Intern) Jake Sage: By the end of the season, Cam McGrone will be the Wolverines' best player and one of the best linebackers in the country. The 6-1 236 pound speedy linebacker has sideline to sideline speed and will remind fans of former Michigan linebacker Devin Bush, who was a consensus All-American in 2018 and was the No. 10 pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2019 NFL Draft.
With last year's Michigan linebackers Josh Uche, Khaleke Hudson and Jordan Glasgow turning pro, McGrone is going to be the leader of the Wolverines linebacking core this season and should excel. McGrone, who did not start for Michigan until the fourth game of last season, was dominant when he was on the field, leading to his All-Big Ten honoree, as he accounted for 65 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks a season ago.
With a year of playing experience now under his belt and his raw athleticism and speed, which allows him to be all over the field, McGrone will be a nightmare for opponents this season, as he will become a star for Michigan’s defense this season.
Brandon Brown: The definition of "breakout" is obviously different this year with a shortened schedule and only conference opponents but I still think a few players could take a massive leap in 2020. My pick for the player who will take the biggest leap — sophomore defensive tackle Christopher Hinton.
At 6-4, 305 pounds, Hinton possesses the best combination of size, athleticism and strength on Michigan's roster and I think it's going to show up in a big way in 2020. He's going to be on the field a ton as evidenced by his late-season run last year. We saw against Alabama that the coaches trust him as he logged more snaps than any other interior defensive lineman.
With a year under his belt, even more strength than he had last year and confidence that he can hold his own against anyone, he's going to be a problem. He only had nine tackles as a rookie while senior Carlo Kemp had 40. I think Hinton outperforms Kemp this year and really shows that he belongs on the field.
