Michigan Football Schemmy Awards Preview And Predictions
Former Michigan captain Jon Jansen will host the 2019 Michigan Football Awards Show, “The Schemmy Awards”, this Sunday, December 15, at Crisler Center from 7-9 p.m.
The coaches will hand out 16 awards to more than 20 players on Sunday night, which will put the spotlight on many Wolverines who performed well in one or several areas this season. Zach Shaw, Michael Spath and myself discussed the awards on Inside the Huddle earlier today, which gave us a chance to make some predictions and discuss who did what on the field this fall.
Here are my personal predictions for the awards. I don't get enough information to make a guess on each one, but I'll chime in where I feel comfortable.
Following are the awards being presented at The Schemmy Awards:
· Dr. Arthur Robinson Scholarship Award
· Scout Team Players of the Year (Offense, Defense, Special Teams)
· Most Improved Players (Offense, Defense, Special Teams)
On offense I think sophomore wide receiver Ronnie Bell was the most improved player. He went from playing sparingly as a freshman to being arguably Michigan's best wide receiver as a sophomore. Head coach Jim Harbaugh loves how Bell plays, not just as a pass catcher and a runner, but as a blocker in the run game.
On defense, I think it has to go to Jordan Glasgow. As a former walk on who primarily played special teams and in mop up duty before this season to be second on the team in tackles with 79 and make the Dick Butkus Award semifinalist list is special.
I would guess the special teams winner will go to a guy who just seemed to be better at his job this year rather than someone we all noticed on a week to week basis. Jake Moody, Quinn Nordin and Will Hart seemed to perform how the coaches expected so it could be a snapper or perhaps a kick cover guy that takes home the hardware here.
· Ufer Spirit Award
· Roger Zatkoff Award (Top Linebacker)
This award will likely go to Khaleke Hudson. The senior captain paced the defense in tackles with 96 and wore a lot of hats in Don Brown's defense. He obviously played around the line of scrimmage a lot and blitzed often, but he also lined up as a deep safety and covered receivers in the slot quite a bit too.
· Richard Katcher Award (Top Defensive Lineman/outside LB)
This one is interesting because U-M has several guys who could realistically take the award home. I'll go with Josh Uche since "outside LB" is now a part of the award. That seems like a specific addition in order to get Uche a trophy. I have no problem with it it all, but this way, deserving guys aren't left out.
· Hugh H. Rader Award (Top Offensive Linemen)
By the end of the year, Michigan's offensive line was playing at a very high level pretty much across the board. From start to finish, however, I think Ben Bredeson was the most consistent and most dominant. According to PFF College, Bredeson, center Cesar Ruiz and guard Michael Onwenu did not give up a sack all year. Ruiz is certainly a huge part of that as a guy who makes the calls but Bredeson is a captain and the leader of that O-line.
· Offensive Skill Player of the Year
With 33 catches for 681 yards and seven touchdowns, Nico Collins is the offensive skill player of the year. He became Shea Patterson's biggest weapon downfield and just about every time the ball was thrown up to him, Collins came down with it or drew a pass interference penalty.
· Defensive Skill Player of the Year
On defense, I think the award should go to Lavert Hill. For the second straight year, Hill was a first-team all-Big Ten pick and put up some really impressive numbers according to PFF. Hill checked in at No. 3 in the country among cornerbacks who forced the highest incompletion percentage doing so 30.8-percent of the time. The senior was second in the country when it came to passer rating when targeted allowing QBs to reach a mark of just 21.5. The numbers don't lie; Hill was the most valuable defensive skill player.
· Toughest Player of the Year Award
This one has to go to Carlo Kemp. At 286 pounds, Kemp was undersized at nose tackle but still battled game in and game out. He finished the season with 40 tackles and clearly impressed Don Brown. Michigan's defensive coordinator got emotional talking about Kemp's efforts against Army earlier this season.
· Blue Collar Award (Hardest Worker)
There are a lot of people who could win this award but I'll go with Ben Mason. He wasn't asked to play as much this year after switching over to defensive line and being a bit phased out of Josh Gattis' offense, but his work ethic in practice and in the weight room has become something of legend. Jim Harbaugh loves him so it wouldn't surprise me to see "Bench" recognized for his grind.
· Rookie of the Year (Offense, Defense, Special Teams)
I actually think this one is pretty easy because not many freshmen played meaningful roles for the Wolverines this year. On offense it has to go to running back Zach Charbonnet, who led the team with 11 rushing touchdowns. On defense, safety Daxton Hill really started to become a regular and finished the season with 28 tackles three pass breakups and an interception. Finally for special teams, it's Giles Jackson. The speedy return man took the opening kickoff to the house against Maryland and proved to be a weapon every time he got his hands on the ball.
· Special Teams Player of the Year
With kickers Quinn Nordin and Jake Moody working together on a rotation and missing some kicks among them, this one pretty clearly goes to punter Will Hart. Michigan's punter was recognized as a second-team All-Big Ten performer by the media, so this one is justified.
· Offensive Player of the Year
These kinds of awards are usually dominated by quarterbacks and I think Shea Patterson will prove that. The senior finished the year with 2,828 yards and 22 touchdowns against just six interceptions and, despite having some fumble issues early, he really got that under control. The offense sputtered at times, but he was very, very good down the stretch.
· Defensive Player of the Year
I think this award should go to sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, but then why wouldn't he win the defensive lineman of the year award? However it shakes out, there are a few different guys who qualify. Certainly Hutchinson, who finished the year with 63 tackles, 4.5 sacks and a whopping six pass breakups, Uche and junior Kwity Paye are candidates but a couple of the linebackers were very impressive as well. This might be the most intriguing award on the list.
· Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player of the Year
Like offensive player of the year, the MVP often goes to the quarterback and I think it will. Michigan got contributions from a lot of guys this fall, but the most noteworthy performer was probably Patterson. If you take of him the roster, it has a bigger effect than anyone else, which signifies value to me.
What do you think of my predictions? Who would you swap in or out? Comment below!!!
