Michigan football’s first Big Ten availability report of the season gave a clearer picture Wednesday night heading into the Iowa game, and it came with a mix of expected absences, a few key questions, and some encouraging signs at cornerback.
The Wolverines listed six players as out: offensive lineman Andrew Babalola, wide receiver Braydon Alford, running back Micah Ka'apana, running back Jonathan Brown, defensive end Julius Holly and offensive lineman Ace Hamilton. Of that group, Babalola was the only one thought to be in the mix for playing time this season.
Michigan also put offensive lineman Manuel Beigel in the doubtful category. Beigel has logged 96 snaps this year as the team’s “RHINO” sixth offensive lineman.
The most notable names on the questionable list were starting edge Dominic Nichols, starting cornerback Zeke Berry, starting right tackle Andrew Sprague and reserve wide receiver Logan Forbes.
Berry and Sprague both sat out last week’s 52-17 win over UTEP, and after the game Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said Berry “had something that was nagging at him during the week.”
“Had we had to have him today, probably could have played him,” Whittingham said. “The safer course of action was to try to sit him and get him completely healthy for next week and let Shamari Earls take over and get some reps there.
So I believe that was the right decision. He should be good to go for next week.”
Defensive coordinator Jay Hill sounded more optimistic Wednesday, saying Berry has been back on the practice field.
“Yes, we expect Zeke back,” Hill said Wednesday. “He practiced yesterday. He'll practice today.”
Sprague’s status appears less settled. Whittingham said the right tackle’s issue surfaced in the final 24 hours before Michigan’s win over the Miners, after the team walkthrough. The Wolverines do have experienced options in backup tackles Blake Frazier and Evan Link, but Sprague has been viewed as Michigan’s best tackle both last season and this fall.
“Andrew Sprague, gosh, that's a tough question,” Whittingham said. “I think, you know, it could be anywhere from this week to several weeks, and so we just don't know.”
Nichols is the other big name to watch, though the report didn’t specify what he is dealing with or what kind of timetable might be involved. What is clear is that the junior has started fast, posting 2.0 sacks and a team-high 11 quarterback pressures. Through three games, he ranks third among 181 FBS edge rushers in Pro Football Focus pass-rushing production rate and 20th in PFF pass-rushing win rate.
If Nichols is limited or unavailable, Michigan has already shown it can lean on depth off the edge. The backup rushers have combined for 10 pressures and 5.5 sacks this season.
“We've talked about that group all year,” Hill said. “There's a lot of really good players in that group.
I think Coach Powell's done a phenomenal job. Just continue and develop the whole group, not just the top guys.
We have a lot of trust and confidence in a lot of guys in that room, and I think you'll see that throughout the rest of the year we're going to need all those guys, and we need them to continue to make plays like they did the other day.”
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