10 way-too-early Michigan football 2023 bold predictions

Whereas Colston Loveland, who will probably be coming into his second 12 months, ought to be poised to really escape, AJ Barner already has capacity, time on process, and is now in a system that ought to higher make the most of his abilities.

Here’s what Michigan tight ends coach Grant Newsome instructed WolverinesWire about Barner’s capacity final week:

“First, simply bodily very imposing, extraordinarily well-built, very tall and athletic, bodily, can do all of the type of inline blocking that we ask our guys to do, which isn’t the case throughout the nation,” Newsome mentioned. “It’s powerful to and he’s (carried out) it not simply in school, however on this convention, which is hard. After which, clearly, you watch the Ohio State recreation they performed final 12 months and he goes up and catches a fade on certainly one of their corners. So he actually type of suits all that we do, he can deal with the inline stuff and the working recreation and in addition be capable of exit and flex out and catch passes.”

At Indiana, Barner had 28 catches for 199 yards and three touchdowns in 2022, after having 13 catches for 160 yards and a landing in 2021. Although Loveland eclipsed these numbers in his first 12 months, provided that he’ll get added consideration in 2023, it ought to open up the doorways for Michigan to focus on Barner that rather more.

Actually, we’re simply hedging our bets right here. Both Barner or Loveland may very well be a stable option to have an enigmatic season this subsequent 12 months, and provided that Barner has been a multi-year participant at a school program already, we’re betting he takes off in 2023.