Michigan football stock watch: DJ Turner up, Taylor Upshaw down

Free Press sports writer Michael Cohen breaks down Michigan football’s 51-7 win over Colorado State and looks at players who helped or hurt their stock Saturday at Michigan Stadium:

Three up

∙CB DJ Turner: Turner climbed the depth chart in 2021 from No. 3 corner behind seniors Vincent Gray and Gemon Green to unquestioned No. 1. Saturday’s game reflected how much respect CSU head coach Jay Norvell and his offensive staff had for Turner, who was targeted only once in 20 pass attempts by quarterback Clay Millen. Fellow defenders Mike Sainristil (five targets), Kalel Mullings (three), Will Johnson (two), R.J. Moten (two) and Michael Barrett (two) were all deemed more easily exposed than Turner.

The only pass thrown in Turner’s direction was a quick screen that he eradicated by barreling through the blocker and burying the wideout for a 3-yard loss. He finished with the highest coverage grade among all U-M corners, according to Pro Football Focus. Turner also made the most impressive defensive play of the game when he scooped up a fumble in the middle of the field and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown, shoving aside a would-be tackler en route to the end zone.

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∙OLBs Eyabi Anoma and Jaylen Harrell: For a player who joined the team two weeks prior to the season opener, Anoma could hardly have been more impressive in his nine-snap debut. He earned a sack on the first snap of his Michigan career by beating a double team. Anoma’s beautiful speed-to-power move allowed him to race past the right tackle and bull rush the running back into the quarterback’s lap.

Later in the game, Anoma demonstrated an impressive dose of strength, pushing an offensive guard deep into the backfield (before Millen uncorked his only touchdown pass of the day). Anoma was credited with three quarterback pressures on three pass-rushing attempts to equal the outputs of fellow defensive linemen Braiden McGregor, Kris Jenkins and Mike Morris, according to PFF.

The only player with more pressures was edge rusher Jaylen Harrell. Harrell rarely rushed the passer last season playing behind Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, and his primary contributions came as a run defender on first and second downs. But he was Michigan’s highest-graded defender Saturday regardless of position and led the edge rushers in tackles with four. Harrell was also credited with ½ sack.

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RB CJ Stokes: The question of who would emerge as Michigan’s No. 3 tailback behind Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards was answered quite forcefully by Stokes, who touched the ball seven times and gained 50 yards in 13 snaps. A true freshman from Columbia, South Carolina, where he was rated the No. 63 running back in the country, Stokes flashed tremendous burst and top-end speed that complements the skills of the two players ahead of him.

Stokes turned a checkdown pass into a 15-yard gain by turning upfield with incredible vertical acceleration. That same explosiveness was visible when he carried the ball as a runner while averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Stokes was never stopped behind the line of scrimmage and ripped off an 18-yard run that eclipsed Edwards’ longest carry of 12 yards. His primary competition for the No. 3 spot is former three-star prospect Tavierre Dunlap, who logged just four snaps against the Rams and carried once for four yards.

Three down

QB Cade McNamara: How surprised McNamara must have been to hear head coach Jim Harbaugh outline a very public, very unusual continuation of the quarterback competition for the first two weeks of the season after he believed the job was won in fall camp. Saturday was McNamara’s chance to showcase the developments he’s spoken about for months: improvements to his footwork, accuracy and timing. Little of that translated to the field against Colorado State as McNamara completed just nine of 18 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown in what was best described as an uneven performance and quite possibly a debilitating one in the race to keep his place atop the depth chart. He struggled with accuracy on short and intermediate passes and was saved from throwing just the seventh interception of his career when the ball slipped through a defender's arms. The offense averaged 3.75 points per possession with McNamara on the field, but three of the four trips to the red zone failed to produce a touchdown. McNamara’s deflated tone and dejected body language in a postgame news conference matched what he must have known was an underwhelming effort. He left the door ajar for McCarthy, who will operate as QB1 against Hawaii next weekend.

OLB Taylor Upshaw: Harbaugh listed Harrell, Morris and Upshaw as the top three edge rushers coming out of fall camp when he appeared on an athletic department podcast last week. He considered all of them to be starting-caliber players and said the trio would rotate through the lineup against Colorado State. In terms of playing time, everything unfolded to plan Saturday with Harrell (28 snaps), Morris (24 snaps) and Upshaw (24 snaps) having ample opportunities to showcase their skills. But as the first two players made their presences known — Harrell and Morris combined for one forced fumble and seven tackles, including ½ sack and 2½ tackles for loss — Upshaw faded into the background. He was credited with just one tackle against the Rams and failed to register a single quarterback pressure, hurry or hit. He finished with the lowest pass-rushing grade of anyone on the team, regardless of position. The next-closest edge rusher, Braiden McGregor, was graded nearly 10 points better by PFF. On a day when sacks were available in bunches and nearly everyone laid a hand on Colorado State’s quarterback, Upshaw never showed up to the party.

Offensive tackle depth: The Wolverines began the season without their starting left tackle as Ryan Hayes spent the afternoon in street clothes with an undisclosed injury. His replacement was utility lineman Karsen Barnhart, who lasted 19 snaps before leaving with an ankle problem. Barnhart was rolled up on by tailback Donovan Edwards in the second quarter and lasted one additional snap before limping toward the sideline. Rather than trust one of the team’s younger offensive tackles to replace Barnhart, co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore decided to shift left guard Trevor Keegan to tackle and insert Giovanni El-Hadi at left guard. Keegan, who recently told reporters he’s lost roughly 40 pounds since ballooning to 343 pounds before last year’s loss to Georgia, endured an unsightly afternoon while playing out of position. He finished with the lowest run-blocking grade and lowest pass-blocking grade of any offensive lineman while also allowing a team-high three pressures, tied with right tackle Trent Jones. (Jones was charged with allowing the unit’s only sack when he was soundly beaten by edge rusher Mohamed Kamara, who flung McNamara to the turf.) That Moore and the coaching staff stuck with a struggling Keegan at left tackle over any of the true tackles on the roster reflects poorly on Michigan’s depth. Jeffrey Persi, a junior, was the only other offensive tackle to see the field. He replaced Keegan for the final 15 snaps.

Contact Michael Cohen at mcohen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football stock watch: Eyabi Anoma and Jaylen Harrell impress