PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Ahead of the Michigan football team’s road matchup with Rutgers, it appears that several of the Wolverines’ starters will be out due to injury.
Most notably, Michigan will be without defensive end Kwity Paye for the second straight week with a believed groin injury. In Michigan’s first three games, Paye was arguably the Wolverines’ best player, recording 12 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and four quarterback hurries. According to Pro Football Focus, Paye also had accumulated a staggering 25 quarterback pressures in three games. The senior is widely viewed as a top-10 NFL Draft pick, even climbing into the top 10 in several recent mock drafts.
Just like the last two weeks, the Wolverines will be without both of their starting offensive tackles — redshirt sophomores Jalen Mayfield and Ryan Hayes. The two have missed each of Michigan’s last two games, both losses where the Wolverines struggled to move the football in the run game. Barring a sudden change, freshman guard Zak Zinter and redshirt freshman left tackle Karsen Barnhart are expected to replace the two, with redshirt junior Andrew Stueber moving from right guard to right tackle to help the line fit.
Mayfield is believed to be dealing with an ankle sprain, while Hayes is suffering with what quarterback Joe Milton called a foot injury before adding “nothing serious.”
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A new absence, Andrew Vastardis will also be out. The fifth-year senior, former walk-on and one of Michigan’s team captains was something of a surprise starter at center. It is unclear at the time of this article’s publishing why Vastardis is out, but he will be replaced by touted redshirt freshman and Cincinnati native Zach Carpenter, who was largely seen as the likely starter during the offseason before suffering a setback in fall camp.
Of course, some of Michigan’s injury and absence situation was known well before kickoff. The Wolverines will be playing without Aidan Hutchinson, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury early on in Michigan’s game against Indiana. Hutchinson was voted a team captain as a junior, and recorded 15 tackles in the Wolverines’ first two games. Potential All-Big Ten players Nico Collins and Ambry Thomas also opted out of the 2020 season before it began, instead choosing to prioritize the 2021 NFL Draft. Both have accepted Senior Bowl invites for once the season concludes. Quarterback Dylan McCaffrey has also opted out of the season.
