Michigan Football had a handful of players underperform last season who could be on thin ice heading into 2025. Here are five players that could have the most to lose heading into the fall:
Michigan didn’t exactly live up to its standards last season by finishing with a 7-5 record in the regular season. If it weren’t for a great finish with wins over Ohio State and Alabama, the perception of the program could be much different heading into 2025.
Last year, Michigan relied on several younger, inexperienced players to step into bigger roles after so many contributors from the 2023 team left for the NFL. Some players were able to thrive in their new roles, while others didn’t exactly make the most of their opportunities.
Heading into 2025, some of these players will be asked to step up once again. However, it’s safe to say some could be on thin ice after struggling a year ago. The threat of young, talented players behind them on the depth chart will only ramp up the pressure for them to perform.
Today we’ll be following up on our piece exploring the five players on the roster with the most to gain this fall by looking at five players that could have the most to lose.
WR Fred Moore and Semaj Morgan
We’ll start off with two players in one, as they both have similar reasons for being included. Michigan’s wide receiver group entered the 2024 season with arguably more questions than any other position group, and the players in the room did little to dispel those concerns.
In Moore’s case, he was a bit of a relative unknown. He’d gotten some buzz as a potential contributor after showing out in the 2024 spring game, but managed just 11 receptions for the year. There’s a chance he could be a bigger contributor in 2025, but there’s also a chance he could be passed up by younger guys like sophomore Channing Goodwin and freshman Andrew Marsh.
As for Morgan, he was expected to take a second-year leap after serving mostly as a gadget player as a true freshman. Instead, he had just 139 yards and one touchdown. Some of that is to be blamed on the offensive system and quarterback play, but this will be a big year for him to see if he can develop into a more useful slot receiver. If not, his gadget role might be his ceiling.
TE Marlin Klein
Michigan’s tight end room looks much different than it did a year ago with Colston Loveland now in the pros. Obviously, his departure will lower the ceiling of the group, but the Wolverines still believe in a few candidates that can try and re-create Loveland in the aggregate. The question is, how much is Marlin Klein a part of those plans?
Klein entered the 2024 season as No. 2 on the depth chart. Fans had long been told about his ability as one of the fastest tight ends on the team, and it was reasonable to expect a mini-breakout with more playing time. With Loveland as the No. 1 guy, it’s understandable Klein wouldn’t have gotten many targets, but 13 receptions for the entire year wasn’t so encouraging given Hogan Hansen is waiting in the wings as well.
Entering this season, Klein is still one of the top options on the depth chart, but Hansen’s talent and potential could ultimately win out. Furthermore, Jalen Hoffman was the star of the spring game and could also be looking at a bigger role in the passing game. There’s still a possibility Klein could have that breakout season, but the competition might be stiffer than we might have originally thought.
OT Evan Link
After being one of the best units in the country from 2021-23, Michigan’s offensive line looked completely different in 2024. Not only was there a completely new starting five, but the group didn’t come close to the standard set by those of the previous seasons.
One player that earned a starting spot heading into the season was Link, who started at right tackle. The redshirt freshman was eventually benched, but returned to the starting lineup for the final three games and looked like a much different player. Going up against the likes of Ohio State and Alabama, Link held his own and appears to be on better footing heading into 2025 as a candidate to start at left tackle.
Although switching sides of the line appeared to help, he’ll still have some competition from other young, talented players. One of the biggest competitors could be five-star freshman Andrew Babalola, who was the first overall pick of the spring game draft. Link has the upper hand in terms of experience and put some good film out at the end of the year, but he’ll need to prove that his strong finish to 2024 was no fluke.
LB Jimmy Rolder
Michigan’s off-ball linebacker spot is in excellent hands with Jaishawn Barham and Ernest Hausmann back as the two starters. Still, the Wolverines will likely cycle in multiple players throughout the season at the position. It’ll just be a matter of who will those players be and how often they’ll be used.
Entering his senior season, Rolder should be the No. 3 man. He hasn’t played a starting role up to this point, but that’s in part due to some talented players that have been ahead of him like Barham and Hausmann, as well as Junior Colson and Mike Barrett.
This season, Rolder likely won’t get the bulk of the snaps, but he could also be at risk of losing snaps to younger players that could start in the future, like sophomore Cole Sullivan and Georgia transfer Troy Bowles. As the season progresses, we’ll see if the younger guys start to assert themselves as a more integral part of the rotation.
CB Jyaire Hill
Michigan’s cornerbacks had their fair share of ups and downs last year, and Hill was arguably the poster child of the inconsistency. We saw some high highs and low lows from him, making him one of the more intriguing studies on the team right now.
At the start of 2024, Hill looked to be the next great corner for Michigan. However, starting with the Washington game in Week 6, his youth started to show. He displayed some tackling issues and a lack of discipline in coverage, eventually leading to him being behind Zeke Berry and Aamir Hall.
Entering his junior season, we’ll look to see if Hill has put his youthful mistakes behind him. If he’s able to take a step in the right direction, he could emerge as one of the better players on the defense. When he’s playing at his best, Hill could be a shutdown corner. However, if he’s not able to show strides from last season, he could fall behind young guys on the depth chart like Shamari Earls and Jo’Ziah Edmond.