Certain players stand out during Michigan’s spring game every year, but has that success translated to on-field production in the fall? Let’s find out:
The Michigan Wolverines ’ spring game is about a month and a half away. Despite some other programs canceling their spring games, Sherrone Moore has elected to continue to play the televised scrimmage, as is tradition.
Every year, football-hungry Michigan fans eagerly watch the spring game trying to find the next stars for the Wolverines. Some players sit out, while others unexpectedly shine. Today, we’ll examine the latter category.
Of those who have been identified as spring game standouts, how many have translated that into success on the field the subsequent fall? Is the spring game a good indicator of what is to come? Let’s dive in and see how things have gone for those we’ve identified as stand out players during recent spring games.
2022
: QB Davis Warren, RB Blake Corum, WR Darrius Clemons, WR/DB Mike Sainristil, RB Tavierre Dunlap, DB German Green
Well, we certainly hit the nail on the head with two of these. Corum and Sainristil would go on to lead the Wolverines to the National Championship just one year later. It’s hard to believe that just three years ago around this time was the first time we had ever seen Mike Sainristil play defense.
Warren also had himself a nice spring game, but that wouldn’t matter in 2022 as J.J. McCarthy would lock down the job sooner rather than later. Clemons, Dunlap and Green didn’t amount to much, as Clemons transferred out while Dunlap and Green were buried down the depth chart.
2023
: WR Peyton O’Leary, RB Benjamin Hall, LB Ernest Hausmann
Having just been put on full scholarship, O’Leary rewarded the coaching staff with a stellar spring game in 2023. He showed a great rapport with both McCarthy and Warren. We forecasted he could potentially be Michigan’s WR3 or WR4 behind Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson. That didn’t quite come to fruition, as Colston Loveland, Tyler Morris and Semaj Morgan stepped up to gobble any non-Johnson/Wilson targets. While still a nice story, it’s inaccurate to paint O’Leary as a success story from the spring game.
Similar can be said of Hall. Michigan already knew it had a two-headed monster in 2023 with Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards Kalel Mullings stepped up to claim the RB3 spot, relegating Hall to mop-up duty. This year may be an opportunity for Hall to get significant snaps, but it was certainly premature in 2023.
Hausmann, on the other hand, can be called a spring game success story. While Michael Barrett and Junior Colson played a majority of the snaps in 2023, Hausmann was an exemplary rotation piece. The spring game unearthed his capabilities.
In total, we went 1-for-3 at identifying stars in 2023.
2024
: DB D.J. Waller Jr, QB Davis Warren, WR Fred Moore
Waller became one of the main culprits responsible for a subpar 2024. Following an excellent spring game showing, he opted to transfer to Kentucky. While the secondary did okay without him, he was certainly missed.
It’s crazy to believe that at this time last year, fans were ready to anoint Alex Orji as the starter. The 2024 spring game opened the door for Warren, as he played very, very well. While I wouldn’t call Warren’s play stellar last season, we can credit the spring game with indicating the quarterback situation was not as open-and-shut as some thought.
If you want to see a sign of just how abysmal the Michigan passing offense was in 2024, look no further than Fred Moore. That’s not meant as a slight to Moore, but he was Michigan’s fourth-leading receiver with 11 catches for 128 yards and one touchdown. The Wolverines didn’t have a single wide receiver have more than 250 yards as a whole. Moore showed flashes and still could take a step forward in 2025, but I don’t think it’s fair to say his spring game had any affect on the 2024 season.
In 2024, the identified standouts turned into one starter, one rotational piece and one transfer. Not ideal.
The overall results are inconclusive at best. Some of the common trends I noticed is the spring game helps identify the depth chart. However, it doesn’t translate to who will be successful in the fall, only who will have the most playing time.