Hopes are high for the reigning national champions heading into the 2024 season, but are there some areas of concern Michigan fans haven’t talked about enough this offseason?
Even after an offseason with so many sweeping changes in the Michigan football program, fans rightfully have high hopes for 2024.
Stars like Will Johnson, Donovan Edwards, Mason Graham, and Colston Loveland are back for another season. Young guys like Semaj Morgan showed flashes of brilliance and are poised to take on bigger roles. The program also has its young coach of the future in Sherrone Moore to usher in the next era of Michigan football.
What’s not to be excited about?
Well, not to be all doom and gloom, but not every season with high hopes turns out as expected. We’ve seen it happen with major programs like Clemson , Florida , Miami , and USC in recent years, and even with Michigan during the first half of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure as head coach.
With that said, today, we’ll be taking a look at five under-the-radar concerns for Michigan’s 2024 season with just over two weeks to go until kickoff.
Quarterback
Let’s get this one out of the way early seeing as it’s not exactly “under-the-radar.” Michigan’s quarterback competition has been talked about ad nauseam this offseason, but why wouldn’t it be? These are the defending national champions we’re talking about and the quarterback is the most scrutinized position in all of sports.
Whenever there’s a new starter at the position, there will be questions and concerns. When that new starter is filling the shoes of a legend like J.J. McCarthy, those only become amplified. Still, Michigan has plenty of options to choose from in the quarterback battle (Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren, Jadyn Davis), each with their own skillsets, but this will be talked about until the season starts, and possibly until it ends.
Offensive Line
Speaking of new starters, the offensive line is going to have five of them in 2024. The Wolverines have put on a clinic in offensive line play over the last three seasons, but stalwarts like Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter are now set to play on Sundays, giving way to a new group that’s younger and not as experienced.
It’s not all bad, as Josh Priebe is set to start at guard after doing so at Northwestern , but how will he adjust to a new system? Myles Hinton lost his starting job after going down with an early season injury, can he keep hold of it this time? Andrew Gentry and Greg Crippen have yet to see time as starters, how will they fare?
Not to mention, Sherrone Moore, the mastermind of Michigan’s Joe Moore Award-winning units, is now the head coach. How will Grant Newsome do as the new leader of the position group?
A bad offensive line can tank an entire offense, and while Michigan still seems poised to put a respectable group on the field, it’s a valid concern to have.
Early season rushing struggles
If the offensive line has been the bread for Michigan over the last three years, its running backs have been the butter.
Hassan Haskins bulldozed, and sometimes hurdled, his way into Michigan lore with a great 2021 campaign capped by five touchdowns against Ohio State . Meanwhile, Blake Corum found the end zone over 50 times over the last two seasons while bearing the load of over 500 carries since the start of 2022.
Sherrone Moore and the offense are going to want to run the ball until the wheels fall off once again in 2024, meaning that Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings are going to take big steps forward this year. If you’ll remember though, Michigan’s run game sputtered out of the gates last year.
Donovan Edwards in particular got off to a slow start on the ground, as he seemingly couldn’t find holes in the offensive line and wasn’t doing much in the way of breaking tackles. His stats were down across the board for the season, as he only managed 497 yards on the year and 4.2 yards per carry, compared to 991 yards and 7.2 yards per carry in 2022.
Kalel Mullings has also yet to take a significant role in the offense. While he’s been behind great backs on the depth for much of his career, he’s only accrued 50 total carries. Will he be able to withstand a full season’s workload?
If there’s some optimism to be had, it’s that Edwards has been consistently successful before, as recently as 2022 and was playing his best football at the end of 2023. Kalel Mullings has also been effective in his limited sample size, while youngster Jordan Marshall also appears to be turning heads in fall camp.
Defensive line depth
Mason Graham is the best defensive tackle in the country and Kenneth Grant isn’t too far behind. On top of that, Josaiah Stewart and Derrick Moore should be a formidable duo off the edges. After that, there’s plenty of question marks.
For the last decade or so, Michigan’s strong defensive front has been one of the program’s trademarks. The Wolverines have had elite starters for sure like Aidan Hutchinson, Rashan Gary, and Chase Winovich, but there’s always been great depth to supplement them.
Rayshaun Benny is the most experienced backup of the bunch. He’s entering his senior season but hasn’t played much more than a depth role so far. Michigan historically likes to rotate its defensive tackles, so we’ll need to see him take a step forward this year.
There’s been some excitement about TJ Guy, a senior who figures to be the third man up in the edge rusher rotation. The Wolverines will certainly have to rely on him if they want to keep Stewart and Moore fresh while also giving opposing offensive lines various looks.
After Benny and Guy, Michigan will have to get contributions from Ike Iwunnah, Trey Pierce, Breeon Ishmail, and Enow Etta, guys who haven’t seen much playing time to this point in their careers.
Linebacker depth
Michigan should have a good pair of off-ball linebackers this year in Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham. Hausmann was solid in his limited role behind Mike Barrett and Junior Colson last year, while Barham is coming off back-to-back seasons with All-Big Ten honorable mentions at Maryland .
Much like the defensive line though, there’s not much behind the two presumed starters.
Jimmy Rolder received some hype as a four-star recruit before his freshman season in 2022, but some great play from the linebackers in front of him on the depth chart, as well as some injuries, have mostly kept him off the field. The talent is there, but we haven’t seen anything from him yet.
Jaydon Hood is also a guy that could be looked at for some playing time this year. He’s been with the program for three years already, so he’s definitely familiar with the system, but we’ve yet to see it come together on the field.
At last month’s Big Ten Media days, Sherrone Moore threw some water on the concerns about the linebacker depth , speaking highly of Rolder and Hood. He also shouted out freshman Cole Sullivan saying he’s, “A guy that I feel will play this year.”
There should be little concern about Michigan’s linebacker play at the top of the depth chart, but if one of Barham or Hausmann were to get injured or struggle, it’ll be all hands on deck to fill the void.