Channeling my inner Paul Heyman, the Michigan Wolverines are the reigning, defending, and undisputed national champions! Michigan has not lost a regular season game since Oct. 2021 and has not lost at the Big House with fans in attendance since 2019.
Fresh off a 15-0 campaign and a third-straight Big Ten championship, Michigan is on the heels of the biggest program high of the modern era. But following several coaching and personnel changes this offseason, the page has been abruptly turned and all attention is on the uncertain future.
Michigan is breaking in a new head coach, offensive coordinator/play-caller, defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, running backs coach, tight ends coach, offensive line coach, tight ends coach, defensive line coach, linebackers coach, secondary coach, and a new head of strength and conditioning. The Wolverines also must replace nine starters on offense, including the best running back and quarterback in program history, and the entire offensive line.
Despite all the new faces, optimism is still high in Schembechler Hall, and as quick as the national media has been to count out the Wolverines as contenders in 2024, Team 145 is champing at the bit to prove everyone wrong.
To do so, the team will need to start finding answers to several questions, and these are six of the biggest ones that could ultimately prove the difference between success and failure this season.
Who will be the starting quarterback?
The most important and influential position in all of sports must be the top priority. According to new offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell, “The pecking order heading into the spring is who is the oldest,” he said. “If it’s the same grade, we’ll go in alphabetical order by last name. That’s how we’ll handle it on day one. We’ll reevaluate that on day two.”
Ladies and gentlemen, Michigan’s current depth chart: Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren, Alex Orji, Jayden Denegal and Jadyn Davis. Campaign groups are already being formed, but let’s examine each option in one sentence.
Tuttle: The experienced veteran with the highest floor of the group, but is his ceiling high enough for a team with a national championship-caliber defense?
Warren: A developmental passer who has demonstrated equal parts competency and frustration.
Orji: The generational athlete who could either be a home run or a strikeout depending on how he improves as a passer.
Denegal: The big-bodied, poised pocket passer who could be the dark horse of the group, but will need more reps to fully understand his capabilities and limitations.
Davis: The complete unknown, but possesses the high school pedigree to get fans excited about his potential.
A transfer could enter the mix, but these will be the guys in the spring with the first opportunity to separate from the pack. We know whoever the starter is will be supported by dynamic outside weapons and a potential All-American running back in Donovan Edwards. But who will be protecting and paving the way for this offense?
What is the status of the offensive line?
The Wolverines lost all five starters from last year’s offensive line plus one more. LaDarius Henderson, Trevor Keegan, Drake Nugent, Zak Zinter, Karsen Barnhart and Trente Jones are all gone to the NFL. So who starts this year? Before the first spring practice, I imagine the starters look something like this.
LT – Myles Hinton/Jeff Persi
LG – Giovanni El-Hadi
C – Greg Crippen
RG – Josh Priebe
RT – Connor Jones/Andrew Gentry
The interior group feels all but established unless a transfer or Raheem Anderson shakes things up, but questions remain at both tackle positions. According to Jon Jansen, all signs are pointing to Myles Hinton moving to left tackle, putting him into direct competition with Jeff Persi, who does have one career start under his belt (Rutgers 2022).
It is all speculative at right tackle, but the echoes are suggesting Connor Jones and Andrew Gentry could be the frontrunners. The quarterback battle will drive clicks, but given Sherrone Moore’s personality, the offensive line battles will be equally important for Team 145’s ambitions. Speaking of Moore…
How will the team’s dynamics change under head coach Sherrone Moore?
Moore wasn’t just handed the keys to a Ferrari and told to keep it between the lines — Moore was handed Max Verstappen’s Red Bull and is expected to keep it at the front of the grid. He has already shown the ability to handle high-pressure situations, but how will he handle the day-to-day responsibilities? The day-in-day-out recruiting grind that retired the greatest college football coach of all time two months ago? Practice schedules? Overall game planning? Will he still insert himself into play-calling?
All these lingering questions will not be properly answered until the fall, but fans will be able to start reading between the lines in the spring.
What will the play-calling balance be under Kirk Campbell?
Keeping with the offense, Campbell will be the primary play-caller in 2024. In Campbell’s only other game as offensive coordinator — the season-opener against East Carolina in 2023 — he was brilliant and struck the perfect balance with 31 passes called compared to 31 runs.
This balance will undoubtedly be the goal for Campbell, but not every opponent is East Carolina. Apologies to the Pirates, but every play-caller has tendencies and go-tos in crunch time and it remains to be seen what Campbell’s will be. The spring will not yield much about this either, but pay attention to the second quarter against Texas.
The first quarter will likely be a heavy dose of scripted plays — plays Campbell knows will be likely successful and will be prepared ahead of time. The second quarter will inevitably require some adjustments and against a high-caliber opponent, these play calls will offer the first glimpses into who Campbell truly is as a battlefield play caller.
Fortunately, Campbell will be supported by an elite defense, but an elite defense that will have a new general.
How different will the defense look under Wink Martindale?
Fans are well aware a this point new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale truly is the “OG” of the defensive system Michigan has been running since 2021. But fans also know how aggressive Martindale is historically and wonder how that will translate at Michigan.
When asked about adapting his game to the collegiate ranks, Martindale offered this:
“I think every year is different. I’m not going to tell Ryan Day or Sark (Steve Sarkisian) what we’re gonna do. I have confidence in these players that they’re going to execute at a high level. I am more aggressive than Jesse (Minter), the proof is in the pudding with Jesse and Mike (Macdonald). If we can get to the quarterback rushing three, we’ll rush three. That’s the way football is — you just gotta see how it changes because people are adjusting to us, too, as well.”
It is refreshing to know the defense will be more diverse than Don Brown’s persistent engage eight, but what will the strategy look like in tight games? Will Wink be able to substitute effectively against a hurry-up? Can he fight off his innate desire to blitz when circumstances call for patience?
This Michigan defense is loaded with talent, but one key position — coupled with Martindale’s decision-making — could determine the overall unit’s success.
Who will be CB #2?
This exact question was asked last year, and Amorion Walker was looking like the favorite to start opposite Will Johnson. But following a spring game embarrassment of Walker at the hands of Peyton O’Leary, Michigan added transfer Josh Wallace, and the rest is history.
With Wallace gone to the NFL and Walker transferring to Ole Miss, the battle for cornerback No. 2 is alive and well again. The Wolverines are loaded with talent at the position, but the talent is MASSIVELY unproven.
Soon-to-be sophomores D.J. Waller and Jyaire Hill have generated some buzz, and so has the possibility of Ja’Den McBurrows moving outside and having Rod Moore take over at nickel.
The spring won’t generate any definitive answers, but it will offer strong suggestions. If none of the mentioned names can stand out, expect Michigan to once again hit the portal to at least add some competition and experience to the room ahead of the fall. This is a need that has to be addressed, otherwise this Achilles heel could be the undoing of a potentially great defense.
