Cleveland, OH
What has changed with Michigan football in the 6 months since the 45-23 win over Ohio State?
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Six months drag by when you’re waiting for revenge, but the Ohio State football team has made it halfway to its next chance to reset the scoreboard against Michigan.
During that period, the Wolverines have flexed their continuity. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy returns for his junior season. UM retained star running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, too.
But while most of the main characters remain, the Wolverines still have new faces at several crucial positions on their roster and coaching staff this season. And in celebration of “Maychigan Week” — a May halfway look at the Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry — cleveland.com is dissecting how those changes could UM’s quest for a third straight win over Ohio State.
What’s changed:
Related “Maychigan Week” stories
Sherrone Moore’s big break comes at a crucial point in Michigan’s trajectory.Neil Blake | MLive.com
Moore shared play-calling duties last season with former quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss, who was fired with cause in January for committing “computer access crimes” that are still under investigation.
Now Moore owns that responsibility alone for the first time in his career at a critical moment in Michigan’s trajectory. The 2023 Wolverines could be the best team Jim Harbaugh has ever coached. They could have legitimate national title aspirations, if Moore helps quarterback J.J. McCarthy make the necessary leap.
Every national champion of the last five seasons has started a quarterback that ranked top-12 in passer rating. McCarthy ranked 22nd last year with a 154.97 rating. Stetson Bennett of two-time national champion Georgia ranked 11th at 161.19, and he was even better the year before (176.69, fourth).
If numbers aren’t your thing, try this anecdotal comparison: Bennett played a great game against Ohio State. McCarthy played a good half – the second – against TCU, but his bad first half cost Michigan a national championship appearance.
Now McCarthy can call that loss a learning experience. His teammates say he looks surgical in spring practice. And he still has all-world running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards to back him up.
McCarthy has the seasoning, and Michigan’s roster has the meat to vault the quarterback’s game into elite company. It’s Moore’s job to mix the ingredients properly.
Quarterback coach Kirk Campbell, a first-time Power Five assistant, is entrusted with one of the nation’s most important position groups.Neil Blake | MLive.com
It’s also Campbell’s job to help, in his first season as a Power Five assistant. Quite a departure from Weiss, who worked 11 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before arriving at Michigan in 2021.
Campbell spent three seasons as an offensive analyst at Penn State (2017-2019) and one more (last year) in the same role at Michigan. Now the former offensive coordinator at Old Dominion and Alderson Broaddus University (Pa.) will direct one of college football’s most important position groups.
McCarthy doesn’t need guard rails after leading the highest-scoring Michigan offense since at least 2009. And during UM’s spring practice, McCarthy described Campbell as a pass-game “wizard” who has already forged strong relationships with players.
“When you can have that relationship with a coach, it can push through so many limitations and exceed expectations with my growth and his,” McCarthy said.
Sounds good. Michigan’s numbers from last year look good. And the six starters who return from last season suggest that the Wolverines needn’t change much. But their quest for a national title largely hinges on whether McCarthy can improve from a good quarterback to a great one. And the man in charge of that growth is a 37-year-old who has never shouldered so much responsibility.
No pressure, rookie.
Michigan linebacker Ernest Hausmann started seven games at Nebraska last season.Neil Blake | MLive.com
Michigan welcomed eight transfers in 2023, which is one more than it signed in the first two seasons of the new one-time transfer era combined (seven). Specifically, it targeted players with Power Five playing experience.
Linebacker Ernest Hausmann, the portal’s second-best prospect, per 247Sports.com, played in 12 games (seven starts) at Nebraska last season.
Tight end A.J. Barner started 10 games (and was voted captain) at Indiana. Guard LaDarius Henderson started 13 games at Arizona State.
Center Drake Nugent started 24 games at center for Stanford, and tackle Myles Hinton, a former five-star recruit, started seven games alongside Nugent last season. See a trend?
UM wants ready-made talent from the portal. The only non-Power Five transfer it added was Coastal Carolina edge rusher Josaiah Stewart, who totaled 16.5 sacks and 26 tackles for loss over two seasons in the Sun Belt. At 230 pounds, he seems undersized for the Big Ten, but the Wolverines bet on his production. Just like they did with the rest of its portal class.
These players might not log the same snap counts at Michigan as they did at their previous stops, but UM knows they’r capable, which adds depth to a roster that already returns 13 starters.
Former Michigan offensive lineman Ryan Hayes was a reliable presence at left tackle for two seasons. Who fills Hayes’ void? AP
Moore believes this is the deepest line he’s coached at Michigan, which is saying something considering Michigan has won the Joe Moore Award – might as well re-name it after Sherrone — for having the nation’s best offensive line two years running.
But the fact remains that this year’s line must replace starters at two crucial positions. Olusegun Oluwatimi, who won the 2022 Remington Trophy awarded to the nation’s best center, was a smashing transfer success story last year. Can Nugent, who PFF graded better than Oluwatimi last season, find similar success?
And who will protect McCarthy’s blind side? Left tackle Ryan Hayes served that role in 26 of 28 games since 2021, when Moore began coaching UM’s offensive line. Karsen Barnhart filled Hayes’ absence during last season’s opener against Colorado State. Trente Jones started six games at right tackle before suffering an injury and losing the job to Barnhart. And transfers Hinton (Stanford) and Henderson (Arizona State) both have experience at left tackle from their Pac-12 days.
Moore has plenty of options. His challenge is finding the right combination. But given his track record the last few seasons, Michigan can bet on another strong offensive line in 2023.
Michigan receiver Cornelius Johnson caught four passes for a career-high 160 yards and a career-high two touchdowns against Ohio State last November.AP
Ronnie Bell led the Wolverines with 62 catches last season, nearly double the second-highest total among UM receivers (Cornelius Johnson, 32). If Michigan wants a more reliable pass game in 2023, it’ll need reliable targets.
Johnson and Roman Wilson return 64 games of experience between them, but neither has caught more than 40 passes or totaled more than 650 yards in a season during their career.
Sounds like a half-season’s work for Buckeye wideout Marvin Harrison Jr., who caught 77 passes for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022, his first season as a starter. In 2022, Harrison and Emeka Egbuka became the second pair of OSU receivers to tally 1,000 yards in the same season.
Michigan hasn’t produced a 1,000-yard receiver since 2013 (Jeremy Gallon).
That isn’t the goal of UM’s punishing, run-first offense, which has catalyzed two straight wins in the rivalry. But at some point, Michigan might have to play at Ohio State’s pace to win one of these matchups. And in that scenario, the Wolverines need receivers wcan post big numbers in high volume.
Is Johnson’s four-catch, 160-yard performance against the Buckeyes last November replicable? Can it be improved upon? And can someone else produce it?
COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 26: Michigan Wolverines tight end Colston Loveland (18) fights thru the tackle of Ohio State Buckeyes safety Lathan Ransom (12) to score on a 45-yard touchdown pass during the third quarter of last season’s game.Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Tight end Luke Schoonmaker had the lowest drop percentage (5.5%) on Michigan’s roster and ranked second in catches and first-down catches (behind Bell) last season. Now he’s a Dallas Cowboy, and McCarthy must rebuild that trust with sophomore Colson Loveland.
Loveland earned plenty during his true freshman season, during which he caught 16 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns, including a 45-yarder that put UM ahead for good at Ohio Stadium. But PFF graded him as a subpar run-blocker in 223 snaps. And Michigan added Indiana transfer A.J. Barner, a senior, this offseason.
Michigan doesn’t want to telegraph its run-pass palate by personnel, and its run-first attack requires pass-catchers to move bodies. That’s the trust that Loveland still needs to earn.
Michigan DB DJ Turner, the fastest player in Michigan’s secondary a season ago, has moved on to the NFL.David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com
Michigan lost its fastest cornerback (D.J. Turner) and its most experienced one (fifth-year senior Germon Green) in the same offseason, leaving an important vacancy across from sophomore cornerback Will Johnson, who starred in his freshman season.
Mike Sainristil proved himself a quality defender – Big Ten honorable mention-quality — after switching positions from wide receiver to nickel back last season, but Michigan may ask him to move again if it can’t find another option outside.
And the Wolverines already asked Amorion Walker to move from receiver to cornerback (a la Sainristil) in hopes that Walker could fill the starting vacancy.
Harbaugh called Walker an athletic “unicorn” this offseason when explaining the switch, which could help fill the void left by Turner, who ran a 4.26-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine and was drafted by the Bengals in the second round. But if Walker isn’t ready, Michigan may move Sainristil, which might force other secondary shuffling to fill Sainristil’s void at nickel.
Six months out, this position turnover looks like one to watch for the pass-happy Buckeyes, who are once again stacked at wide receiver.
Michigan Wolverines place kicker Jake Moody won the 2022 Lou Groza Award for the nation’s best kicker.
The Plain Dealer
Specialists haven’t played significant roles during the last four OSU-Michigan games, all of which have been blowouts and/or shootouts. But the Wolverines must replace last year’s Lou Groza Award winner for the nation’s best kicker (Jake Moody) and a Ray Guy Award semifinalist for the nation’s best punter (Brad Robbins) in the same offseason.
Michigan plucked Louisville kicker James Turner, who made 80.7% of his kicks in three years as an ACC starter, out of the portal. Turner ranked 12th nationally in field goal accuracy last season (90.9%), but he’s only 1-of-6 from 50-plus yards in his career. Not quite the same weapon as Moody, who made 4-of-8 kicks from that distance during his career (though Moody made three of those kicks last season as a fifth-year senior).
Tommy Doman, who looks like the frontrunner to replace Robbins, has kicked two game punts in two seasons since graduating from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep (Mich.) in 2021. He did average 44.8 yards per punt as a high school senior, though. And it’s not like Michigan has ever had a high-profile punting mishap.
One more thing: A.J. Henning, UM’s primary punt and kick returner from last season, transferred to Northwestern earlier this month. Wilson, who returned five kicks for 114 yards (22.8 average) is the logical replacement there.
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