Following Michigan’s win over Ohio State, it’s now a waiting game to see who the Wolverines will play in their bowl game following a 7-5 regular season. Michigan is attempting to fill out its 2025 recruiting class and look at potential transfer portal targets to bring to Ann Arbor for the 2025 season.

But Michigan also has to recruit its own players to stay in Ann Arbor. There are plenty of seniors who have eligibility remaining who can either use it playing for Michigan or use it somewhere else. There are a handful of Wolverines who could stay and make an impact for Michigan next season, but I chose five Wolverines that Michigan needs to make a priority to keep around for one final season in Ann Arbor.

This is the most obvious of them all. Rod Moore never redshirted, so he would have to file for an injury redshirt — which he would receive for not playing a single game in 2024.

This would be a win-win for both sides. Michigan needs experience in its secondary. The Wolverines will lose Quinten Johnson, Wesley Walker, and Makari Paige this season. Moore would step right into the limelight and star for the Michigan defense.

Moore was arguably a top-five safety before his injury and would’ve likely been a second-day pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but after not playing in ’24, his draft stock would take a hit. Coming back one more year in Ann Arbor makes all the sense in the world.

It’s a foregone conclusion that both Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant will enter the 2024 NFL Draft, which means both starting tackles are gone for the ’25 season. Rayshaun Benny redshirted his freshman season in 2021 and he’s been a formidable rotational piece the past three seasons.

The defensive tackle spot is going to be one to watch to see how Michigan targets it moving forward. The transfer portal is a legitimate option, but getting a guy like Benny to come back for a fifth year would be huge. He would have a chance to finally start in Ann Arbor and shine on the line.

Benny finished the regular season with 28 tackles (12th on the team) and No. 8 on the team with 3.5 TFLs.

Playing behind Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart, TJ Guy doesn’t get his just due. Guy has had a terrific 2024 season. The senior finished the regular season second on the team with 5.5 sacks, and tied for second with seven TFLs — as a backup.

Stewart is off to the NFL after this year and while Moore’s future is up in the air — coming back for his senior year is likely the right move — Guy would be a for sure starter on the defensive line as a fifth-year senior in 2025. Keeping Guy on the roster for one more season would be a great thing for Wink Martindale and the Wolverines’ defense.

You talk about a leader and a captain, you think of Max Bredeson. Keep Bredeson around for what’s likely going to be a new-look offense would be huge for the maize and blue. Bredeson could come back for a fifth year after redshirting in 2021.

A physical beast, Bredeson would provide blocking and we’ve seen Bredeson run routes more this season than years past. It’s unlikely Bredeson would receive a big draft grade in the 2024 NFL Draft, so coming back one more year in Ann Arbor to improve his game for NFL scouts would make all the sense in the world.

Nothing went the way Greg Crippen thought it was going to go when he came to Michigan with J.J. McCarthy in 2021. He had to sit behind Andrew Vastardis, Olu Oluwatimi, and Drake Nugent before thinking he would start his senior year — but he didn’t. Dom Giudice got the shocking start to begin the season before Crippen took a hold of the job.

Center isn’t an easy plug-and-play spot — unless you land guys like Oluwatimi or Nugent. Getting Crippen back for a final year would help keep some continuity on a line that’s going to be essentially new. Michigan will lose Myles Hinton, Josh Priebe, and Gio El-Hadi (who has another year of eligibility if he uses it). The Wolverines’ offense clearly operated better once Crippen got the starting job.

Others who could come back for another year:
OL Raheem Anderson
Edge Kechaun Bennett
OL Tristan Bounds
WR C.J. Charleston
P Tommy Doman
RB Tavierre Dunlap
OL Gio El-Hadi
OL Dom Giudice
LB Jaydon Hood
DT Ike Iwunnah
CB Ricky Johnson
CB Ja’Den McBurrows
Edge Tyler McLaurin
WR Peyton O’Leary
OL Jeff Persi
QB Davis Warren

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