Michigan
Michigan football spring game 2024: What to watch for
Michigan returns to the Big House at a remarkable moment in its history: fresh off winning its first national championship this century, but also undergoing major turnover both at head coach and across its roster.
Now, Sherrone Moore replaces Jim Harbaugh with plenty to do on his checklist moving into a historic 2024 season full of conference realignment and an expanded playoff. Here is how, and what, you should watch as the Michigan spring football game kicks off.
Michigan football spring game 2024 schedule
When: Sat., April 20
Time: 12 p.m. Eastern
TV: Fox network
Offensive line rebuild
The unit that won two straight Joe Moore awards is gone, and now Michigan faces a structural rebuild up front, as all five starters are out of the picture. Myles Hinton, who saw five games at mostly left tackle a year ago, returns, but otherwise the unit is sorely lacking in experience.
New offensive line coach Grant Newsome has plenty of work to do in his debut at the position and Saturday’s spring game will give him a chance to try just about any combination.
Andrew Gentry started mostly on special teams, but logged snaps at both tackle spots and guard. Greg Crippen, a senior and three-time letterman, has played 15 total games at center. Jeff Persi has special teams experience at tackle and guard.
Michigan Football Schedule 2024
Wide receiver
Another area of need after the departure of Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson to the NFL Draft, the Wolverines need to get a close look at every possible option.
Semaj Morgan has shown promise in the return game, but may not have the size to emerge as a downfield threat. Tyler Morris has over 200 career yards and, though he lacks experience, he is Michigan’s veteran at the position.
Defense
Like its roster, Michigan’s coaching staff is undergoing major change, especially defensively, as new coordinator Wink Martindale steps in, aided by three assistants who all coached somewhere else last season. UM fielded college football’s best defense a year ago, and while the unit loses plenty of production, the return of cornerback Will Johnson and linemen Kenneth Grant and Will Graham are key.
Watch for the competition in the corner opposite Johnson. DJ Waller comes into his sophomore season with 11 games in the secondary and on special teams a year ago. Ja’Den McBurrows, who played 11 games in the secondary and snagged an interception last season, and Jyaire Hill, a two-way player in high school with speed and good hands, are in contention this spring.
Quarterback
J.J. McCarthy is out, leaving Moore with a huge decision to make at the most important position. Alex Orji and Jadyn Davis stick out as options, but the former, while known as a promising dual threat, is yet to throw that many important passes; and the latter is just a freshman, albeit one with huge potential. Veteran Jack Tuttle is in the mix, but is he ready to inherit the QB1 role?
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Michigan
Michigan man accused of failing to pay taxes on more than $1 million in unlicensed marijuana sales
A Holland, Michigan, man is facing charges for alleged fraud and failure to pay taxes on more than $1 million in unlicensed marijuana sales, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s office.
Shaun Michael Brown, 48, was arraigned on Nov. 21 for one count of false pretenses — $50,000 but less than $100,000 and six counts of failure to file taxes/false return.
Officials say the case was submitted to Nessel’s office by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office and the Michigan State Police’s Marijuana and Tobacco Investigation Section.
“Sales tax revenue supports our schools, our roads, and services our communities depend on,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement. “I would like to thank the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police for their diligent work in investigating this matter. My office will continue to enforce Michigan’s tax laws and protect residents from fraud.”
State officials say Brown allegedly failed to pay sales taxes on the $1.1 million he earned from the marijuana sales, as well as income and sales taxes for a 2021 Corvette he sold. Officials say Brown sold the vehicle for $95,000 and allegedly did not provide the customer with a valid title for the car.
A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Dec. 4, and a preliminary examination is scheduled for Dec. 18.
“These charges reflect the steadfast resolve of our law enforcement partners and the Attorney General’s office to uphold Michigan’s regulated cannabis system, and we appreciate their unwavering work in bringing this case forward,” said Cannabis Regulatory Agency Executive Director Brian Hanna. “Cases like this demonstrate exactly why a strong, transparent regulatory framework matters – and why those who choose to operate outside it will be held accountable.”
Michigan
Michigan basketball enters Players Era tourney with ‘growth mindset’
Yaxel Lendeborg talks Michigan basketball win over MTSU
Yaxel Lendeborg talks Michigan basketball win over Middle Tennessee State at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.
Four games into the 2025-26 season, Michigan basketball remains unblemished.
The No. 6 Wolverines (4-0) haven’t always looked flawless, but they’ve found ways to get wins against different styles. A zone team (Oakland), a pair of Power Four opponents (Wake Forest and TCU) and most recently a pesky mid-major (Middle Tennessee State) have all provided different tests.
The slate gets even harder this week when Michigan travels to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival men’s championship tournament, featuring 18 teams – 11 of which are in the top 50 of KenPom entering the event. So, what are coach Dusty May’s goals entering this type of environment?
“Hope for some vitamin D, hope we stay healthy and hope these three games in three days show us what we need to do or continue to do better to win the Big Ten Tournament,” he said. “I know some coaches or programs don’t value as much (the tournament). … but we want to be in position to compete for it.
“So three games in three days gives us an opportunity to prepare like that, to take care of our bodies and prioritize the next game immediately.”
Michigan won the Big Ten Tournament last season and May clearly is already thinking ahead. That said, it’s not the only goal the Wolverines have in the desert. Michigan has struggled to get its 3-point shooting going, hitting below 33% in each of its past three games and 20% or worse in two of them.
The tests don’t get easier for U-M this week, facing San Diego State on Monday, Nov. 24 (10:30 p.m., TruTV) which is No. 19 nationally in defense per KenPom and Auburn the following night (8:30 p.m., TNT), which is No. 36.
It’s unclear who the Wolverines will play for their third game, which could be either Wednesday or Thursday, and depends on how the first two go. Either way, with three games in 72 hours, there’s a chance Michigan will go a bit deeper into its bench, which could include some time for sharp shooting freshman Winters Grady.
“I could see us in the near future going with a little bit longer, deeper rotation,” May said.
Michigan won the Fort Myers Tip-Off a year ago during feast week, which served as a spring board for a 5-0 start to Big Ten play and helped them figure out their Danny Wolf-led identity.
Michigan is still figuring out its rotations this year, as far as lineup combinations, minute allocations and assessing which pairings lead to certain outcomes on each side of the court. May has said that he’s pleased with his team’s start in some ways, namely the toughness.
“Nothing gives me confidence we’re going to pick up a few quality wins other than we have a really good team, we’re capable of playing really good basketball,” May said following his team’s 84-61 win over MTSU. “I haven’t watched San Diego State, I’ve watched Auburn. Obviously we’re very familiar with them, they sent us home last year.
“The confidence I have to go get a couple wins is simply because we have a really good staff and really good players. Now it’s the time to turn the page and start studying what we need to do.”
What U-M needs to do is protect the ball better. Its turned the ball over 56 times the past three games and SDSU is No. 17 in the country, forcing turnovers on 23.8% of opponents possessions.
The Aztecs are deep, with their bench playing 43.4% of all minutes. Auburn, meanwhile, is run-and-gun team. They rarely turn it over (No. 24 nationally), shoot well inside the arc (62.4%, No. 24) and do so because they get so many high-percentage looks on putbacks (44.0% offensive rebounding rate, No. 10).
“We’ve got to be able to learn on the fly where we don’t have time to practice in between – we go straight from a film session, walk through and be able to apply things,” May said. “That’s the secret sauce of elite teams. So hopefully we’ll see us doing that on the fly.”
Should U-M win the tournament, it would be a positive on multiple levels, most notably some Quad 1 wins for the resume.
But the staff has been around the sport long enough to know the week will not make or break the season one way or the other.
“We are 100% a growth mindset program. We need to be better (when we return) next week than we are today,” May said. “We need to continue to learn more about our team and whether we win or we lose, we’re not going to be too high or too low because our season is long and we have a high, high ceiling.”
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
Michigan
Michigan Football true freshman burns redshirt vs Maryland Terrapins
The Michigan Wolverines took care of business against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, 45-20. This team is one of the youngest in the Big Ten, and even more young guys had a chance to play in this one.
Despite the return of Cole Sullivan, linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng still got in the game and burned his redshirt in College Park.
Here is where the freshmen stand 11 games into the season. An asterisk (*) indicates they saw playing time against Maryland:
Once again, wide receiver Andrew Marsh stood out as a key component of Michigan’s offense, and now special teams. He finished the day with 147 all-purpose yards. He had one long return against Maryland for 39 yards that set Michigan up nicely late in the game.
His quarterback, Bryce Underwood, had a nice day, too. He was 16-of-23 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. On the ground, Underwood had eight carries for 20 yards. Running back Jasper Parker got into the end zone and had eight carries for 23 yards.
We also saw some of the freshmen offensive linemen, with Ty Haywood (left tackle) and Avery Gach (special teams) earning some garbage time snaps in this one.
Without Ernest Hausmann, we saw more plays from some of the younger linebackers. Chase Taylor had a crucial heads-up play on Maryland’s onside kick, and he also had one tackle. Edge rusher Nate Marshall, defensive back Jordan Young, defensive back Elijah Dotson, and the aforementioned Owusu-Boateng all ended up on the stat sheet at the end of the day.
Michigan has just one game left this season, The Game in Ann Arbor. Michigan will have a chance to win five straight games against the Buckeyes. While we’re waiting to hear about some crucial injuries ahead of the matchup against the Buckeyes, Michigan will likely still rotate these young players on the offense. We’ll just have to wait until Saturday to see if they’re still on the field for the same amount of snaps.
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