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Michigan football spring game: News, time, players to watch at 2024 Maize vs. Blue Game from Big Ten experts

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Michigan football spring game: News, time, players to watch at 2024 Maize vs. Blue Game from Big Ten experts


The Maize vs. Blue Game for Michigan football is always an exciting affair, but this year’s Michigan Football Spring Game may be among the most anticipated ever. Coming off their first national championship in over 25 years, the Michigan Wolverines football team will showcase the unit that hopes to defend that crown on Saturday at noon ET. Michigan Stadium will host the 2024 Maize vs. Blue Game, with Sherrone Moore getting his first opportunity as a full-time head coach as he succeeds Jim Harbaugh, who is now with the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Many players from last year’s championship squad are expected to be taken the following week in the NFL Draft, so the Michigan spring game will be an opportunity for the next wave of Wolverines to display their talents. RB Donovan Edwards and TE Colston Loveland are some of the top returning players, but a program like Michigan doesn’t suffer from a lack of talent. Which new faces should be on your radar ahead of the 2024 Michigan spring game? If you want to see the latest Michigan football news, you should join The Michigan Insider, the 247Sports affiliate that covers the Michigan Wolverines, before the 2024 Michigan football spring game kicks off.

The team at The Michigan Insider is proved on-the-ground updates on every development in the coaching moves this offseason, including insights from Sam Webb, Steve Lorenz, Zach Shaw and Alejandro Zuniga. The unrivaled insider team has decades of experience and their finger on the pulse of everything Michigan football.

The team at The Michigan Insider has extensive coverage of the 2024 Michigan football spring game, including injury information and potential depth chart changes. Head to The Michigan Insider and join now to see the latest updates regarding spring practice and the 2024 Maize and Blue Game.

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Insight on the Michigan quarterback battle

McCarthy will likely be picked early in the 2024 NFL Draft and replacing his efficiency will be tough after he completed 72.3% of his passes for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions as a junior in 2023.

Michigan has a potentially dynamic option to replace him, however, in Alex Orji. The Wolverines used him as a runner in some of their biggest moments last season as he took multiple carries against Ohio State, in the Big Ten Championship Game and both playoff matchups. That part of his game is strong, but with just one career pass attempt, the Maize vs. Blue Game will be a chance for him to show off his arm.

The job is far from guaranteed for him though. Jayden Denegal, Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren and true freshman Jadyn Davis are all in the mix as well. Tuttle has the most experience, while Davis, the No. 9 QB in the 2024 class according to 247Sports, might have the most long-term upside. Get the latest on the Michigan quarterback battle by joining The Michigan Insider. 

Michigan’s defense looks to remain elite under new staff 

The Wolverines led the nation in scoring defense last season, while also ranking in the top six of the country versus the run, versus the pass and total defense. However, there is a lot of turnover from that unit, including the team losing its leading tackler, Junior Colson, leading sack artist, Jaylen Harrell, and defensive coordinator as Jesse Minter followed Harbaugh to the NFL. Longtime coach Don “Wink” Martindale replaces Minter, and he has over 30 years of experience at the college and pro levels. Last season as the New York Giants’ DC, his team led the NFL in takeaways, and he previously coached not only alongside Jim Harbaugh but also under both John Harbaugh and their father Jack Harbaugh.

In terms of personnel, Michigan has two incoming four-star defenders in LB Jeremiah Beasley and S Jacob Oden. Both in-state prospects are ranked No. 26 at their respective positions in the Class of 2024, per 247Sports. Additionally, the Wolverines landed LB Jaishawn Barham from the transfer portal after he was a two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention at Maryland. With a handful of returning starters to help maintain continuity, the defense should again be the biggest strength for the 2024 Michigan Wolverines football team and a unit to keep an eye on in the Maize vs. Blue Game 2024. Get the latest defensive depth chart notes and analysis by joining The Michigan Insider.

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How to get insider information on Michigan football  

The staff at The Michigan Insider also has updates on the rebuilt offensive line, scheme changes and an emerging safety who “has really stepped up” this spring. See who it is, and get all the VIP spring updates, by joining The Michigan Insider. 

What are the top storylines fans should watch for on Saturday at the Maize vs. Blue Game 2024? Visit The Michigan Insider to see all the latest Maize vs. Blue Game news, all from a team of reporters with decades of experience covering the Wolverines, and find out.  





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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing

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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing


One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week. 

“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters. 

“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”

Urban Meyer reacted to the fallout of Sherrone Moore’s shock firing from Michigan. Getty Images
The former Michigan football coach was fired for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a. staffer. AP

That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

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The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.

Sherrone Moore was charged on Friday with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors. AP

On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.


Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore


Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.

“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland


COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.

Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.

Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.

Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.

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Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.

The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.

Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.

Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.

Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.

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Up next

Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.

Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools


GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After beginning a direct admittance program at one West Michigan high school in November, Aquinas College has now expanded the program to cover more classrooms.

The guaranteed admission program, first implemented for graduates of West Catholic High School with a 2.0 GPA or above, has now been expanded to Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Catholic Central High School.

The partnership will apply to students from all three schools entering college in the fall of 2026.

The direct admission program was described by Aquinas College leaders as offering high school students a “clear path to college success” while also continuing to develop partnerships.

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Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution located at 1700 Fulton St. E, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886.

The college has enrolled 1,262 students during the 2025-26 academic year, and its new student numbers are up, with 419 new students on campus this fall, up from 311 in 2024-25.

The college’s overall enrollment total is just slightly under the approximately 1,300 students Aquinas recorded across its campus in 2023-24, according to a press release sent out in January 2025.

This year’s partnership announcements do not mark Aquinas’ first direct admittance deal.

The college also has a direct admit bachelor’s in nursing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy, which allows students to take core curriculum courses at Aquinas and nursing classes from Detroit Mercy faculty.

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On Nov. 14, Aquinas announced its direct admittance deal with West Catholic High School.

The school, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, enrolled just over 500 students as of the 2024-25 school year, according to an online school profile.

West Catholic President and CEO Jill Wierzbicki said the initiative simplifies the college application process and offers students a straightforward path to higher education.

On Nov. 20, Aquinas then announced it had also partnered with Grand Rapids’ Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Blvd SE, which enrolls 567 students and is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation.

Brian Matzke, vice president for enrollment management, said there’s “no doubt that Aquinas here has had more graduates from Catholic Central than any other school in our history.”

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On Dec. 10, the college announced another partnership deal with Muskegon Catholic Central High School, 1145 W Laketon Ave., which enrolled just under 300 students in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Jerry McDowell, Muskegon Catholic Central president, said both the high school and Aquinas share a “deep commitment to developing the whole student — academically, spiritually, and individually.

“This direct-admit program provides our graduates with an exceptional opportunity to transition confidently into higher education while maintaining the Catholic values that guide their formation,” McDowell said.

Aquinas’ listed price for traditional undergraduate tuition is $41,192, according to senior director of strategic communications Dave DeJonge.

Students are eligible for annual merit scholarships between $15,000-$25,000, depending on their GPA and housing status. Additional scholarships may be available. This applies to all students who are admitted to Aquinas.

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Matzke highlighted the direct admittance program’s easy transition from one West Michigan school to another, with those accepted to Aquinas able to live on campus or commute from home depending on what best fits their needs.

He also said a growing Grand Rapids job market, combined with support from the college’s career center, contributes to a 97% placement rate for graduates.



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