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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Takeaways: Michigan stuns Ohio State and wins for the fourth year in a row

PFF grades: Michigan Football player grades, snap counts following major win over Ohio State

National media slams Ohio State, praises Michigan Football after shocking CFB Saturday

EAST LANSING, Mich. — — Kyle Monangai rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown, Antwan Raymond added two scoring runs and Jai Patel kicked four field goals on Saturday to help Rutgers to a 34-14 victory over Michigan State in the wintry regular-season finale for both teams.

Rutgers scored on eight of its nine possessions in the game that was played in blowing snow and wind chills in the teens.

It is the first time since 2014 that the Scarlet Knights (7-5, 4-5 Big Ten) have registered seven wins in the regular season and the first time that Rutgers has won four Big Ten games.

“I’ll tell you, 7-5 isn’t what we set out to do before the season,” Monangai said. “It’s the first time it’s been done. So it’s history. It’s special. And you know, for guys that came into my class, like we always talked about leaving the place better than we found it. So I’m glad that we can say that our last year we’re able to make a step in the right direction, in a sense, and then leave a mark as a first team to do something.”

The Spartans (5-7, 3-6 Big Ten) lost four of their last five games and failed to earn bowl eligibility for the third consecutive year.

Michigan State opened the scoring on its first possession with Nate Carter’s 25-yard touchdown run. Rutgers responded in five plays with Monangai running for a 7-yard score.

The Scarlett Knights took the lead for good when Patel connected on a 25-yard field goal with 7:29 left in the first quarter. His kick was set up when a snap went through Michigan State punter Ryan Eckley’s hands and was recovered at the 1-yard line.

In the second quarter, Rutgers added a 13-yard touchdown run by Antwan Raymond and a pair of field goals by Patel to go up 23-7.

The Scarlett Knights’ Athan Kaliakmanis tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ian Strong and a two-point conversion pass to KJ Duff in the third quarter and Patel made a 29-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to build the margin to 34-7. The Spartans last touchdown came on Aidan Chiles’ 5-yard throw to Jack Velling. Raymond closed the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run.

“We didn’t play well enough to earn a win or the chance to continue to play on,” first-year Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith said. “It is going to take work to get this to a better place. We’ve had definite ups and downs. We got to get it going. We got to get better; that starts with the coaches.”

The game was slightly delayed with 3:38 remaining in the first half when Spartan defensive back Jaylen Thompson was carted off the field after his head appeared to hit the ground while tackling Monangai along the sidelines. Smith said after the game that Thompson was evaluated and is in concussion protocol.

The takeaway

Rutgers: After the Spartans took a brief lead, the Scarlett Knights controlled all phases of the game. The defense prevented Michigan State from moving the ball, the offense was able to convert seven of 13 third downs and special teams hit all four of its field goal attempts.

““I think we’re getting better and better, and to close out the regular season, the way we did as a team, not just offensively, as a team, was awesome,” said Kaliakmanis, who completed 13 of 22 passes for 137 yards. “And I think it’s only going to keep improving.”

Michigan State: The Spartans continued to struggle on defense. They failed to put pressure on the quarterback and could not get off the field. Michigan State totaled only one sack and Rutgers ran 70 plays.

Up next

Rutgers: Rutgers awaits its bowl destination.

Michigan State: Michigan State waits to learn whether there are any bowl spots remaining for 5-7 teams.

——

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Vice President-elect JD Vance commended his Ohio State Buckeyes after their shocking loss to rival Michigan Saturday. The internet was not so kind in response. 

Vance posted on X, saying the Buckeyes played like “champions” and that he’s “proud of them.” 

“To the OSU seniors on that team: I know it sucks to lose four to Michigan, but for your entire college career you guys have conducted yourselves like champions. I speak for nearly all of us fans when I say: we’re proud of you!” Vance wrote. 

The Buckeyes blew the game as 21-point favorites, losing to their top rival for the fourth straight time. Michigan’s 2024 team is the worst the program has fielded in years, entering the game with a 6-5 record. 

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Entering the game, Ohio State was ranked No. 2 with a record of 10-2 and was vying for a spot in the Big 10 championship game and a College Football Playoff berth. Now both of those goals are in question for coach Ryan Day and his team. 

The Buckeyes were also involved in a brawl with Michigan players after the game. 

OHIO STATE LOSES TO MICHIGAN FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR IN HUGE UPSET; PLAYOFF STATUS NOW UP IN THE AIR

Vance was the recipient of plenty of shots for his pledged loyalty to the team in response. 

“Ohio State sucks and so do you!” one user wrote. 

Another user said Vance’s post prompted him to rethink his approval of Vance as Trump’s VP pick. 

“First time I’ve disagreed with JD in a [minute], maybe Trump should have went a different route for the VP role!” the user wrote. 

Players scrum at midfield after Saturday’s game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines. (Imagn)

Another user questioned Vance praising players who would start a postgame brawl. 

“‘Conducted yourselves like champions’ didn’t they just get into a brawl that resulted in Michigan players being pepper sprayed because they were sore losers?” the user wrote. 

Several law enforcement officers were also involved in breaking up the fight. Videos shared on social media appeared to show players being pepper sprayed, and both Michigan and Ohio State players appeared to be in pain from it.  

In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Michigan running back Kalel Mullings told FOX Sports in an on-field interview the incident was “bad for the sport.”

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“It was such a great game. You hate to see stuff like that happen after the game. Bad for the sport, bad for college football. But, at the end of the game, they gotta learn how to lose, man. You can’t be fighting and stuff just because you lost a game.”

Vance previously revealed he had told Trump his loyalty to the Buckeyes could affect Trump’s chances of winning the key battleground state of Michigan.

“When he first asked me to be a VP, I was like, ‘Well, you know, hopefully we don’t lose Michigan by like 900 votes, because you’re going to regret it. ‘Cause it’s probably just a thousand p—ed-off Wolverine fans who wouldn’t vote for a Buckeye,” Vance said during an appearance on OutKick’s “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.” 

“But I think that most Michiganders are going to be able to put sports rivalries aside and put the country first, which is what, of course, all of us believe is the most important thing.”

The Democratic National Committee attempted to exploit Vance’s connection to Ohio State with a campaign strategy in Michigan in early September. The DNC flew a plane over a Michigan football game Sept. 7 with a banner that said, “J.D. Vance [loves] Ohio State [plus] Project 2025.” 

Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, introduces Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center July 27, 2024, in St Cloud, Minn. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The Trump-Vance ticket ended up easily carrying Michigan.

Vance also suggested in that interview that Trump and Vance would attend Saturday’s game if they won the election.

“Well, let’s go to the Ohio State-Michigan game, assuming we win, because I bet I can get some pretty sweet tickets as the VP-elect, and we’ll be in a celebratory mood,” Vance said on OutKick. “And, look, it’s, it’s going to be a big game this year. I think it’s going to determine ultimate seeding in the College Football Playoff. 

“I mean, now both teams might actually make the playoff. I know Michigan’s, you know, sort of people aren’t putting them as high this year, but you never know, because it’s always a good program. So, we’ll see, guys. I’m feeling very good about the Buckeyes. I’m feeling very good about the Bengals.”

Neither Trump nor Vance attended Saturday’s Ohio State-Michigan game. 

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