Michigan Football: Grading Harbaugh and the Wolverines 2018 season

Special Teams Grade:  B

For the most part, Michigan football played well on special teams this season, however, there are some areas that could have been better such as field goals, which have become an issue.

Quinn Nordin was supposed to be the kicker for four years when he came on as a freshman in 2017, but after going 11-for-16 and missing some easy kicks, Harbaugh replaced him with Jake Moody, who went 5-for-5 before missing a key field goal against Florida in the Peach Bowl.

Will Hart did a solid job punting, although his net average finished around 37.5 which was 64th in the FBS. The Wolverines did get some impact plays though, such as this 50-yard punt return touchdown from Peoples-Jones.

Ambry Thomas also returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against Notre Dame. On top of that, Michigan football blocked three kicks and three punts. However, UM also allowed a kickoff-return touchdown against Maryland and allowed Ohio State to block a punt and score.

Michigan got some big returns but needs more consistency. The Wolverines were 79th in kickoff returns and 44th in punt returns. In terms of kickoff return defense, Michigan finished 19th and 87 against punts. It was a solid year, yet not worthy of the highest grade.