Michigan Football: 8 headlines surrounding the Wolverines

With injuries, who will carry the load?

There’s a lot of speculation out there about who will really have to step it up this season for the team to be successful. When you look at this team from year to year its obvious that no matter how high our recruits are rated or how great our draft class is, we are underperforming at all levels.

At wide receiver, top recruits Tarik Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones have been riddled with injuries and Nico Collins has stepped up big time in their absence. But the trio is going to have to get healthy and come together for this team to really dominate in the Big Ten.

As for the lineman, having four of the five starters is something lineman coaches dream of and that’s not to mention the incredibly talented Andrew Stueber and Jalen Mayfield who are competing at right tackle to finish out the line.

Nick Baumgardner from the Detroit Free Press provided some interesting analytical insight regarding the O-line’s performance.

"A year ago in this reset, I circled three numbers that had to improve: Negative yardage allowed, yards per carry and sacks allowed. In 2017, Michigan gave up 376 negative yards, had 4.4 yards per carry and allowed 36 sacks. Warinner’s previous six offensive lines had put together an average of 272/5.5/25 in those three areas. If Michigan could manage 250/4.8/22 in 2018, I thought, then serious progress would be happening. Michigan wound up at 257/4.8/23. Those aren’t necessarily elite numbers, but they illustrate a massive improvement. All three of those numbers can be improved upon this season. The offensive line went from marginal to good last season. Now, it’s time to go from good to great."

Ultimately, both groups will have to carry the load for the ball carriers who can’t seem to get healthy.