Outlook on the future of the Michigan Football program

2023 should be an incredible year for Michigan Football… but what about the future?

I think we’re all aware of the talent Michigan Football has on the roster in 2023. I’ve said in a previous article that the season is a bust if we don’t make an appearance in the national championship.

Those are my expectations. But let’s zoom out a bit and look at the bigger picture. What will the Wolverines look like in 2024? 2025?

Looking at the future all starts with the head coach. Jim Harbaugh has flirted with the NFL multiple times, but I believe he’s here to stay. He made a relatively early decision to return to Michigan football, and when he signs a new contract there should be, and likely will be, a massive buyout to shut down the NFL talk.

As long as Harbaugh is here, I’m confident in the entire coaching staff. Harbaugh has, for the most part, been excellent at hiring assistant coaches during his tenure.

2024

When looking at the future, recruiting is the key metric. Right now, Michigan football is at an extremely important point. If the 2024 class is below expectations, like the 2023 class, Michigan will be in a scary position. You can afford a down year in recruiting — but two down years?! Then you start to look at a drop-off.

Harbaugh is incredible at developing his talent and there will be some star players out of the 2023 class, but at the end of the day, recruiting does in fact win national championships. Lots of people love to say “stars don’t matter”. Stop it. They matter. TCU vs Georgia is the prime example. 5 stars versus 3 stars, and we all know what happened.

Every national champion in recent history had a plethora of top recruits on their teams. Currently, Michigan football is right there with them — they have the talent to win a national championship. But with another year of lackluster recruiting, we may not have that opportunity again for a while.

With that being said, there’s no reason to believe that the 2024 class won’t be top 10. While I’m somewhat surprised that the big NIL news has not yet been finalized and announced, NIL progress is very real. You can bet that Harbaugh is telling recruits that there are players making 7 figures at Michigan.

We’re seeing more and more turmoil in terms of NIL. Donors are beginning to back out of their promises to recruits, and the “$10 million contract” movement seems to be facing some resistance. Whether or not Michigan football will hurry up its act or not remains to be seen.

Michigan football has done an excellent job of starting the 2024 class. There are many reasons to be optimistic, as the Wolverines are in a great position for many top recruits. They, thankfully, are beginning to stray away from the “all your eggs in one basket” approach with Jadyn Davis, as Harbaugh visited number one recruit Dylan Raiola.

While I’d bet a lot of money that the Wolverines don’t land Raiola, showing interest in him puts pressure on Davis. For too long the Wolverines have been letting recruits lead them on, so it’s great to see them taking a stand. I’m still confident the Wolverines will land Davis.

In my opinion, the success of the program in 2024 and 2025 relies heavily on the Wolverines landing an elite quarterback in 2024.

There’s a very real chance that J.J. McCarthy declares after the 2023 season. If he does and the Wolverines don’t land a stud QB, what happens? Do they look to the portal? Do they start Davis Warren? Alex Orji?

Even if the Wolverines land a guy like Jadyn Davis this cycle, is he going to start as a true freshman? Obviously, nobody knows if JJ will stay for his senior year or not, but 2024 could be a bit of a down year if he decides to leave.

Along with the uncertainty surrounding JJ, both Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards will be gone. While it’s not unrealistic that the Wolverines could rebuild in the portal, those guys aren’t easily replaced. A matchup in Columbus is the last factor that makes a down year in 2024 very possible, and maybe likely.

2025

Looking towards 2025, the roster should be back to elite (if there was a drop-off in 2024). I’m expecting Harbaugh to land a star quarterback in 2024, which would set the Wolverines up well. The star-studded 2022 class will be in their senior seasons, and while some key contributors from that class will likely be in the draft, there will be some superstars still on the team.

At this point, Michigan football 100% should have NIL figured out. Because of that, I’d expect the 2025 class to be excellent. There are multiple elite quarterbacks that the Wolverines are at the top of the list for, and they already have a commitment from the #3 CB in the nation, Chris Ewald.

Michigan football has a tough schedule — at Oklahoma early in the season, USC and UCLA could be on the schedule, and they obviously end the season against Ohio State.

This will be a crucial year on the field. After a potential down year in 2024, will the Wolverines be able to retake their throne? 2025 could be the year we start discussing if Michigan football could be a dynasty within the Big Ten.

Think about it, the Wolverines have a great shot at winning the Big Ten in 2023. Assuming they lose it in 2024 but win it in 2025, are they not the dynasty of the Big Ten? Winning four out of the last five Big Ten championships?

Through the 2025 season, I expect Michigan to still be a top 5 program in the country. If they can fix their recruiting, they’ll be competing for national championships.

The future appears very bright in Ann Arbor. Cherish these years.

Go Blue.