Michigan football will be hosting its spring game on Saturday and here are six thoughts on the Wolverines heading into it.
The wait for our spring glimpse of the Michigan football team is nearly over. The Wolverines will take the field at the Big House on Saturday for their spring game and you can feel the anticipation among the fanbase.
After back-to-back Big Ten championships and the return of J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, as well as a bunch of other returning starters, this team is loaded.
However, if the Wolverines are going to win the national championship this season, they are going to need to be better. McCarthy will need to improve and so will others such as Will Johnson, Donovan Edwards, Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, and more.
All of those players started to reach their potential last season, but each has the ability to be a truly dominant force and that’s what is needed. Much of the talk is about the younger guys this spring and it will be exciting to see how guys have developed.
More than anything, I’m just excited to see some Michigan football, and here are six thoughts on the Wolverines going into the 2023 spring game for the Wolverines.
The quarterbacks
There has been a lot of talk about the battle between Davis Warren and Jack Tuttle to be the backup quarterback and I hope we see a lot of both on Saturday. I also want to see Alex Orji and Jayden Denegal too.
We know what J.J. McCarthy can do but I’m still interested to see the starter. He’s bulked up and by all accounts, has been spectacular this spring. I want to see McCarthy look like a seasoned NFL veteran who gets a possession or two in the preseason and then sits.
McCarthy doesn’t need to prove anything but I’m still interested to check in on his development heading into his junior season.
The second-year leaps
The second-year leap is a real thing and we are going to see it for some Michigan football players this spring. Kenneth Grant was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft for the spring game, which tells you something about his development.
I know that every Michigan football fan is going to have eyes on Amorion Walker after all the buzz he has generated with his play at cornerback this spring. I also want to see how guys like Mason Graham, Derrick Moore, Keon Sabb, Zeke Berry, Tyler Morris, and Darius Clemons look.
All of those guys could and should be major contributors for Michigan this season. Berry and Sabb probably have the toughest road to regular snaps since the safety room is really deep and talented right now, but the 2022 recruiting class was special and I think we’ll see more of that this spring.
Myles Pollard is another name to know at corner and he’s a guy that doesn’t get talked about much in the secondary. Kody Jones is another, as well as Damani Dent. On offense, there is also C.J. Stokes and Colston Loveland.
There is a ton of second-year talent on this Michigan football team and I’m excited to see where those guys are at after spring ball.
A real football game
I love that Michigan football has gone back to playing an actual competitive game instead of just running a practice for the fans to watch.
Jim Harbaugh is a competitor by nature and this team has really embraced who their head coach is. These guys love to compete and it’s going to be fun to watch the Maize vs Blue.
It’s a great chance for the assistant coaches to take on more Gameday responsibilities and the players seemed to really enjoy the chance to win some bragging rights and a steak dinner if I remember correctly.
Beyond the fact that it’s good for the team, it’s good for the fans. It feels like more of an experience and more teams should do what Michigan is doing when it comes to spring football games.
The battle of the trenches
Just as a fan of the game, I’m really excited to watch Michigan football’s offensive line go up against the defensive line.
We haven’t seen any rosters at this point, so we don’t know exactly who is on which team but the Wolverines are deep enough on both sides of the ball that it doesn’t really matter.
On the offensive line, Karsen Barnhart, Zak Zinter, and Trevor Keegan are the only guys who have locked down starting jobs. After that, it’s wide open and the competition is fierce. I’ll be watching Greg Crippen, Raheem Anderson, Trente Jones, Givovani El-Hadi, Jeffrey Persi, Reece Atteberry, and also newcomer Myles Hinton.
Each of those guys could be in the mix to start and Michigan football doesn’t even have transfer LaDarius Henderson or Drake Nugent yet.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say Michigan football has double-digit guys on the offensive line capable of starting for just about anyone in the Big Ten.
That’s how deep the Wolverines are up front but as I said, I’m excited to see those guys battle Graham, Grant, Rayshaun Benny, Derrick Moore, Braiden McGregor, Jaylen Harrell, and new EDGE Josaiah Stewart.
Evaluating the new guys
Spring games are always exciting, especially in the era of the transfer portal since it gives fans a chance to glimpse new faces for the first time.
One player I’m really excited to see in a Michigan uniform for the first time is Ernest Hausmann, the former Nebraska Cornhuskers who is rated as one of the top pickups in the transfer portal — No. 2 overall according to 247 sports.
The linebacker position is one that has had some question marks over the years, but not anymore. Michael Barrett and Junior Colson are being joined by Hausmann, plus Nikhai Hill-Green is healthy once again.
A.J. Barner is another guy that has gotten a lot of buzz at the tight end position and I’m hoping to see him make a catch or two. Stewart also got high praise this week from Jesse Minter as an EDGE rusher and that’s a key need.
I feel good about the pass rush with McGregor, Moore, Stewart, Harrell, and others, but Stewart is a dude with a double-digit sack season on his resume and he’s right there with Hausman in terms of transfer that I’m looking forward to watching on Saturday.
The kicking game
Kickers, are people too, right?
That’s especially true when it comes to Michigan football because the Wolverines are losing an All-American at the position in Jake Moody.
Michigan football fans called him, “Money Moody” for a reason and a key question that the program needs to answer going into next season is who will replace him?
There are a couple of candidates and I fully expect we will see live kicking and punting. Tommy Doman is a guy that has been talked about as a candidate to do both — punt and kick.
The 6-foot-4 punter/kicker made multiple 50-yard field goals as a senior in high school. He also averaged 44 yards per punt that season and has more than enough leg talent to do both.
Adam Samaha is a 2023 signee and also a three-star prospect coming out of high school. He’s got the leg to hit 50-yard field goals just like Doman and I think we’ll see a heated competition between the two.
It wouldn’t be shocking if Samaha was the kicker and Doman was the punter. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Doman handled both duties at least for part of the season.
Michigan just needs a guy who can make field goals when it matters and Saturday will be our first chance to see who can is up to the challenge of replacing a really good punter and kicker from last season.