Now that the 2023 Michigan football spring game is in the books, here are five things we learned about the Wolverines.
Michigan football’s spring game was a success. Lots of fans probably loved the fact that they actually got to see the Wolverines play a game instead of taking part in a glorified practice.
Jim Harbaugh changed that last spring and hopefully, Michigan football will continue that tradition going forward. It was a competitive environment and the Wolverines definitely got better as the Maize team scored a 22-21 win over the Blue.
Here are some highlights and takeaways from the Michigan football spring game, but we delve even further into Saturday’s game in the Big House with five things we learned.
The quarterback room is in a good place
Some Michigan football fans weren’t happy with the quarterback play on Saturday. I actually think the quarterbacks did fine. There were too many interceptions, including the one thrown by J.J. McCarthy but he still finished 7-of-10 for 86 yards and threw a touchdown pass.
Davis Warren also threw an interception but wound up completing 8-of-13 passes for 162 yards. He also led the Maize team on a game-winning drive and the game-winning 2-point play.
Alex Orji completed a nice ball down the field for 41 yards and completed four passes for 47 yards and a score. Jack Tuttle threw an interception too, just like Warren and McCarthy, he also completed just 50 percent of his passes.
But I liked what I saw. Both teams were playing behind offensive lines that don’t normally play together and were missing some key guys, not to mention Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum being held out of the game.
My biggest takeaway is that Michigan football has a couple of decent options at backup this coming season and it still looks like a battle between Tuttle and Warren.
All in all, though, the room looked good and all four guys had their moments, even if there were some struggles along the way. The depth is solid and the quarterback room is in a better spot than it was a year ago just simply due to defined roles.
Benjamin Hall is legit
It wasn’t easy to run the ball during the Michigan football spring game. The defensive line played really well and that was one reason.
The offensive line also being less than 100 percent didn’t help. However, there were still over 260 yards gained on the day between the two teams and 96 of them were from freshman Benjamin Hall.
Hall was a three-star recruit coming out of high school and Mike Hart received a lot of criticism for not recruiting top talent at the position. That has changed in 2024 but after watching Hall rush 13 times for 96 yards and a score, it looks like Mike Hart knew what he was doing.
Hall clearly looked the part on Saturday and scored on a 31-yard touchdown run. Hart said the Wolverines could be ready with the backs they had on Saturday and Hall was a big part of that. He’s going to get some run this fall, at least if he keeps progressing.
Kalel Mullings also ran the ball well and averaged 3.9 yards per attempt. But Hall averaged 7.6 and nobody else averaged better than four.
The wide receiver competition is getting interesting
You don’t want to read too much into what happens during the spring game. However, one name that we have heard this spring is freshman Fredrick Moore and on Saturday, he caught four passes for 62 yards including a 41-yard reception.
The freshman sure looked ready to compete for playing this fall. He’s another guy, like Hall, that was underrated as a recruit.
Speaking of underrated, Peyton O’Leary is a former walk-on, yet he continues to make plays and earn opportunities. On Saturday, he was the Michigan football spring game MVP after catching six passes for 121 yards. He also caught the game-winning 2-point conversion.
It is spring but O’Leary was being covered by Amorion Walker most of the day and he beat the talented new defensive back a few different times. O’Leary isn’t the biggest or fastest guy. However, he’s crafty, has good hands, and might just earn a role this fall.
Darrius Clemons made a nice catch that was called back. Tyler Morris has also had a nice spring and Semaj Morgan also looked good on Saturday so the wide receiver competition is going to be one to watch this fall.
The tight end room is stacked
I know this has been mostly about the offense. Yet, it’s hard to ignore what Michigan football’s tight ends did during the spring game.
Colston Loveland only had one catch but it was a really nice reception and he looks like he picked up right where he left off after last season. A.J. Barner caught three balls for 30 yards and the two combined for 44 yards.
Matthew Hibner also probably should have found the end zone but made another big play and the No. 3 tight end caught two passes for 62 yards with a long of 52. Barner is the only tight end that caught a touchdown. All three of them had their moments and Marlin Klein was wide open too on the interception that McCarthy overthrew.
More than anything, I came away thinking McCarthy is going to complete a lot of passes to tight ends during the 2023 season.
The defense won the day
There wasn’t that much that we learned about the defense, other than the fact that Michigan football is going to be dominant on that side of the ball again this season.
It was a win for the two defenses to hold both offenses to just 43 points, most of which came in the last two minutes. Looking at the numbers, it was an impressive day — Michigan football forced five turnovers, had two sacks and registered 13 tackles for loss.
Josaiah Stewart looks like a terrific find in the transfer portal and notched a sack in his debut. Derrick Moore also looked good on the edge, as did Jaylen Harrell. Rayshaun Benny was a beast and Ernest Hausmann looked every bit the part in his Wovlerine debut as well.
Amorion Walker still looks rough around the edges, but more time and more reps are what he needs. Zeke Berry also had a helluva day and the talent/depth on all three levels was noticeable.
Jim Harbaugh called this his best Michigan football team at this stage and it’s hard to argue with that assessment.