Michigan football position battle updates after Week 1

Michigan football has an incredibly deep roster and some position battles continue after the Week 1 win over East Carolina. 

One thing that was reaffirmed during the first week of the Michigan football season was the fact that this Wolverines squad is one of the deepest in recent memory.

The offensive line was one of the biggest position battles going into fall camp. There was talk of competitions at center and both tackle spots.

However, it was clear on Saturday that Drake Nugent has locked down the starting job. The transfer from Stanford took all the snaps with the first group and did a stellar job.

Michigan football didn’t allow a single sack and while it wasn’t just on Nugent, he did a great job of running the show. 

Yet, there are still questions about the two tackle spots. It’s pretty clear to me that Karsen Barnhart is going to start at one spot — right or left tackle. He was at left tackle for Michigan football against ECU.

The other tackle spot is still up for grabs. Hinton played and was solid, but Jim Harbaugh talked about starting both groups of tackles prior to the season so I’m wondering if Trente Jones will get a shot this weekend, or maybe even LaDarius Henderson.

Regardless, all of those guys are going to play. Michigan football is going to need more than five offensive linemen this season and in terms of depth, they are one of college football’s best.

Backup quarterback is another position that folks have been talking about. Davis Warren, Alex Orji, and Jack Tuttle have been battling it out for that job, and the next two games could be critical.

There won’t be many snaps available once Big Ten play starts and the backups didn’t do much to impress last Saturday, so if Tuttle gets a chance, he could steal the show with some productive series.

Michigan football defensive position battles

The nice thing about defense is that guys can rotate more and that’s what we saw from Michigan football at EDGE.

Jaylen Harrell and Braiden McGregor started, while Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart also got snaps, along with T.J. Guy who also had a solid performance in the opener.

Michigan football didn’t notch any sacks. However, that had more to do with East Carolina getting rid of the ball quickly than not getting pressure.

All of those guys should continue to see snaps and that’s a good thing because fresh bodies in the front seven, especially pass rushers, can be a weapon.

Josh Wallace, like Nugent, seems to have locked down the No. 2 cornerback job. He looked the part in the game on Saturday and it seems like everyone else is fighting for the No. 4 spot after Will Johnson, Mike Sainristil, and Josh Wallace, which is a really good top three.