We have 14 more weekends to wait until Michigan football plays its 2025 season opener against New Mexico.
The wait seems long, but it will be here before we know it. Until then, there will be plenty to focus on in recruiting as Michigan football seems poised for a big summer on the trail.
Yet, looking ahead to the 2025 season, maybe the biggest key for the Wolverines to increase their win total or make the playoff, will be the improvement of the offense.
There are questions about the offense. How will Bryce Underwood play as a freshman? How will the offensive line hold up, and more.
Michigan has a new offensive coordinator, a new quarterback, and some new faces at the skill positions.
Will that equal a major improvement? The offense was one of the worst in college football last season, especially with passing production that rivaled the service academies so it would be almost impossible not to improve.
But can Michigan’s offense take a significant step forward? Here are four reasons why it can.
Bryce Underwood
Scheme matters but players matter even more. The Wolverines had one of the least talented quarterback rooms in college football last season and it showed.
That’s not the case anymore. Underwood might be the most talented quarterback in college football. That doesn’t mean he’s ready to dominate as a true freshman, but if he’s just above average and takes care of the ball, that will be an improvement by leaps and bounds.
A seasoned offensive coordinator
Maybe the best move Sherrone Moore made this offseason was hiring Chip Lindsey. Not only has it given the Wolverines a boost on the recruiting trail, but he’ll make the offense better. It would be better even if he had the same dudes as last season.
Michigan football fans want a better pass offense. Lindsey will make that happen, but he’s also very good at scheming up the run, which isn’t getting talked about enough.
The Wolverines have elite running backs and a young quarterback. This offense will still be fairly run-heavy, at least next season, but the difference in play-calling will be noticeable this season.
A better offensive line
The offensive line is a concern. Michigan football did add two potential starters from the portal in Brady Norton from Cal-Poly and also Lawrence Hattar, from Ferris State.
Hattar was a D-2 All-American at guard. Norton is competing for the left tackle job, but they will provide more depth and competition at the very least.
Greg Crippen, Giovanni El-Hadi, Evan Link, and Andrew Sprague, who started in the bowl game, are all back. Link could be a heck of a guard, but might have to hold things down at left tackle until Andrew Babalola is ready. Norton is another option, though.
Regardless with more experience, a more mobile quarterback, and a more experienced play-caller, the offensive line will play much better in 2024.
It won’t be perfect, especially in pass protection, but if this group can move people like it did down the stretch against Ohio State and Alabama, the offense will be much better than expected.
More talent at wide receiver
Michigan football fans wanted another big-time addition from the portal. It didn’t happen, but fans are also overlooking Donaven McCulley, a 6-foot-5 former quarterback who had 644 receiving yards for Indiana back in 2023.
McCulley can be a No. 1 in the Big Ten. I’m not saying he’s a superstar, but a 750-yard season doesn’t seem out of the question at all. Anthony Simpson, another transfer who wasn’t enrolled this spring, had 792 yards receiving in 2023.
If Simpson and McCulley can produce as they did in 2023, or just in the same ballpack, plus with Fred Moore, Semaj Morgan, Channing Goodwin and I’Marion Stewart all back, as well as the potential impact of freshman wideouts Andrew Marsh and Jamar Browder, the wide receiver talent is much better than it was a season ago.
It will be very evident in 2025. So will the offensive improvement.