Michigan played in its final scrimmage of fall camp over the weekend, bringing it to an end as preparations for Week 1 begin. Kyle Whittingham and Co. will have a full two weeks to prepare for their primetime matchup against Western Michigan and will most likely give some attention to Oklahoma, Michigan's Week 2 opponent, as well.
The end of fall camp means the depth chart should be the clearest it has been since the end of last season, but Whittingham is going to keep his cards close to his chest until game day. With multiple position battles in camp, it isn't totally surprising that Whittingham is staying tight-lipped on this one, giving the Wolverines as much of a leg up as possible.
Granted, Michigan shouldn't need any extra help handling Western Michigan, but maybe keeping the depth chart quiet means Oklahoma may not be able to do much early preparation for the ranked matchup in Week 2.
Either way, if Whittingham isn't going to let the rest of us in on the depth chart right now, we might as well do some projections on who we believe will be jogging out onto the field as starters at the beginning of the season.
Depth chart projection:
Offense
Position | 1st-string | 2nd-string | 3rd-string |
|---|---|---|---|
QB | Bryce Underwood | Tommy Carr | Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi |
RB | Jordan Marshall | Savion Hiter | Bryson Kuzdzal |
X-WR | Andrew Marsh | Travis Johnson | Jamar Browder |
Z-WR | JJ Buchanan | Channing Goodwin | I'Marion Stewart |
Slot | Jaime Ffrench | Salesi Moa | Kendrick Bell |
TE | Zack Marsahll | Hogan Hansen | Deakon Tonielli |
LT | Blake Frazier | Andrew Babalola | |
LG | Evan Link | Luke Hamilton | |
C | Jake Guarnera | Houston Ka'aha'aina-Torres | |
RG | Nathan Efobi | Brady Norton | |
RT | Andrew Sprague | Malakai Lee |
The biggest position battles on the offensive side of the ball were on the offensive line, mainly the left tackle position. With the offensive line, there was also some question as to who would take over the WR3/slot position as well as the backup quarterback role.
The backup QB role seems simple, as Tommy Carr is most likely the heir apparent to Bryce Underwood in two years. Carr impressed in fall camp, outplaying transfer Bayden Fowler-Nicolosi. The nice thing about a backup QB battle is that it doesn't have to be decided by the first game of the season. This is a battle that could continue through the beginning of the year, but right now, Carr looks like the best QB2.
The wide receiver room has given Michigan some problems in years past, but going into this season, it is beaming with talent. Andrew Marsh returned as Michigan's leading receiver last season, and Utah transfer JJ Buchanan followed Whittingham to Ann Arbor. Those two are undoubtedly the best pass-catchers Michigan has, but the WR3 position was up in the air.
It really came down to three names, even though Channing Goodwin won favor in fall camp. The WR3 position was between Texas transfer Jaime Ffrench and freshmen Travis Johnson and Solesi Moa. While Moa and Johnson really impressed in fall camp, Ffrench brings the college football experience the other two just don't have yet, but they will definitely be in the rotation and should see a lot of time on the field.
That leaves the offensive line position battles. The only two who really had a hold on their starting positions were center Jake Guarnera and right tackle Andrew Sprague. That left a battle between Blake Frazier and Andrew Babalola for left tackle, and Evan Link, Nathan Efobi, and Brady Norton battling for right tackle and left guard positions.
While many believe Babalola should win the left tackle position, Frazier played more last season, rotating on the line while Babalola went down with an ACL tear late in fall camp. Babalola is back 100% healthy, but I believe Frazier, with the mix of experience and the shape he came into fall camp in, will probably work better in the position.
Defense
Position | 1st-string | 2nd-string | 3rd-string |
|---|---|---|---|
DT | Trey Pierce | Bobby Kanka | Deyvid Palepale |
DT | Enow Etta | Jonah Lea-ea | |
EDGE | Cameron Brandt | Dominic Nichols | |
EDGE | John Henry Daley | Nate Marshall | Carter Meadows |
LB | Nathaniel Staehling | Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng | |
LB | Troy Bowles | Chase Taylor | |
CB | Zeke Berry | Shamari Earls | |
CB | Jyaire Hill | Jo'Ziah Edmond | |
NICKEL | Smith Snowden | Jamarion Vincent | |
S | Rod Moore | Jordan Young | |
S | Chris Bracy | Mason Curtis |
On the defensive side of the ball, there weren't nearly as many position battles as on the offense, especially with top players returning like Rod Moore and Jyaire Hill, and transfers like John Henry Daley and Smith Snowden coming in.
The biggest question comes down to the depth of the defensive line and the linebackers. Five-star edge rusher Carter Meadows quickly worked his way up in fall camp, but could still be looked at as a third-stringer. Now, he will probably still see a solid amount of snaps early in the season against lesser opponents, but in the big games, defensive coordinator Jay Hill might stick wth his vets.
The linebacker group was the biggest question mark for this Michigan defense after losing all of its starters last season. The transfer of North Dakota State linebacker Nathaniel Staehling was huge in terms of experience in this young group, as was Georgia transfer Troy Bowles. The depth is there with Michigan men Chase Taylor and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, who will probably be used in the rotation quite a bit.
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