Michigan entered last season with a young offensive lineman who looked ready to matter right away, and that player still sits near the center of the conversation heading into 2026. Andrew Babalola arrived in Ann Arbor as a five-star in the 2025 class, one of the most highly regarded freshmen in the country, and the expectation was that he would push for a significant role almost immediately.
That plan never got off the ground. Babalola tore his ACL during fall camp and missed the entire 2025 season, a brutal setback for a player who had been positioned to make an early impact. Michigan fans were eager to see him on the field, and the wait has now stretched a full year.
The bigger picture for the Wolverines is straightforward: if they want to get back to the College Football Playoff, the offensive line has to be one of the best units in the country. Last season’s group was decent, but decent won’t be enough for the standard Michigan is chasing.
Babalola’s path back is about more than just getting healthy. An ACL tear brings a long physical recovery, but the mental side can be just as tricky. Rod Moore’s return from a 2024 ACL tear was a reminder that getting back to form after that kind of injury is no sure thing.
Still, Babalola appears to have cleared the hardest part of the process. If he’s truly back to 100 percent, he has a real shot to start this season. Evan Link, Jake Guarnera and Andrew Sprague all had major roles last year and are expected to open with starting jobs, which leaves two spots available.
That makes Babalola part of a tight group competing for those final openings. Blake Frazier, Brady Norton and Nathan Efobi are in the mix too, but Babalola looks like one of the strongest bets to claim a spot among the five starters. The real answer, though, likely won’t come until Michigan takes the field under the lights on Sept. 5 vs Western Michigan.
In Other News...
Michigan Star Just Turned Up Pressure On A Crucial Coaching Decision
Mike Boyntons first weeks as Michigans interim head coach have already become about more than the temporary label. Warde Manuel made the move with the program at a crossroads, and the next step matters because roster management, recruiting and player buy-in can get slippery fast when everyone is waiting to see whether a coach is truly in place for the long haul.
Trey McKenney and others around the program have made clear they see Boynton as more than a stopgap, and McKenneys father pointed to Boyntons role in bringing in much of the roster as a big reason for that support. Michigan still has key pieces to secure, and with outside programs already checking on McKenneys interest in leaving, the Wolverines are staring at the same question every unsettled team faces: whether clarity comes soon enough to keep the group together. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Sent Indiana A Huge 2026 Message
Michigans 2026 path is already looking like one of the more unforgiving ones in the Big Ten, and the stretch everyone will circle starts with Oklahoma and runs through Indiana before ending with Ohio State. For a program trying to keep pace in a conference race that may be judged by every slip, the timing of that sequence matters almost as much as the opponents themselves, especially with Bryce Underwood still carrying the memory of how rugged some of those earlier high-end matchups looked.
Indiana sits in the middle of that gauntlet, coming after Penn State and against the reigning national champions, which gives the Wolverines very little room to breathe if they want to stay alive in both the playoff picture and the Big Ten chase. Prediction market percentages still offer a snapshot of where the league race stands, but Michigans real message to Indiana is built on the schedule itself - a season that could turn on whether the Wolverines can survive the pressure points before the finale in Columbus. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Got A New Twist In The Matthew Weiss Case
The Matthew Weiss case picked up another layer this week, with a federal judge granting part of the former Michigan football coordinator's effort to cut back the evidence that prosecutors can use. Weiss is facing serious federal charges tied to allegations that he hacked into student athletes' accounts, and the ruling gives his defense at least some traction as the case moves toward trial.
Even with that development, the government is still holding onto a key piece of the investigation. Evidence tied to Weiss' iCloud account remains in play, and he still faces a lengthy list of counts that could carry major prison time if he is convicted. The next big date is already on the calendar, with trial set to begin Sept. 22, 2025, leaving both sides plenty of time to sharpen what is shaping up as a closely watched case. [Read more 🡒]