Fall camp is almost here for Michigan football, and that means the competition is about to get real. The Wolverines need their established stars to deliver, but they also need younger players to flash, claim jobs, and make sure the depth chart starts sorting itself out fast.
That’s why these six names carry so much weight heading into camp.
Bryce Underwood is the easy place to start. There’s no mystery about Michigan’s quarterback situation this season - Underwood is the starter.
The question is how much better he can be. Last year, he finished with 11 touchdown passes and nine interceptions, and the game clearly moved too quickly for him at times.
His footwork also left room for improvement. Still, with a dedicated quarterbacks coach and a scheme built to help him, the ceiling remains high for the former five-star.
Kyle Whittingham has already pointed to areas where Underwood has improved, but fall camp should show just how far he’s come and how much of the offense he’s absorbed.
Up front, Nathan Efobi is in a very different kind of battle. Now in his fourth year with the program, this feels like a make-or-break stretch if he wants to lock down a starting spot.
He has played in 19 games for Michigan and made five starts at guard, but the competition is crowded. Jake Guarnera and Andrew Sprague are expected to start, while Andrew Babalola, Blake Frazier, Evan Link, Brady Norton, and Efobi are all fighting for the remaining three spots.
If Efobi gets pushed out again, younger players figure to keep him from cracking the lineup unless injuries change the picture. He needs a huge camp and Jim Harding has to decide he’s the best guard option.
Linebacker might be the most unsettled spot on the roster. Michigan lost its top three linebackers from last season, and this group is going to be asked to grow up quickly.
Troy Bowles, Chase Taylor, Nathaniel Staehling, and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng are the top four on the roster, and with Jay Hill using a 4-2-5, only two linebackers are likely to be on the field most snaps. Bowles looks like the safest bet to start as the returning veteran, which leaves one opening.
Taylor has been described as an emerging star, Staehling brings experience from North Dakota State, and Owusu-Boateng may have the highest ceiling of the bunch. The former top recruit has dealt with injuries, but entering Year 2, a strong camp could help him finally start matching the hype.
Nate Marshall is another player who needs camp to go his way. The former high four-star recruit carved out a role as a true freshman and was expected to take on more this season.
But at Big Ten Media Days, Kyle Whittingham didn’t mention Marshall when discussing the edge room. Instead, he brought up John Henry Daley, Cameron Brandt, Dominic Nichols, Lugard Edokpayi, and five-star freshman Carter Meadows.
Whittingham talked for 45 minutes, so maybe Marshall simply slipped his mind - but that kind of omission is telling in itself. Marshall has the motor and upside to matter, and he needs to show enough this fall to get coaches thinking about him again.
A spot in the two-deep is still on the table.
At cornerback, the top of the depth chart looks strong, but the back end is where the concern starts. Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, and Smith Snowden give Michigan a group that could be one of the best in the Big Ten, yet the questions after that are very real.
Shamari Earls is the likely fourth corner, and after arriving as a five-star prospect, he still has to turn that promise into production. He barely played as a true freshman, and an early injury opened the door for Jayden Sanders and Elijah Dotson to get reps instead.
Now in his second season, Earls needs to prove he can be the future of Michigan’s secondary and a reliable option if injuries hit.
Jo’Ziah Edmond is in a similar spot, and maybe under even more pressure. Michigan has talked about thin secondary depth, and Whittingham has said players need to separate themselves this fall.
Edmond enters Year 3 needing a breakout camp or he risks sliding further down the chart. As a true freshman, he showed quality play and looked like a player on the rise.
But true freshmen passed him a year ago, and the best he may be able to hope for right now is fifth on the depth chart. With two years of eligibility left after this season, he still has time to change the story.
A strong camp would help him position himself for a real shot at a starting job next year alongside Shamari Earls.
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A look at Michigans home touchdown patterns from the last five seasons turns up a curious Big House quirk: the Wolverines have finished slightly more drives in the north end zone than the south. The edge is slim, though, and the broader point is that both ends of Michigan Stadium have been plenty busy since 2021.
Once the lower-tier opponents are removed from the sample, the split levels out even more, which keeps the debate from becoming much more than a fun fan conversation. Still, the north end zone has been tied to a few memorable moments, and that alone is enough to keep supporters watching for where the next celebration will happen. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Linebacker Problem Has Sent The Wolverines Into The Portal
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What makes this situation worth watching is the timing. Both linebackers are still weighing whether to keep playing and neither has officially settled on a transfer decision, which leaves Michigan in the familiar spot of waiting on portal movement while trying to patch a roster need. For a program that has built its identity on physical defense, finding reinforcements at linebacker feels less like a luxury than a necessity, and the Wolverines may not be done searching if these talks stall. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Is Starting To Look Built For Big Ten Football
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The early results have been hard to miss. Before fall camp even opened, 97% of the players had posted personal bests in the major lifts, a strong sign that the bodywork is already changing the feel of the roster. For Michigan, the bigger question now is how that newly built strength translates once the games start, when the physical demands get real and every week feels like a test. [Read more 🡒]