Happy College Football 27 day to those who celebrate, because the latest ratings drop has already given Michigan fans plenty to argue about.
A few Wolverines landed right where they should. Others? Not so much.
Start with the easy one: John Henry Daley at 92 makes perfect sense. He’s the only returning first-team All-American on the roster, and the production backs it up.
Daley posted 11.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in just 11 games last season, both top-seven marks nationally. The Achilles injury is the only thing keeping him from an even higher number.
Rod Moore at 90 also feels fair, even if there’s a strong case he belongs a little higher. When he’s healthy, Moore looks like a 95-level safety with the kind of speed, ball skills, tackling and coverage instincts that make him one of the best in the country.
The problem is availability. He hasn’t had a fully healthy stretch in multiple years, so third on the team is a reasonable spot for now.
Still, if he stays on the field, he can beat that number.
Andrew Sprague sharing the top lineman spot with center Jake Guarnera is another rating that passes the eye test, though Sprague probably deserves to stand alone there. Over the last two seasons, he’s allowed just one sack and committed only two penalties in 383 pass-blocking snaps.
His run blocking still has room to grow, but the foundation is already there. If that part of his game takes another step, first-team All-Big Ten talk is on the table.
Then come the head-scratchers.
Zeke Berry at 82 is the kind of number that makes you wonder if anybody watched Michigan last year. Berry is one of only two returning Wolverines who made an All-Big Ten team in 2024, and he was the only returning defensive player to do it.
Yet he’s sitting behind Nathan Efobi and Bryce Underwood, and he’s listed as the third corner on the roster behind Jyaire Hill at 91 and transfer Smith Snowden at 87. Berry’s value goes beyond one spot anyway; he’s played corner, nickel and safety over the last two seasons, which makes the nine-point gap to Hill and five-point gap to Snowden hard to justify.
Even more baffling, Berry is tied with Andrew Babalola, who has not played a snap at Michigan and is coming off a season-ending injury as a freshman.
J.J. Buchanan at 79 is another one that doesn’t hold up.
Michigan’s WR2 is Buchanan, plain and simple. He should be locked in there, yet he trails Jaime Ffrench by two points and is grouped with two incoming freshmen, Malakai Lee and Alister Vallejo, plus a kicker created because of NIL restrictions.
Buchanan is also closer to freshman receiver Travis Johnson than he is to Ffrench. The production gap is enormous.
Ffrench has one career catch for six yards. Buchanan, meanwhile, led freshman pass catchers in the Big 12 last season with 26 receptions for 427 yards and five touchdowns.
He did it in Jason Beck’s offense, too, which gives him a built-in edge in familiarity. With that experience and a clear role, he could end up much closer to Andrew Marsh statistically than to Ffrench.
And then there’s Chase Taylor at 72, which might be the most confusing of the bunch. He’s ranked alongside defensive tackle Chibi Anwunah and behind players like Jamar Browder, Brady Smigiel and punter Cameron Brown.
He’s also only Michigan’s fifth-highest rated linebacker in the game, even though he’s likely to open the season as the starting middle linebacker. At 6-foot-2 and 237 pounds, Taylor has clearly reshaped his body for the job ahead.
The confidence around him is real, too. CBS Sports reported, “Despite Taylor not ranking among the top 65 linebacker prospects in the 2025 recruiting class, there are high hopes internally at Michigan for the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Georgia native.
Taylor recorded 10 tackles as a freshman last year. He’s going to be a good player,” a source said.
“Seeing his frame fill out, his athleticism, his ability at the point of attack, he’s just a good player overall. And to see someone have that kind of poise and presence already at 19 years old is impressive.”
That optimism was echoed again last week, when linebackers coach Alex Whittingham told Jon Jansen, “... Chase Taylor, man, he’s going to be special.
I think we should be really excited about him. He’s filling out, putting on weight, maturing as a student, as a player, as a person.
He makes things look easy out there and just has so many athletic gifts that he’s been blessed with. And he’s going to be fun to watch, for sure.”
In Other News...
Michigan Finally Made Its Big Basketball Decision Amid Mounting Pressure
Michigans basketball program has finally settled its biggest offseason question, and the timing matters. Mike Boynton Jr. is now in place on a two-year deal, giving the Wolverines a clear leader after a stretch of uncertainty and pressure around the job. He has already done important work on the roster side by keeping current commitments intact, which helps stabilize a program that could not afford much more drift.
The harder part now is building the bench around him. Michigan still has three coaching staff openings to sort through after departures connected to the Dallas Mavericks and other moves, leaving Boynton with a quick turnaround as he tries to assemble a workable group. Akeem Miskdeen, Kyle Church, KT Harrell and strength coach Matt Aldred remain in the building, but the staff picture is still taking shape as the Wolverines move into the next phase of the transition. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Fans Are Bracing For A Massive Recruiting Decision
Michigans next few recruiting cycles are starting to take shape in a way that should matter to fans who like seeing both familiar names and blue-chip talent on the board. Safety Marquis Ray, the son of former Wolverine Marcus Ray, already has a Michigan offer, and there is at least some outside belief that the program will eventually land him. Add in four-star safety LaMarcus Army setting up a game day visit for the 2026 season, and the staff is clearly keeping a wide net out in the secondary.
The bigger immediate swing could come on the defensive front, where Michigan is in the mix for four-star lineman Seth Tillman as his decision approaches. His recruitment has moved quickly enough that the Wolverines have stayed firmly in the conversation, which is exactly the kind of late-stage push that can reshape how a class looks on paper. For a program trying to stack future depth with players who fit its identity, the next few days and weeks could tell a lot about how strong this run on the trail really is. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Got The Clarity Fans Were Desperate For
Michigans offseason finally has some direction after a stretch of uncertainty that followed Dusty Mays departure for the Dallas Mavericks. Mike Boynton, who stepped in to steady the program, has now been officially elevated to the head job on a two-year contract, giving the Wolverines a clearer picture of who will be steering the roster into next season.
The timing matters because the group around him is starting to take shape, too, with nearly all of the players from last season expected back. That kind of continuity gives Boynton a real base to work with as he settles into the role, and it also raises the stakes for what Michigan can do with a roster that already looks far more intact than many expected when the coaching change first hit. [Read more 🡒]