Michigan football is getting close to the point where the depth chart starts turning into real answers. With week four of fall camp underway and Western Michigan set for Sept. 5, the Wolverines are still sorting through a handful of key jobs - but a few battles are already tilting in one direction.
The most important decision left on offense is at left tackle, and Blake Frazier appears to be gaining real momentum. Frazier saw some action there last season, but the results weren’t pretty. He had the athletic tools, but he needed more mass and strength to hold up better against bull rushes and to move defenders in the run game.
He made it a point to add that weight and strength entering 2026, and early fall camp reports suggest that work has paid off.
The main competition is Andrew Babalola, a former 5-star recruit who was in line to compete for the job last season as a true freshman before tearing his ACL in fall camp. He was expected to be healthy heading into this camp, but reports say a minor injury has slowed him down and hurt his chances of taking the job by week one.
Right now, the edge seems to belong to Frazier.
The rest of the offensive line is less murky. Evan Link looks to have locked down left guard, leaving the right guard spot as the other true battle up front. Brady Norton and Nathan Efobi are the names to watch there.
Norton came to Michigan from Cal Poly, where he was an FCS All-American, and he saw action in seven games last season. He’s reportedly made noticeable progress in the weight room and under new offensive line coach Jim Harding this offseason.
Efobi, though, is the veteran in the room and seems to be the frontrunner. He’s played in 19 games for Michigan and turned in the best performance of his career in the bowl game against Texas. If he carries that into 2026, Michigan could be looking at a strong season from him at right guard.
At wide receiver, the No. 3 job is still open, and it’s one of the more interesting competitions left on offense. Four players are in the mix, and all four should see the field this season. The question is who starts and who gets the most snaps.
Channing Goodwin already won this battle a year ago, and he’s been drawing plenty of praise again this camp. The concern is the same one that surfaced last season: drops. Until he shows he can clean that up in games, there’s still a little something to prove.
The freshmen, Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson, are still pushing. Johnson in particular has been getting a lot of attention lately, thanks to his speed and his ability to win the ball in the air at 6-foot-3. Both are expected to be part of the rotation no matter what, but they’d need a big finish to camp to jump the more experienced options.
Jaime Ffrench was the name most people had circled entering camp, and he still may be the leader because of his experience and ability after the catch. Even so, he hasn’t fully separated himself yet, which suggests this could carry into the opening stretch of the season.
The linebacker room is just as unsettled. Four players still have a real shot to start in week one, and Nathaniel Staehling is one of the biggest risers.
He transferred in from NDSU this offseason and has been getting strong reviews from both teammates and coaches. Right now, he looks like one of the likely starters.
Troy Bowles is also firmly in the mix. He came over from Georgia before last season, played in all 13 games, and finished with 27 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack in a backup role. He’s battling for the other starting spot.
Chase Taylor had plenty of buzz over the summer, but that seems to have cooled once camp began. He’s still alive in the competition, just not sitting as high as he was before practices started.
Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng appears to be fourth in the group at the moment, though he should still play plenty this year. He’s younger than some of the others in the race, but he hasn’t drawn the same level of praise so far.
On the defensive line, the edge spot is the last major battle still worth watching. Dominic Nichols seems to be moving up the fastest. Andrew Sprague recently called Nichols “the best pass-rusher on the team”, and that would be a major boost for a defense that already has John Henry Daley, who posted 11.5 sacks last year for Utah.
Cameron Brandt is still in the mix, too, and his profile is a little different. He’s viewed more as a run defender, so he could see more action on early downs even if Nichols wins the job. Either way, Brandt should be part of the rotation.
Nate Marshall is also competing for the role, and he was the highest-ranked recruit in the group. He had a solid freshman year and should keep trending upward as a sophomore. If he ends up as the third or fourth defensive end, that would say plenty about how strong this position group could be.
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Michigan May Have Found Answers In Three Crucial Spots
Michigan wrapped up its final fall camp scrimmage with game week now on the horizon, and the early read on this roster looks a lot more encouraging than it did a few weeks ago. Bryce Underwood appears to have taken a real step forward, the wide receiver room has brought more consistency and playmaking to the table, and an offensive line that looked like a question mark entering camp seems to be settling in and improving at the right time.
On the other side of the ball, linebacker play has also started to look like a strength, with transfer Nathaniel Staehling drawing particularly positive evaluations. For a program trying to sort out several key spots before the season begins, that matters, because Michigan does not need every answer in place yet, but it does need enough of them to feel like the foundation is there when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
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Michigans New Passing Buzz Is Starting A Real Fall Camp Debate
Fall camp has brought a little extra life to Michigans passing-game conversation, and Utah transfer wide receiver JJ Buchanan is right in the middle of it. After arriving in Ann Arbor, Buchanan has talked up his transition to the program, his comfort with quarterback Bryce Underwood and the way the two have started to build timing as the Wolverines sort through what their offense can become this season. He also pointed to his basketball background as part of what helps him at the catch point, a useful detail for a receiver trying to carve out a role in a competitive room.
Buchanans optimism has fit neatly with the broader mood around camp, where Michigan has been drawing notice for the talent on hand and the energy around the new group. He has been quick to credit the coaching staff as well, another sign that the early impressions have been positive on both sides of the ball. The bigger question, of course, is how all of that translates once the real games begin, and whether the buzz around the passing attack turns into something the Wolverines can count on when the season starts. [Read more 🡒]