Michigan’s offensive line may have to keep waiting on Andrew Sprague, but the Wolverines do expect Jordan Marshall to be in the mix when No. 18 Michigan hosts No. 17 Iowa on Saturday.
Coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday that Sprague’s return remains up in the air after the right tackle was a late scratch against UTEP. Whittingham said he learned from offensive line coach Jim Harding less than 24 hours before the game that Sprague would not play, a surprise considering how much the staff had leaned on him early this season.
“My response was 'Why, what happened between, you know, half hour ago and now?'" Whittingham said.
"It was just a weird thing. But hopefully we can have him back.
That's the major concern right now, the primary concern is his health."
The Wolverines got by without him in a 52-17 win over the Miners, but the bigger picture is the stretch ahead in Big Ten play. Whittingham said the staff still does not know how long Sprague could be out.
"That's a tough question, I think it could be anywhere from this week to several weeks, and so we just don't know," Whittingham said. "That's we're trying to sort through ... with the medical staff and making sure that we get the exact diagnosis and treat this thing the right way.
"He's a big part of what we're doing, so we hope to have him back sooner rather later."
Sprague had played every offensive snap for Michigan through the first two games this season and started 12 of 13 games in 2025. He also emerged early in fall camp as one of the first clear starters up front, with Harding calling the right tackle job "his to lose."
Michigan had to adjust on the fly against UTEP, sliding Evan Link back to left tackle and moving Blake Frazier to the right side. Whittingham said he "couldn't be prouder" of how the group handled the switch without any practice time together.
That same line could be asked to hold together again Saturday, depending on Sprague’s status.
Marshall’s situation looks more encouraging. Whittingham said the running back has been dealing with "nagging" injuries for most of the season, and those issues have played a role in his quiet start. Marshall has 135 yards on 34 carries, a 4-yard average, with two touchdowns.
That production is a far cry from what he showed last year, when he had a carry of at least 19 yards in six of 11 games and at least 36 yards in five of them. Even so, Whittingham said Marshall should be available against Iowa unless something changes.
"Jordan will be available [against Iowa] unless there's a setback," Whittingham said. "He came out of this game feeling much better than when he came out of last game, and so there's been progress there."
If Marshall is closer to full strength, Michigan could use the lift.
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