Fall camp is nearly finished, and Michigan is closing in on its Sept. 5 opener against Western Michigan with a familiar mix of hope and pressure. After a 9-4 season a year ago, the Wolverines are aiming to get back in the Big Ten race and push for a College Football Playoff berth. That makes this the right time for a set of bold calls, and this group comes with some real swing to it.
Start with Bryce Underwood. The easy prediction would be chasing Jon Navarre’s single-season passing record of 3,331 yards, but Michigan’s identity usually doesn’t bend that way.
So instead of yardage, the more realistic breakthrough is Underwood getting into the touchdown race. Elvis Grbac and Chad Henne share the program mark with 25 passing touchdowns, and Underwood has a path to threaten it.
Devon Dampier threw for 24 touchdowns at Utah last season, and with more playmakers around him plus another year of development, that number is in play.
The backfield should be just as interesting. Jordan Marshall is the name to circle first, even with five-star Savion Hiter drawing plenty of attention.
Marshall nearly reached 1,000 rushing yards last season despite not starting the year healthy and not finishing it healthy, either. If he stays on the field, Jason Beck’s offense could put him in line for a huge year.
Beck has produced the No. 2 rushing attack in the nation in back-to-back seasons, and Marshall has the kind of season that could put his name in the Heisman conversation.
Michigan has not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jeremy Gallon in 2013, which lines up with the program’s usual reluctance to live in the passing game. This year, though, the setup looks different.
Beck is expected to spread the field and get playmakers the ball in space. Marsh was one of the Big Ten’s top wide receivers last season once he got his opportunity, and JJ Buchanan should help force defenses to pick their poison.
If opponents lean too hard toward Marsh, Buchanan can take advantage. That combination gives Marsh a real chance to post a big sophomore season.
Rod Moore is another name that could change the feel of the defense fast. He led Michigan with four interceptions in 2022, though the bigger issue is how much he has actually been available over the last two seasons.
The good news is that he is said to be back to 100% and should be ready for Week 1 against Western Michigan. If that holds, Moore can be a difference-maker again.
Chris Bracy has also stood out in fall camp, and the pairing should give Michigan a dangerous safety tandem. Moore is the safer bet to lead the team in interceptions.
There’s plenty of buzz around Carter Meadows, and for good reason. The five-star edge rusher arrived as a summer enrollee and has already bulked up to 252 pounds on a 6-foot-7 frame.
Michigan’s edge room is deep, with John Henry Daley leading the way and Cameron Brandt, Dom Nichols, and Nate Marshall all in the mix, but Meadows is going to get chances. The staff has mentioned him in the same breath as Tariq Boney, and the talent is obvious.
When Meadows gets on the field, he should cash in with sacks in 2026.
Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng may be sitting lower on the depth chart than some expected, with Nathaniel Staehling standing out in fall camp, Troy Bowles back as the veteran, and Chase Taylor tagged as a future star. Still, Owusu-Boateng remains one of the most intriguing pieces in the linebacker room.
Injury issues limited him last season, but he showed flashes when he played. His ceiling might be the highest of any Michigan linebacker, and even if he doesn’t start, he is going to see the field.
As the season goes on, he should become a bigger part of the defense.
The schedule leaves very little room for error. Michigan has four major games: home dates with Oklahoma and Indiana, plus road trips to Oregon and Ohio State.
If the Wolverines want to make the Playoff, 10 wins is the target, and slipping early could leave them chasing a must-win scenario later against Oregon or Ohio State. Because those two road games come late, Michigan has a real chance to steal one of them.
But there’s another side to that bet. If Michigan knocks off one of those road heavyweights, it also sets up the possibility of dropping a game it should win.
That could mean an early home loss to Iowa or Penn State, or a road stumble at Minnesota. Either way, the Wolverines are going to have to navigate a schedule that offers no easy nights.
In Other News...
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 🡒]
Michigan Is Chasing A Receiver Who Could Change Its Future Air Attack
Michigan has jumped early into the chase for Jaedon White, extending a scholarship offer to the Westside High School receiver from Anderson, South Carolina, as the Wolverines continue building out their vision for a more dynamic passing game. White is already drawing major attention as a four-star prospect, ranked No. 31 nationally and the top player in South Carolina in the 2029 class, which tells you how much upside is attached to his name this far out.
Kyle Whittinghams staff, with wide receivers coach Micah Simon helping lead the recruitment, is clearly treating White as the kind of versatile, explosive playmaker that can help reshape Michigans air attack down the line. For a program looking to add more juice on the perimeter, getting in early on a prospect with that profile is the sort of move that could matter again and again if the relationship keeps trending the right way. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]