Michigan may not be sitting on the same kind of star-studded roster as Ohio State or Oregon, but there are still a few Wolverines who look ready to separate themselves when preseason All-Big Ten honors are handed out.
Kyle Whittingham’s first Michigan football team has enough talent to produce multiple league standouts, and three names rise to the top as players who could be recognized because nobody else in the conference does their job better.
Andrew Sprague is the clearest case on the offensive line. Around the league, he’s been pegged as the Big Ten’s top right tackle, and the expectation is that he and Penn State’s Anthony Donkoh will be the names to watch when the honors are announced.
Sprague also has a setup that should help him keep climbing, with Jim Harding guiding him. Pro Football Focus already listed Sprague as Michigan’s best lineman in 2025, ahead of Jake Guarnera.
On the edge, John Henry Daley brings the kind of production that can cut through a crowded pass-rushing field. The Big Ten has no shortage of dangerous rushers - the Oregon duo, Minnesota’s Anthony Smith, Kenyatta Jackson and others all have a case - but Daley has a real shot to stand alone.
The source notes he could become the only player to record double-digit sacks in two different conferences, and he enters as the highest-rated returning pass rusher in the sport. Michigan will lean on him against John Mateer, Drake Lindsey, Rocco Becht, Josh Hoover and more, giving him plenty of chances to build on that sack total.
Then there’s Jordan Marshall, who enters the season with a higher profile than almost any returning back in the conference. The only one more widely known is Ohio State’s Bo Jackson.
The Big Ten doesn’t appear especially deep at running back this year, and Marshall, along with Savion Hiter, could be in line to pile up the most rushing yards in 2026. Both are set to see plenty of work against five top-10 defenses from last season.
Marshall was so productive a year ago that he finished ahead of Justice Haynes as Michigan’s highest-graded offensive player in the rushing game.
In Other News...
Michigan Recruiting Momentum Suddenly Includes A Familiar Name
Michigans 2028 recruiting board is starting to take on a familiar shape, and it comes with a name Wolverines fans already know well. Carson Graham, the younger brother of former Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham, is among the prospects looking at Ann Arbor, while four-star backs Cartae Ligon and Xander Edwards are also showing real interest as the Wolverines continue building relationships early in the cycle.
For Michigan, the appeal is obvious: a family connection in Grahams case, and established ties with running backs coach Tony Alford for both Ligon and Edwards. Ligon has long had Michigan near the top of his list because of that relationship, and Edwards is set to see the program in person this fall after earning an offer and lining up a game visit, giving the staff a chance to keep momentum going with a pair of highly regarded backs. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Cannot Let This 2028 Receiver Slip Further South
Michigan has a familiar angle in the chase for Jarvis Stevenson, and it is one that can matter with a prospect this early in the process. The 6-foot-5 dual-sport athlete out of John Curtis Christian School in New Orleans has roots in Grand Rapids, giving the Wolverines a built-in hometown connection as they try to keep him from drifting deeper into SEC territory. Michigan identified him early and put a scholarship on the table while he was still beginning to build his profile, which at least gives the Wolverines a foothold in a recruitment that already has plenty of national attention.
The challenge now is holding that position against the usual heavyweight crowd. LSU, Auburn, Florida, Arkansas and Alabama are all in the mix, and for Michigan the pitch has to be about more than geography alone. The Wolverines will need to lean into how Stevenson could fit their offense and why Ann Arbor offers a different path than the one being laid out by the schools farther south, because once a receiver with his size and upside becomes a priority for that many programs, the race tends to move quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan May Be Building Something Dangerous In Ohio
Michigans new staff under Kyle Whittingham is wasting little time treating Ohio like a priority territory, and the early signs suggest the Wolverines want more than just the occasional border-state win. With coaches who know the state well, Michigan has started leaning into relationships there and has already added four-star cornerback Monsanna Torbert in the 2027 class while staying active with a growing list of younger prospects.
The next wave could matter even more. Michigan is in the mix for Ohio talent such as Asa Burch in the 2028 class, and four-star running back Carte Ligon is expected back in Ann Arbor for a Gameday visit this fall after seeing campus once already this spring. For a program trying to build something lasting, the real question is whether this is a one-off burst of momentum or the start of a pipeline that keeps sending Ohio prospects north. [Read more 🡒]