ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A fitting image to describe Michigan’s offense would be tight end Colston Loveland standing in an empty room, hands in his pockets, wondering where all of his friends went.
Ten offensive starters from Michigan’s national championship team have a chance to be drafted in April, leaving Loveland as the only returner. The transition isn’t as drastic as it sounds, as players like Donovan Edwards, Myles Hinton, Tyler Morris and Semaj Morgan played significant roles last year without being full-time starters. Still, a lot is changing for Michigan’s offense under new coach Sherrone Moore and offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell.
Here’s a thought on 38 players lining up for Michigan’s offense this spring. Note that Michigan lists players based on academic class rather than eligibility, and quite a few players have redshirt years available.
Quarterbacks (5)
Alex Orji (Jr.): The quarterback buzz seems to be coalescing around Orji, an explosive athlete who could be for Michigan what Jalen Milroe was for Alabama last season. Orji’s all-around game is a work in progress, and a big part of the spring is determining how close he is to being ready to start in the Big Ten. Building an offense around Orji’s strengths wouldn’t be the worst idea, and it might be Michigan’s best option.
Jack Tuttle (Gr.): Getting Tuttle back for a seventh year raised the floor for Michigan’s offense, guaranteeing competent quarterback play as long as he’s healthy. Tuttle isn’t full-go this spring, but he has ample time to get ready for preseason camp. With Tuttle back, adding a veteran quarterback from the portal is less of a need, and anyone Michigan targets would have to be a clear upgrade over the players already on campus.
Jayden Denegal (Jr.): Denegal and Orji both came to Michigan in the Class of 2022. Denegal, known primarily as a pocket passer, was rated slightly higher and has ideal size at 6 feet 5 and 235 pounds. Will his arm keep him in the competition?
Davis Warren (Sr.): Warren was J.J. McCarthy’s backup in 2022 after Cade McNamara went down with an injury. He throws a nice ball but doesn’t have Orji’s athleticism or Tuttle’s experience, which puts him in an uphill battle to win the starting job.
Jadyn Davis (Fr.): Davis, one of the top recruits in Michigan’s 2024 class, has been everything the Wolverines thought he would be since he arrived on campus in December. Taking a year to learn behind Orji and Tuttle would be the logical path, but Davis has the power to accelerate the timeline.
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Running backs (5)
Donovan Edwards (Sr.): It would have been easy for Edwards to get discouraged last year, but he stayed grounded and came up huge for Michigan in the CFP championship game. Now he gets his shot to be the No. 1 running back in an offense that will be tailored to his strengths.
Kalel Mullings (Gr.): Mullings no longer looks like a linebacker playing running back. He’s big and fast with good vision and the power to run over people. Even with Edwards as the starter, this could be a 1A and 1B situation with Mullings as a major contributor.
Tavierre Dunlap (Sr.): The logjam at running back was tough on Dunlap, who has 21 carries for 118 yards in three seasons. He has a shot to be the No. 3 running back, but competition for those snaps will be intense, especially with big-time recruit Jordan Marshall arriving in the summer.
Benjamin Hall (So.): Hall is a big back at 234 pounds with good patience and impressive lower-body strength. After coming in as an under-the-radar recruit, he showed real promise in last year’s spring game. Is there more where that came from?
Cole Cabana (So.): Speed is the calling card for Cabana, a four-star recruit from Dexter, Mich. He didn’t get a chance to show it as a freshman, but Michigan needs to find a spot for him in this year’s offense.
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Wide receivers (6)
Tyler Morris (Jr.): The third wide receiver in Michigan’s offense typically doesn’t put up huge numbers, and that was true of Morris last season. He caught 13 passes for 197 yards, but one of those was a touchdown against Alabama in the Rose Bowl that showed his speed. It’s time for him to break through and show what he can do as a starter.
Semaj Morgan (So.): Something exciting seems to happen whenever Morgan has the ball in his hands. Michigan was holding its breath at times last year, but the upside was enough to earn Morgan a role on a loaded offense. Heading into his sophomore season, he’s in line for big things as a slot receiver and a kick returner.
Fredrick Moore (So.): We didn’t see a lot of Moore last year, but with Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson gone to the NFL, he’ll need to step up. That’s especially true with Karmello English, one of the top recruits in Michigan’s 2023 class, leaving the team before spring practice.
Cristian Dixon (Sr.): Dixon is a bit of a mystery. He tweeted that he’d moved to defense at one point, but he’s listed as a wide receiver, and that’s the position of biggest need right now. This would be a great time for things to click for Dixon, a top-250 player from the Class of 2021.
Kendrick Bell (So.): Bell signed with Michigan as a quarterback, but it was likely all along that he’d follow his brother Ronnie’s footsteps as a wide receiver. Another Bell in the receiving corps might be exactly what Michigan needs.
Peyton O’Leary (Sr.): O’Leary has been a spring football standout during his Michigan career, but it hasn’t translated to a big role in the fall. With Michigan looking for receivers to play on the outside, maybe this is the year the 6-3 O’Leary finally gets his chance.
All-Big Ten TE Colston Loveland is Michigan’s only starter back on offense. (Rick Osentoski / USA Today)
Tight ends (7)
Colston Loveland (Jr.): Loveland has a chance to be the first tight end drafted in 2025. He caught 45 passes for 649 yards and four touchdowns last season and should be an even bigger red-zone threat in 2024 as the most established target in Michigan’s offense.
Max Bredeson (Sr.): Bredeson is back as Michigan’s tight end/fullback/battering ram. He was often the person in the huddle getting the offense fired up last season, and having him back should help Michigan’s offense maintain its edge.
Marlin Klein (Jr.): Standing next to each other, Klein and Loveland look a lot alike. Klein has all the physical tools and just needed time to develop after coming to Michigan from Germany via prep school in Georgia. With Matthew Hibner moving on, this year could be Klein’s opportunity to emerge.
Zack Marshall (So.): Marshall is a high-energy player with the athletic traits Michigan values in a tight end. He added about 15 pounds during his first year with the program and looks to be right on track, even if he’s still a year away from having a major impact.
Deakon Tonielli (So.): If you haven’t noticed by now, Michigan loves its tight ends. If Michigan could build an entire offense out of tight ends and offensive linemen, it probably would. The Wolverines can only play so many, but with AJ Barner off to the NFL, the 6-5 Tonielli should be a candidate for more playing time.
Brady Prieskorn (Fr.): Everything that’s been said of Loveland could be said of Prieskorn someday. He’s 6-6 and 245 pounds coming out of high school in Rochester Hills, Mich., and already looks the part of a college tight end. There are good players in front of him, but it won’t be a surprise to see him climb the depth chart as a freshman.
Hogan Hansen (Fr.): Stop me if this is getting redundant, but Hansen is another 6-5 tight end who can run at 230 pounds. His high school team in Bellevue, Wash., didn’t throw the ball a lot, so he may need time to hone his skills as a receiver. As a second tight end in the 2024 class, he gives Michigan another prospect to bring along at a position of depth.
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Offensive line (15)
Myles Hinton (Sr.): Campbell sees Hinton as a possible first-round pick in 2025 if he plays up to his potential at left tackle. Coaches have raved about Hinton’s upside throughout his career, first at Stanford and then at Michigan, but he still needs to put everything together for a full season. Though he wasn’t a full-time starter, Hinton played enough last year to get his feet wet and has prototypical size for a left tackle at 6-6 and 340 pounds.
Josh Priebe (Gr.): With 29 starts in four years at Northwestern, Priebe is the most experienced offensive lineman on Michigan’s roster. The Niles, Mich., native was a third team All-Big Ten selection last season and could be a readymade replacement for Trevor Keegan or Zak Zinter at guard, with the flexibility to take snaps at center if needed.
Greg Crippen (Sr.): Crippen was committed to Notre Dame in the Class of 2021 before switching to Michigan. He’s been in some preseason battles and contributed as a backup, but this year could be his chance to break through as a starter. With nine games at center last year, he benefited from the big leads Michigan built in a lot of its games and can put that experience to good use on a new-look offensive line.
Raheem Anderson (Gr.): Anderson is listed as a graduate but has two years of eligibility remaining, meaning he still has time to win a job at guard or center. It’s hard to argue with Michigan’s decision to bring in Nugent and Olu Oluwatimi as transfers, as both gave the Wolverines exactly what they needed at center. Now it’s time to see what Crippen and Anderson can do.
Giovanni El-Hadi (Sr.): El-Hadi is a mauler who likes to hit people. He hasn’t played a ton, but if you watch the three games he started in 2022, you’ll see him putting defenders on the ground. Expect to see a lot more of that in 2024 from El-Hadi, a top-100 recruit from the Class of 2021.
Andrew Gentry (Jr.): Gentry will turn 23 during the season, making him one of the oldest players on the roster. A top-100 player from the Class of 2020, he signed with Michigan following a two-year mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and still has three years of eligibility remaining. He played snaps at guard and tackle during his first two seasons and has the versatility to move around as needed.
Jeffrey Persi (Gr.): Persi appeared in all 15 games last year, which is a solid indicator that he’s doing the right things. He also has a start at left tackle to his credit from 2022, when he filled in for Ryan Hayes in a game at Rutgers. He split his snaps between guard and tackle last year and has the frame to play tackle at 6-8 and 320 pounds.
Tristan Bounds (Sr.): Jim Harbaugh liked to say that players get better at football by playing football. Bounds has appeared in five games in three years, which means hasn’t played as much football as Michigan’s other backups. He’s tall and long at 6-8 and just needs time to play and develop. Maybe he’ll get more of that this season.
Connor Jones (Jr.): Jones’ high school evaluation was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and he came in with a ranking outside the top 1,000 in the 247Sports Composite. He was originally recruited by Ed Warinner before Moore took over as offensive line coach. It’s tough to make a projection based on limited snaps so far, but at minimum, he’ll provide depth on an offensive line that lost its top six players.
Dominick Giudice (Sr.): Giudice originally signed with Michigan as an undersized defensive tackle during Don Brown’s tenure as defensive coordinator. He switched to the offensive line midway through the 2022 season and should provide depth at guard.
Amir Herring (So.): Herring was the ideal Michigan recruit, a top-300 player from nearby West Bloomfield. The high school scouting report had him as a strong, tenacious blocker with adequate size and quickness to play inside in the Big Ten. With another year’s worth of development, he should be competing for a spot on the two-deep.
Evan Link (So.): The 2023 class was a smaller one for Michigan’s offensive line, with Link as the only signee who projected at tackle. He was a top-300 player from the Washington D.C. area with good size at 6-7 and no glaring holes in his game. If he can pass some of the older players in front of him, it will bode well for his future.
Nathan Efobi (So.): Herring and Link were the high-floor prospects in Michigan’s 2023 class, whereas Efobi is the wildcard. He could be great, or he could be more of a long-term developmental prospect. He’s listed at 285 pounds this spring and has more work to do from a physical standpoint, but he could be knocking on the door a year or two from now.
Blake Frazier (Fr.): Frazier, a top-200 prospect from Austin, Texas, is one of two offensive line signees enrolled for spring practice. He’s a converted tight end who’s still growing into his frame, a bit reminiscent of Hayes when he arrived at Michigan. The footwork and the athleticism should translate well to playing tackle as Frazier gets bigger and stronger.
Jake Guarnera (Fr.): Guarnera, who projects at center, is the other freshman offensive lineman on campus this spring. There’s a lot to like about his game from a strength and mobility standpoint. Learning to play center is a long-term project, and he’s getting a head start by enrolling early. When his time comes, he should be ready.
(Top photo of Jack Tuttle, Jayden Denegal and Alex Orji: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
