A quick look at the 2025 NFL mock draft shows that Michigan has a loaded junior football class.
ESPN recently projected defensive back Will Johnson to go No. 3 (Denver Broncos), defensive tackle Mason Graham to go No. 7 (Minnesota Vikings) and tight end Colston Loveland to go No. 14 (Indianapolis Colts) in next spring's draft.
Another publication projected defensive tackle Kenneth Grant to be selected No. 20 (Atlanta Falcons), even though none of them played a single collegiate game as upperclassmen.
While those players are almost without question the four most talented players on the team, senior running back Donovan Edwards told the Free Press at a signing session Tuesday at Born in Detroit in downtown Detroit that there is no expectation internally that they will be officially named leaders of the team.
It's all part of the tradition.
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“I want to start with the seniors because only seniors can be captains,” Edwards said when asked about this year's leaders. “I want to start with Max Bredeson. He's improved a lot. Also, Makari Paige and Josiah Stewart, those four guys come to mind, well those three and (me).”
“But it's a real shame to not have a third-year student named captain. Like Colston Loveland, he's a really vocal guy. You see guys like Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, Will Johnson and Zeke Berry working hard. (Alex) Orji, (Jaden) Denegal and Davis Warren. Davis Warren is one of the more vocal guys I've seen as an offensive leader.”
The Wolverines have been in the running for the national championship in 2024 thanks to their abundance of upperclassmen. Of the program-record 18 players invited to the NFL Combine from Michigan's 15-0 team, only two were juniors (J.J. McCarthy and Junior Colson) and the other 16 were seniors or graduate students.
Last season's six captains – Blake Coram, Zach Ginter, Trevor Keegan, Chris Jenkins, Mike Sainristil and Michael Barrett – had a combined 29 years of experience. Edwards was the third junior to enter the draft, but after he and his team received feedback, he decided it would be best for him to play out his final year in college.
Though it's still the offseason, there are only 52 days until the start of the 2024 season and Edwards said he already has a sense of what a different role he'll have heading into the season.
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“My voice and my influence has grown,” Edwards explained. “I know I've done certain things in big games, so when people are looking at me, I feel it and I see people gravitating toward me like, 'What is he doing?'”
“My duty as a leader is to encourage others to speak up. What I've found is that if you have one person speaking the same message, it gets boring. But if you can get 10 people speaking the same message, other people start to think, 'OK, this is the type of team I'm on.'”
Senior safety Rod Moore would also have been a perfect candidate for captain if not for an injury in the spring.
Not only is he a leader in terms of defensive talent, as evidenced by his game-winning interception against Ohio State, but new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has compared Moore to Eric Weddle, one of his favorite defensive backs he's ever coached.
It's possible he still could be given that role — he's expected to start the season as a player-coach as he continues his rehab — but defensive backs coach Lamar Morgan said on an episode of “Inside the Trench” that Moore “may not play the first half of the season,” leaving the door open for a return this year.
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The public will only know who the rest of Michigan's players and staff recognize as the face of the new team when it's announced who will be attending Big Ten Media Days (July 23-25) in Indianapolis later this month.
Still, it's worth remembering that attending the event doesn't guarantee anything at the start of the season. Two years ago, rising senior quarterback Cade McNamara was named a captain for 2022, but reserve McCarthy won the position during fall camp, pushing McNamara into the transfer portal.
“You have to believe I push the guys,” Edwards said. “If we're doing pull-ups and they can only do three, I'll say, 'No, do five, do all five,' and I think the guys appreciate that.”
“They know how hard I've worked. … Hopefully they know that if they put in the same amount of effort as me, or even more, they can get to the same level, or even better.”
