Most defending national champions have some attrition, but the Michigan Wolverines may have set a record.
Gone is head coach Jim Harbaugh, who jumped to the NFL and the LA Chargers. Gone is defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and his entire staff, who followed Harbaugh to the Chargers. Gone is strength and conditioning coordinator Ben Herbert, considered a key to Big Blue’s success, also to the Chargers. Gone is QB J.J. McCarthy, drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.
New Michigan coach Sherrone Moore will try to bandage the program together, which also features only one returning starter on offense and only three on defense, if Big Blue wants to make a run at another title in a bigger Big Ten and a bigger College Football Playoff.
Michigan’s schedule is a bear, what’s a realistic win total this year?
There are four games on the Wolverines’ schedule where Michigan might be the underdog – vs. Texas, at Washington, vs. Oregon and at Ohio State. Throw in home games against rival Michigan State and USC, the season will be a gauntlet.
Is there any competition for the Michigan QB job?
Alex Orji is the presumed starting QB. But the red-shirt sophomore has zero career starts with just one career pass and will face competition this fall from Jack Tuttle, Daris Warren, Jayden Denegal and Jadyn Davis. Of that group, grad student Tuttle, expected to see playing time, is the most likely to usurp Orji.
After losing so many pieces, will Michigan’s defense be that good again?
With the departure of Minter to LA, the Wolverines welcome a new defensive coordinator. Don “Wink” Martindale returns to his college roots after 21 years in the NFL, most recently as the defensive coordinator with the NY Giants. But there is familiarity as Martindale is the architect of the disguise-heavy defense introduced at Michigan in 2021. He will try to fill around three key returning starters, two of the best defensive tackles in the Big Ten in Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, as well as All-American DB Will Johnson.
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