It's about that time! The Michigan Wolverines are just over two months away from their 2024 regular season opener on August 31st against Fresno State. While that game itself shouldn't give the defending national champions that much of a scare, the Wolverines host Texas the following week, so it'll be crucial to get off to a strong start against the Bulldogs.
There's only so much we can talk about at the moment knowing so little about how some of the team will field itself, so that's what I'm here to try and help decode today: Michigan's depth chart in 2024. There's a solid blend of fresh starters and new faces with experienced guys who've been around the ringer a time or two, so without further ado, let's see how it all shakes out!
2024 Michigan Wolverines Football Depth Chart
Offense
We all know this is the biggest question mark heading into this season. Not only will the Wolverines need to replace the production of QB J.J. McCarthy, but also RB Blake Corum and several pieces along the offensive line and wide receiver group. That being said, I'm not as low on this offense as I've seen others, specifically nationally.
I understand that quarterback is the most important position on the field, and Michigan has yet to even name an official starter, but they should still be able to run the ball with great success just as they have in years' past. The quarterback in this offense has never been asked to do it all, so whoever winds up the starter is already entering a great position. Add in the fact that Donovan Edwards is with you in the backfield and things get much, much easier.
I'm actually quite confident that this offensive line will be more than capable of holding their own this season. My biggest concern is the wide receiver position. Losing both Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson is big, especially considering the unproven talent of the guys who are now left on the roster. Notice I said unproven talent; these guys could make me look like an idiot by the time it's all said and done, I'm just saying they have yet to prove much at this level. Obviously, they're still tremendously talented.
QB
- Alex Orji - RS SO
- Davis Warren - RS JR
- Jack Tuttle - GR TR
- Jadyn Davis - FR
- Jayden Denegal - RS SO
I'm all in on Orji this season. He actually looked pretty good in the spring game from a passing perspective once he settled down, and his rushing ability is clearly going to be a big part of his game.
That said, I don't hate Davis Warren, either. In fact, I wouldn't even be mad if he winds up winning the job; that just means he impressed enough in practice to get the nod over a talented player like Orji. He looked really good throwing the ball in the spring game, but the rushing ability between these two is what separates them. And, in my opinion, with how this offense likes to operate, I believe the coaches will value their starting quarterback's legs more than one might anticipate.
Behind them, Jack Tuttle is next in line simply because he knows the offense and has a wealth of experience playing college football. I'll slot Davis behind him and Denegal last. I liked what I saw from Davis in the spring game, especially as a freshman, and I can't say the same thing about Denegal.
Both Orji and Warren are inexperienced, but I'd be confident with either one taking the snaps in Week 1. Just please, PLEASE don't roll with the whole 'play one this series and play the other the next' thing. Declare your guy and stick to it. If you have two starting quarterbacks, you really don't have any.
RB
- Donovan Edwards - SR
- Kalel Mullings - RS SR
- Tavierre Dunlap - RS JR
- Benjamin Hall - RS FR
- Cole Cabana - RS FR
- Henry Donohue - SR
No huge surprises here. Look for Edwards to be the focal point of the offense this season, with Mullings coming in to spell him every so often. They're both talented, experienced rushers who have had their fair share of carries for this team throughout the years. There's even a possibility of Edwards winding up in Heisman contention as some point of all goes well, simply due to the sheer volume he should receive this campaign.
What I'm most interested in here is how the backups wind up performing. I know the coaching staff is high on Hall, but Dunlap looked really, really good in the spring game and certainly has the trust factor in his favor over Hall. We haven't got to see much Cabana yet in a Wolverine uniform, so could he take a step up and make an impact? It's certainly possible.
I wanted to make a point to include Henry Donohue on this list as well. Will he play much offense this season? Probably not. But I loved him in the spring game -- he had a MASSIVE block on a blitz pick up that I can remember just off the top of my head. Needless to say, if this position group gets hit with injuries this season to multiple guys, I think they're all capable of being at least just good enough.
WR
X
- Frederick Moore - SO
- Amorion Walker - JR
- Peyton O'Leary - RS JR
Z
- Tyler Morris - JR
- C.J. Charleston - RS SR (TR)
- Dale Chesson - GR TR
Slot
- Semaj Morgan - SO
- Kendrick Bell - RS FR
- I'Marion Stewart - FR
I truly don't know how the snap counts will look like for these guys this season. We know Morris and Morgan seem to be shoo-ins for starting roles, but outside of them? Your guess is as good as mine. The staff loves Moore, and he was heavily involved in the spring game as well. He seems to be in line to start at the X, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Walker get his fair share of snaps, either. Same with Bell, who also had a dynamite spring game.
Stewart, Charleston and Chesson seem to have an uphill battle to sneak in some playing time, but like I said, I'm not too sure how Michigan will attack this position group this year. I do know one thing though: I'm the president of the O'Leary fan club!
TE
- Colston Loveland - JR
- Marlin Klein - SO
- Max Bredeson - RS JR
- Zack Marshall - RS FR
- Deakon Toniellli - RS FR
- Hogan Hansen (FR)/Brady Prieskorn (FR)
Just like the running back room, there's not much to be said here about the tight ends. With Brock Bowers onto the NFL, Loveland now takes the title of college football's best tight end, in my opinion. There isn't much depth at this position from an experience standpoint, but both Klien and Marshall looked good in the spring game and seem to be in line to be the next great, big, athletic Michigan tight end. Bredeson is your typical blocking TE that plays more of a fullback role.
OL
T
- Myles Hinton - SR TR
- Andrew Gentry - RS SO
- Jeffrey Persi - SR
- Tristan Bounds - RS JR
- Evan Link - RS FR
- Connor Jones - RS SO
G
- Josh Priebe - GR TR
- Giovanni El-Hadi - RS JR
- Nathan Efobi - RS FR
- Dominik Guidice - RS JR
C
- Greg Crippen - RS JR
- Raheem Anderson - RS JR
- Jake Guarnera - FR
We round out the offense with a look at the offensive line. The starters are fairly clear to me: Hinton, Gentry, Priebe, El-Hadi and Crippen. If any of those guys are to wind up as backups as opposed to starters in Week 1, I'd probably lean towards Gentry with Crippen close behind. Persi and Bounds are both chomping at the bit to earn their chance, and if Gentry even opens up that window of opportunity a little bit, things could get interesting. Same goes for Anderson behind Crippen at the center position, although I believe Crippen has it somewhat locked up.
To be completely transparent, I didn't focus a lot of my time when watching the spring game on the offensive line. It's tough to do so anyways with the number of combinations they'll have anyways, and probably none of those combinations being the actual Week 1 starting rotation. Add in the fact that a quarterback being touched is considered a sack in a spring game and, well, it's not the easiest thing to judge. All in all, I know the Wolverines have a TON of experience and talent to replace up front, but the guys lined up to do just that seem to have what it takes.
Defense
This is where the fun really starts to happen! Michigan has arguably the best, deepest defense in the entire country, headlined by guys like Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Will Johnson and plenty others. They looked like they would have a solid defense in 2024 when last season ended, and then a slew of transfers came in to boost that sentiment even further.
The Rod Moore injury sucks -- let's be honest. He was one of my favorite players to watch the past year or two, and he'll be greatly missed. So too will Keon Sabb. But the coaching staff went to WORK and brought in FOUR defensive backs through the transfer portal this past offseason, all with legitimate chances to earn solid playing time.
This team is loaded up front and might have the best staring linebacker duo in the conference. Their depth now at the DB position is insane as well. I would be absolutely shocked if this defense didn't finish as a top-5 unit overall at the minimum when it's all said and done.
DL
- Mason Graham - JR
- Kenneth Grant - JR
- Ike Iwunnah - RS JR
- Trey Pierce - SO
- Alessandro Lorenzetti - RS SO
- Broks Bahr - RS FR
It's nice to have the luxury of two absolutely dominant defensive lineman at your disposal. Graham and Grant will be on the field almost all the time and especially in every key moment, and one of them, if not both, should be a near-lock to make an All-American team.
The depth behind them is somewhat lackluster compared to the other positional depth on this defense, but it could be more of a case where these guys just haven't had the chance to prove themselves just yet. They'll get that this season, and I see Pierce eventually winding up as a third, key piece along the defensive front.
Edge
- Derrick Moore - JR
- Josiah Stewart - SR TR
- Rayshaun Benny - RS JR
- TJ Guy - RS JR
- Enow Etta - RS FR
- Kechaun Bennett - RS JR
- Cameron Brandt - SO
- Aymeric Koumba - RS FR
Edge, linebacker, defensive ends -- to me, they're all the same. They rush the quarterback on passing downs and set the perimeter on runs. Whatever you want to call them, Michigan is loaded at the spot.
Guy looked phenomenal in the spring game and could make his way up the depth chart at some point. Coaches have raved about Etta's ability and have looked at him as a breakout candidate this season. Bennett was also a spring game standout and is highly thought of.
Those three players are at 4, 5 and 6 on the depth chart for edge. That's how deep this position runs. No matter how good those players truly are, it'll be tough for them to jump the likes of Moore, Stewart and Benny, who all seem poised to have NFL futures in their sights.
LB
- Jaishawn Barham - JR TR
- Ernest Hausmann - JR TR
- Jaydon Hood - RS JR
- Jimmy Rolder - JR
- Christian Boivin - RS JR
- Jason Hewlett - RS FR
Barham was an A1 get for this coaching staff trying to replace Junior Colson and Mike Barrett. He was great during his time at Maryland (even picked off a McCarthy pass least season in their game against Michigan) and should easily be penciled in as the Wolverines' top linebacker. Hausmann is now in his second year with the team after transferring over from Nebraska last offseason. He too should be a lock for a starting position.
The depth here is arguably the worst of any position group on the defense, but it still isn't awful. Hood has an abundance of talent and should see the field anyways as is. Rolder is an extremely solid run defender as well. At the end of the day, as long as Barham or Hausmann don't suffer any long-term injury, the linebackers should be just fine.
CB
- Will Johnson - JR
- Jyaire Hill - RS FR
- Ja'Den McBurrows - RS JR
- Aamir Hall - SR TR
- Ricky Johnson - SR TR
- Myles Pollard - RS SO
- Kody Jones - RS SO
- Keshaun Harris - GR
What looked like it was going to be a weak point for this team and defense will now be one of the stronger groups. Will Johnson is the best corner in the country and will be a first round pick come next April's NFL Draft. Hill is just a redshirt freshman, but he flashed last season and came in a s a highly touted recruit. McBurrows is a veteran who impressed coaches throughout this offseason; I've always been a fan of his as well.
These guys were always going to be there, but the additions of Hall and Ricky Johnson via the transfer portal are huge. They give this group some much-needed depth and I wouldn't be surprised to see either of them wind up getting the starting nod opposite Will Johnson. It's just tough to gauge how the coaching staff sees them at this point considering they weren't available for the spring game.
Even the depth behind those two isn't bad with Pollard and Jones. Safety is also quite deep, so it's entirely possible that a guy like Zeke Berry could see some reps at the nickel from time to time.
S
- Mikari Paige - SR
- Quinten Johnson - GR
- Zeke Berry - RS SO
- Jaden Mangham - JR TR
- Wesley Walker - GR TR
- Brandyn Hillman - SO
Rounding out the defense is another position loaded with depth and talent being safety. We already touched on the Moore injury, but getting Mangham and Walker is about as best of a consolation prize as one could have hoped for. Both have experience playing at big-time schools and should see the field in some capacity each and every game. Snatching Mangham away from MSU also doesn't hurt his cause.
As for the starters, Paige and Johnson seem to have it under control as they both have tons of experience playing on this defense. We talked about how Berry might play some nickel too sometimes, and that's because he's too talented to not have on the field, but it'd be tough to take off Paige or Johnson, too. The fact that Hillman is now all that way down on the depth chart just speaks to how deep this group is.
Special Teams
Short, sweet and boring.
K
- Dominic Zvada - JR TR
- Adam Samaha - RS FR
- Hudson Hollenbeck - RS SO TR
There seemed to be a bit of uncertainty around the kicker position. That is until Zvada decided to commit to the Wolverines. He'll be the starter as Samaha still needs some reps under his belt before taking over; he missed a 30 yarder at the end of the first half in the spring game.
P
- Tommy Doman - SR
- Cordell Jones-McNally - RS FR
Doman returns to lock down the punter role for Michigan and should be one of the conference's top punters.
Returners
KR
- Semaj Morgan - SO
- Tyler Morris - JR
PR
- Semaj Morgan - SO
- Tyler Morris - JR
No idea how these ones will shake out. Morgan got some reps last season, so it would make sense for him to head back there again. But now with him being a higher priority on offense, is it worth the risk of him getting injured on a return? The same thing can be said for Morris, even more so. My bold prediction: Cabana eventually winds up as the return man for one or the other of punts or kicks.
LS
- William Wagner - SR
- Greg Tarr - RS SR
Wagner has served as the team's long snapper in the past and there's no reason to change things now.
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