Michigan finished 2022 with a surprising 13-1 record, Big Ten Championship, and College Football Playoff Berth. While Michigan defeated Ohio State for the second consecutive season, they fell to TCU in the playoff semi-final. This year, sportsbooks seem to expect a similar season. FanDuel Sportsbook has opened the bidding on Michigan’s win total at 10.5, with the over juice to -118. In fact, Michigan comes in at +1000 to win the National Championship. Only Georgia, Ohio State, and Alabama come in with shorter odds. With all of that said, let’s dive into the Michigan roster.
2023 Michigan Football Season Preview & Predictions: Roster Overview
Michigan Football 2023 Season Preview: Coaching Staff
On the coaching staff, Michigan retains Jim Harbaugh. Now in place since 2015, Harbaugh has a 74-25 record during his Michigan tenure. On offense, the Wolverines rely on offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore after Matt Weiss was dismissed in February. On defense, Jesse Minter returns for his second season. He previously coordinated the Vanderbilt defense in 2021. With the coaching staff continuity, Michigan should be able to continue their strong player development.
Michigan Football 2023 Season Preview: Offense
Quarterback
At quarterback JJ McCarthy returns for 2023 after starting 14 games for Michigan in 2022. He finished as PFF’s seventh graded quarterback in the Big Ten among QBs with at least 100 pass attempts. He completed 64.1% of his passes for 8.4 yards per attempt, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions. While this only amounted to 2,719 passing yards in Michigan’s run-heavy offense, McCarthy actually proved efficient as a passer.
On the ground, McCarthy offers legitimate rushing upside with 306 yards on 70 attempts (4.4 YPC). With this skillset, he proved more than capable of winning games on his own. Behind him, Michigan landed Indiana transfer Jack Tuttle in the portal. They also have walk-on Davis Warren, but this group is thinner than last year, following the departures of Alan Bowman and Cade McNamara.
Running Back
Running back remains a position of depth for Michigan with Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards returning. Corum stands 5-8, 210 pounds. Overall, he finished with 1,463 yards on 247 carries. He forced a missed tackle on 29.4% of his attempts, averaging 3.36 yards after contact. He finished with 991 rushing yards on 140 carries.
Edwards stands 6-1, 204 pounds and operated as more of a passing game back, catching 18 balls for 200 yards. Edwards also rushed for 991 yards on 140 attempts. He forced a missed tackle on 22.1% of his attempts, while averaging 3.5 yards after contact. While Michigan didn’t ask Corum to catch as many passes, he still caught 11 balls for 80 yards. Overall, Corum and Edwards were first and fourth in rushing grade among rushers with 50 attempts, per PFF. Third, fourth, and fifth leading rushers CJ Stokes, Isaiah Gash, and Tavierre Dunlap all return. As does converted defender and short-yardage specialist Kalel Mullings. They also added four-star early enrollee Cole Cabana. Overall, this running back room possesses incredible depth.
Wide Receiver
At receiver, Michigan lost Ronnie Bell to the NFL and Andrel Anthony and AJ Henning to the portal. Despite the departures, they return plenty of production. Second-leading receiver Cornelius Johnson returns after catching 32 balls for 499 yards. He is 6-3, 211 pounds and his 1.54 yards per route run ranked 32nd in the Big Ten.
They also return fourth-leading receiver Roman Wilson, who caught 25 balls for 235 yards. Wilson stands 6-0, 180 pounds and his 2.15 yard per route ranked 13th in the Big Ten last year. Wilson ran 90% of his routes from the slot last year and should be the favorite to do so again. Aside from Johnson and Wilson, this isn’t a deep position with Tyler Morris, Darrius Clemons, and Peyton O’Leary pegged as the immediate backups. Morris is former four-star recruit from 2022. O’Leary is a former walk-on and lacrosse player, who has allegedly balled out this spring.
Clemons is another four-star recruit from 2022. Both Morris and Clemons were top 150 players in their class. For depth pieces, the team also has former 2021 four-star recruit Christian Dixon and incoming four-star freshman Karmello English. English is the 188th ranked prospect in this class and 26th ranked wide receiver in this class. He will make his way to campus this summer.
Tight End
Michigan lost Luke Schoonmaker to the NFL Draft and Erick All to the transfer portal. This leaves Colston Loveland as an easy replacement. Loveland stands 6-5, 237 pounds and caught 16 balls for 235 yards last year. He lined up in the slot on 31.3% of his routes and posted a 1.40 yards per route. His blocking needs improvement, but he was also a true freshman last year. Michigan uses a ton of 12 personnel, so Indiana transfer AJ Barner should play plenty of snaps as well.
Barner stands 6-6, 245 pounds and caught 28 balls for 199 yards in this third season last year. Barner hasn’t been the most efficient pass catcher, but his blocking has been decent. Both players could use a little work here, but year over year improvement should be expected. Tight end/H-Back hybrid Max Bredeson will also play some. He stands 6-2, 232 pounds and functions mostly as a blocker.
Offensive Line
Along the offensive line, The team lost Olusegun Oluwatimi and Ryan Hayes, but three full time starters return. The interior is much easier to project here. Starting center, Stanford transfer Drake Nugent should get the nod after starting two seasons with the Cardinals. He played 882 snaps last year. Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan return at the guard spots. Zinter played 918 snaps, but Keegan could use some work after an up and down season on his 667 snaps.
At tackle, Michigan returns Ryan Hayes and Trent Jones. Jones only played 335 snaps, but Hayes received starter snaps at 790 snaps. Both were solid, but if there’s any regression, Michigan also added Arizona State transfer LaDarius Henderson. Henderson has has two years of decent starting experience. He only played 361 snaps last year, but he performed better as pass blocker, when compared with run blocking. For depth purposes, Michigan also brought in Stanford tackle Myles Hinton, who played 446 snaps last year. Overall, this should be a position of strength for Michigan.
Michigan Football 2023 Season Preview: Defense
Michigan ranked second on defense in 2022. This included the third-ranked run defense, 17th-ranked pass rush and second-ranked secondary. The defense lost three starters in the secondary and another two on the defensive line. However, the team actually returns a fair amount of production ahead of 2022.
Defensive Line
On the defensive line, Michigan lost Mike Morris at the edge position. However, this team rotated a fair amount to begin with. Jaylen Harrell returns 467 snaps and Derrick Moore comes back after 224. Specifically, Harrell recorded 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Moore showed enough on his small sample for Michigan to be comfortable with too. To help with depth, Michigan also added Coastal Carolina transfer Josiah Stewart after starting for two years with the Chanticleers.
On the interior, Mazi Smith departs, but Kris Jenkins and Mason Graham played 536 and 303 snaps apiece. Graham recorded 2.5 sacks and 2.5 sacks. Meanwhile, Jenkins ranked fifth on the team with 54 total tackles. The team returns decent depth here with Rayshaun Benny and Kenneth Grant both playing over 100 snaps last year.
Linebacker
At linebacker, Michigan returns a pair of full time starters in Junior Colston and Michael Barrett. Colston played 727 snaps last year and Barrett recorded 629. These two finished as the top two tackles on the team with 173 combined. Barrett also excelled in the pass game. On top of 3.5 sacks, he intercepted two passes and broke up another. Positively, Ernest Hausmann also transferred in from Nebraska after playing 476 snaps as a freshman. He ranked as the top linebacker transfer in this portal cycle.
Defensive Back
The secondary has a few questions after losing DJ Turner, Gemon Green, and RJ Moten. Luckily, they return a pair of starting corners in Will Johnson and Mike Sainristil. Sainristil actually ranked fourth on the team with 58 tackles from his nickel position. More importantly, his seven pass breakups trailed only Turner. Johnson played 488 snaps last year, but he still recorded three interceptions and three pass breakups. The third corner is a bit of a question, but Michigan has options. The favorite looks like Amorion Walker after Harbaugh doubled-down on Walker after some struggles this spring. He only played six snaps last year, but he has the favor of the coaching staff. Michigan did add UMass transfer Josh Wallace to the mix ahead of the summer. He was a four-year starter with the Minutemen and should provide a potential starting option opposite Johnson. Ja’Den McBurrows and Myles Pollard are other options, if Walker or Wallace can’t get the job done.
At safety, Makari Paige returns 485 snaps and Rod Moore played 726 last year. Moore specifically had an excellent 2022. The safety recorded 71 tackles, four interceptions, and three passes defensed. Paige didn’t play quite as much, but he still showed promise with 41 tackles, one interception, and two passes defended. For depth, Quinten Johnson returns 163 snaps, but this position remains strong.
2023 Michigan Football Season Preview: Schedule & Predictions
Michigan Football 2023 Schedule
Like most Big Ten teams, Michigan’s schedule is tough at the top and feeble at the bottom. Their non-conference features East Carolina, UNLV, and Bowling Green. Michigan should be at least a three touchdown favorite in all three. From the Big Ten West, Michigan faces Nebraska, Minnesota, and Purdue. Again, they’ll be a favorite in all three. Like most years, Michigan’s record will come down to Penn State and Ohio State. This year, Michigan travels to Penn State, but draws Ohio State at home.
Michigan Football Futures Bet & Prediction
Ultimately, Michigan’s win total comes in efficiently priced. They will be clear favorites in ten games, a decent favorite over Penn State, and a near pick’em against Ohio State. For that reason, looking at the post-season market makes a little more sense. Michigan comes in +210 to win the Big Ten and +1000 to win the National Championship. For now, sprinkling Michigan to win it all makes sense. Like many elite teams, betting Michigan mid-season or waiting for line movement after a loss could lead to better post-season prices.
Best Michigan Football Futures Bet: National Championship +1000 at FanDuel
You can read the rest of Matt Gajewski’s 2023 college football season previews and predictions below!
- Alabama Season Preview & Predictions
- Arkansas Season Preview & Predictions
- Auburn Season Preview & Predictions
- Georgia Season Preview & Predictions
- Kentucky Season Preview & Predictions
- LSU Season Preview & Predictions
- Mississippi State Season Preview & Predictions
- Missouri Season Preview & Predictions
- Ole Miss Season Preview & Predictions
- South Carolina Season Preview & Predictions
- Tennessee Season Preview & Predictions
- Texas A&M Season Preview & Predictions
