Starting Over

In the first five years of his tenure, Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines were 47–18. There was grumbling that he was 0–5 against Ohio State and 1–4 in bowl games, but his record was still much better than predecessors Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez and about the same as in the Lloyd Carr years.

But the pandemic hit Michigan harder than most schools, and the team rarely practiced together in 2020. Barely able to field a team, they pulled the plug and canceled the OSU game, finishing the season at 2–4.

It was a financial disaster and also a psychic one. Some fans made it clear they thought it best that the head coach just ride off into the sunset. But Harbaugh took a pay cut and stayed put. 

Post-Covid, Michigan football became a sort of brakeless gravel truck traversing a series of hairpin curves. Harbaugh twice seemed on the verge of returning to the NFL. That averted, he ran afoul of the NCAA for forbidden in-person recruiting during a Covid dead period. Michigan imposed a preemptive three-game suspension, but the NCAA subsequently handed down harsher penalties. At the end of last season, the Big Ten hit the coach with another three-game suspension for analyst Connor Stalion’s alleged impermissible, in-person scouting operation.

Yet amid all this, Harbaugh’s teams ran up a 40–3 post-Covid record. They beat OSU three times, made three national playoffs, and won a national championship in last year’s 15–0 steamroll. Against Penn State at Happy Valley, Michigan’s only truly close game in the regular season, Sherrone Moore, subbing for the suspended head coach, ran the ball thirty-two consecutive times. An audacious call against the best rush defense in the country, it was validated by a 24–15 victory.

It really was, as the chant says, “great to be a Michigan Wolverine.” And so it was in the Rose Bowl against Bama, and the slightly anticlimactic win over Washington in Houston. NCAA president Charlie Baker handed over a lagniappe at the close of the season, saying, “no one believes at this point that Michigan didn’t win the national title fair and square.”

Harbaugh then pulled the plug on college ball, heading off to the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. Brilliant defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, defensive line coach Mike Elston, and strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert went with him. Harbaugh’s son Jay took a job with the Seattle Seahawks. Mike Hart (running backs) left under unexplained circumstances, and Chris Partridge—a really fine coach and loyal to Michigan—was a part of the ancillary NCAA sign-stealing fallout. These weren’t just guys. They were keys to Michigan’s success.

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New Direction

Sherrone Moore, promoted to the top job, is in some ways starting over. He’s got a new staff, a new quarterback, and an entirely new offensive line.

He is starting with the best pair of defensive tackles in the country—Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, future first-round NFL picks—and corner Will Johnson, also likely in round one. But the Wolverines lost iconic slot corner Mike Sainristil and numerous others to the NFL (and safety Keon Sabb to Alabama). Part of Jesse Minter’s genius was his ability to develop experience and depth all over the field, but he’s in San Diego with Harbaugh.

Plainly, Minter will be a loss, but Moore convinced the DC’s former mentor, Don “Wink” Martindale, to fill the vacancy. Martindale, a longtime NFL coach, may be a slightly more aggressive version of Minter, more likely to pressure the quarterback with more than four defenders. If he can find or develop a pairing for Will Johnson at corner, he may make this pay off. Michigan won’t be as deep on defense as they were last year—no team might ever have been—but if they remain healthy, they might be as good.

Offense is another matter, because quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum, and the entire offensive line went into the NFL draft. Wide receivers Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson also were drafted, and other wideouts, seeing fewer opportunities with Michigan’s reliance on the run, left for perceived-as-greener pastures. The returning stars are running back Donovan Edwards and tight end Colston Loveland. 

The most-asked question is who’ll take McCarthy’s place at quarterback, but at the spring game, no single candidate emerged as a front runner. Alex Orji, a tank and the favorite, can run the ball, but it isn’t clear if he can throw it, or run an offense. Davis Warren, a former walk-on, threw the ball reasonably (maybe better), but no one is making noise about his prospects as the mainstay. Jack Tuttle, now in his seventh year, provides a stable floor (if limited ceiling), but was injured in the spring. Jadyn Davis, a highly recruited freshman, doesn’t seem ready yet.

The one thing no one wanted coming out of the spring was uncertainty at the QB position. But that’s the reality.

In the spring game, the interior of the revamped offensive line was encouraging, but tackle play was shaky. Miles Hinton, a likely starter, was out, as was experienced guard Gio El-Hadi. Synergy is critical in the offensive line, and it takes many reps to develop. That makes it difficult to solve by a trip to the transfer portal, though Stanford refugee Drake Nugent worked out just fine at center last year, and there is hope that Hinton (also from Stanford last year) will become a star.

Moore did land grad-transfer Josh Priebe (Northwestern) to compete at guard, and he has been receiving good marks from the coaches. The conundrum is (per an analytical proof by Pro Football Focus) that the passing game can succeed with shaky blocking, at least some of the time. Run game? Not so much. This is a concern for a team determined to run the ball as its primary option.  

The one place that looked terrific in the spring was center, where Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson played well against Michigan’s rugged defensive front. So, maybe, Moore and new offensive line (previously tight ends) coach Grant Newsome can piece it together.

Moore does not have the luxury of an easy early season. Certainly, there isn’t time for a QB tryout as there was in 2022 between McCarthy and Cade McNamara. The Wolverines open with a very competent Fresno State team (9-4 last year) before hosting loaded Texas at the Big House. Texas is the Pro Football Focus #5 team heading into the season. Michigan also goes to Seattle to play a rematch of the national championship against Washington. The Wolverines have Oregon (#3 in PFF) and perennial power USC at home and, of course Ohio State in Columbus (#2 in PFF). This could be as challenging a schedule as Michigan has ever played.

The only predictions that make any sense are that this season, the Wolverines will not go undefeated. That, and coach Moore will not run the ball thirty-two times in a row against anyone, let alone a premier rush defense. And it will be difficult, though not impossible, for Michigan to make the (now) twelve-team national championship tournament.

That said, if Moore can piece together a good offensive line, it would seem there is enough talent in the quarterback room to make the offense work. If you try sometimes, you get what you need.