The Wolverine

2022 Michigan Football Preview

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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10 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Along with having a highly regarded coaching staff, a main reason why Michi- gan is considered a Big Ten and national title contender heading into 2022 is the talent on the roster. The Wolverines have key players from last season coming back and young, emerging athletes who are expected to step in nicely for those who departed. While it's not an exact science, recruiting rankings can give a glimpse at how talented a college football team is. The Wolverines' roster is filled mostly with blue-chip talent, also known as former four- and five-star recruits on the On3 Consensus, at a 57.1 percent rate. Michigan has more four-stars than any other recruiting classification, plus a pair of five-stars in sophomore running back Donovan Edwards, the No. 32 overall player in the 2021 class, and freshman defensive back Will Johnson, who ranked No. 16 in 2022. While the Maize and Blue have consis- tently hit on four-stars with the occasional elite five-star mixed in, just nine of their players resided in the top 100 of their respective class, and only four were in the top 50 — Edwards, Johnson, freshman defensive end Derrick Moore (No. 37 in 2022) and sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy (No. 48 in 2021). Eighteen of Michigan's four-star athletes were ranked outside the top 300, and another 13 resided outside the top 200. They slotted an average of 12th in the country and 2.4 in the Big Ten in the team recruiting rankings over the last five cycles (2018-22). Among conference foes, only Ohio State (1.4) edges that mark out. Penn State is close behind at 2.6. In fact, the race between Michigan and Penn State for the more talented roster is too close to call. The Nittany Lions possess one less four-star (49) but one more five-star (three) than Michigan, and they have an identical number of top- 50 prospects (four). There's no debating that Ohio State has the Big Ten's best roster, far and away. The Buckeyes have seven five-star recruits at wide receiver alone, two more than Michi- gan and Penn State have combined at all positions. They have 15 total who hold that classification, plus 55 four-stars and only 15 three-stars. Their 33 top-100 players and 20 top-50 talents dwarf the rest of the conference. Outside of Ohio State's crop of 15, there are only eight other five-stars in the league. With two, Wisconsin joins Michigan and Penn State in having multiple elite prospects, while Maryland touts one five- star player. The Buckeyes have long recruited at another level than the rest of the Big Ten, with top-five classes in four of the last five years. The trend doesn't appear to be ending any time soon, either. As of late June, the Buckeyes already have 13 commits in their 2023 haul, which ranks first in the country. — Clayton Sayfie MICHIGAN'S ROSTER BY ON3 CONSENSUS RATINGS 2-Stars/ Pos. 5-Stars 4-Stars 3-Stars Unranked Top-300 Top-100 QB 0 3 2 0 2 1 RB 1 2 1 0 2 1 WR 0 6 5 0 5 1 TE 0 4 3 1 1 0 OL 0 11 2 2 7 1 DL 0 5 5 0 3 1 DE 0 4 3 0 3 1 LB 0 6 5 0 3 1 DB 1 9 6 0 6 2 ST 0 0 2 2 0 0 Total 2 50 34 5 32 9 Michigan Rates As One Of Big Ten's Most Talented Rosters Per On3 Consensus

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