The Wolverine

2022 Michigan Football Preview

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 45 it's basically a soft opening for them before Big Ten play. I think it will be McNamara who's the first quarterback, but there's a real opportunity to play both guys in those early games and assess McCarthy outside of just the package of plays [he had last year]. It was kind of a limited role. McCarthy's got to get healthy, obviously; he's got to play and compete through camp, but I think if he is healthy he deserves the chance to run a real, full offense at times early in the season so that they can assess what they have. His skill set, for me, is sort of that next-level skill set. Ultimately, Michi- gan is going to need that to compete for the CFP again. What are your expectations for the Michigan defense, which is tasked with replacing three top-50 NFL Draft picks in Aidan Hutchinson, Dax Hill and David Ojabo? Bender: Hutchinson and Ojabo combined for 25 sacks. Where is the pressure coming from this year? That is the most important question. [Graduate end] Taylor Upshaw is the top returner off the edge with 2.5 sacks last sea- son, and perhaps [senior end] Mike Mor- ris is a breakout performer. [Sophomore linebacker] Junior Colson and [junior line- backer] Nikhai Hill-Green combined for 110 tackles, and [senior cornerback] DJ Turner and [junior safety] R.J. Moten could emerge as all-conference players by the end of the season. There isn't one game-changing stud, and that will be the challenge for [first-year de- fensive coordinator Jesse] Minter. It's still going to be one of the better defenses in the Big Ten, especially if they mesh together. Fornelli: Those three were all significant parts of the unit, but it was a tremendous unit. There isn't a defensive statistical cat- egory that matters in which the Wolverines didn't rate in the top 25 last season. While Ojabo seemingly came from no- where, Hutchinson and Hill were veteran members. You're not only replacing their production but their experience. The good news is you have veteran play- ers like Mike Morris and Taylor Upshaw, and somebody like [junior end] Braiden Mc- Gregor, who might not have the snap count, but has been with the program a while. So, the defense should be good. How- ever, if it's going to be elite, you'll need players like [freshman defensive end] Der- rick Moore and [freshman cornerback] Will Johnson to have an immediate impact. Lassan: Considering the personnel losses and coordinator departure, this is a group in transition. However, the transition period won't be as steep as it is for some programs considering the level of talent Michigan has accumulated. I like the potential of some of the younger players on this unit, including linebacker Ju- nior Colson, [sophomore] safety Rod Moore and incoming freshman Will Johnson. Up front is where I have the biggest con- cerns. How fast can Michigan find edge rushers like Hutchinson and David Ojabo? And if the pass rush isn't as effective this year, what does that mean for a secondary that no longer has Dax Hill, Brad Hawkins and Vincent Gray? A light early schedule should help this defense patch some con- cerns or at least gain experience before the key stretch of games in the Big Ten. I don't expect the Wolverines to match last year's statistics [17.4 points a game al- lowed], but I'm also not expecting this group to regress to its '20 production [34.5 points a contest surrendered]. I still think the po- tential is in place to fin- ish in the top half of the Big Ten in scoring de- fense and consistently improve throughout the '22 season. Maisel: The defense will be good, which is not damning with faint praise. The 2021 de- fense was generational. It's hard to imagine this unit can replace the athleticism and experience of a defense led by Hutchinson and Ojabo. Rittenberg: It's going to be an interesting year because you're trying to maintain the system with Minter, but you have a lot of new guys there. They're pretty solid in the interior, especially up front and at some of the linebacker spots. But who are the playmakers going to be? Who's going to disrupt teams the way that Hutchinson, Ojabo and Hill did? That's where some of the evaluations during camp and willingness to play younger players at certain spots are going to be fascinating. Is this the year that a Braiden McGregor breaks out? Is this the year that they go with a younger guy at a spot who turns into a superstar? I'm really intrigued by some of the younger players that they've recruited recently — whether it's a Derrick Moore, whether it's Will Johnson. How soon do they become impact guys for Michigan? ❏ College Football Experts' 2022 Predictions For Michigan Name Outlet Predicted U-M Record* Bill Bender Sporting News 10-2 Tom Fornelli CBS Sports 10-2 Steve Lassan Athlon Sports 10-2 Ivan Maisel On3 9-3 Adam Rittenberg ESPN 10-2 * Regular-season Defensive end Derrick Moore is one of a handful of true freshmen that have been put forth as potential first-year impact players for the Wolverines in 2022. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND

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