The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 127 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE It's a new day in Minneapolis. Head coach P.J. Fleck, entering his seventh season, has won nine games in back-to-back seasons and posted 11 victories in 2019, but there's a lot of turnover on the roster in 2023. The Gophers have been building under Fleck, but don't have a Big Ten Champi- onship Game appearance to show for it. Now, it's up to a lot of new faces on offense to put them over the top, after losing quarterback Tan- ner Morgan, running back Mo- hamed Ibrahim and center John Michael Schmitz. Morgan is the winningest start- ing signal-caller in program his- tory (33 wins), Ibrahim was a second-team All-American last season and is the school's all-time leading rusher (4,668 yards), and Schmitz was a second-round NFL Draft pick to the New York Giants. A revamped offensive line with only one returning starter, graduate right tackle Quinn Carroll (who began his career at Notre Dame), will block for rocket-armed redshirt sophomore quar- terback Athan Kaliakmanis, who opened five games while Morgan was out with an injury in 2022, going 3-2. Kaliakmanis completed only 54.1 per- cent of his passes for 946 yards and 3 touchdowns, struggling with consis- tency, but he has what should be an out- standing group of pass-catchers to throw to. Athlon Sports rated the team's wide receivers fourth in the Big Ten as a unit. It's led by a trio with plenty of ex- perience. Senior Daniel Jackson paced the team with 557 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns a year ago. Sixth-year se- nior Chris Autman-Bell missed all but three outings with an injury last fall and is set to return. He's hauled in 125 catches for 1,970 yards and 13 touchdowns dur- ing his career. And Fleck has brought in a few Western Michigan transfers, in- cluding fifth-year senior wideout Corey Crooms Jr., who went for 1,766 yards and 12 touchdowns in 42 games in the MAC. No Gopher had more receptions than sixth-year senior tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford last season (42), and he added 497 yards and 2 touchdowns. While Morgan was behind center, Ibra- him was the heart and soul of the Min- nesota offense the last several years. In 2022, he ranked tied for second nation- ally with 138.8 rushing yards per contest, and the Gophers ran the ball more than anyone in the Big Ten, 44.7 times per contest. With Ibrahim off to the NFL (as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions) and a receiving corps as talented as it is, the Gophers may open up the pass- ing game more this season. Defense was where Minnesota shined most a year ago. The Gophers ranked fourth nationally in scoring de- fense, ninth in total defense, 16th against the rush and 15th versus the pass. Only four starters re- main, though, making it a reset on that side of the ball as well. The strength of the defense is in the secondary, even though two defensive backs were chosen in the NFL Draft this spring. Ball- hawking fifth-year senior safety Tyler Nubin has sky-high poten- tial, after leading the team with 4 interceptions and adding 55 tack- les and 3 pass breakups in 2022. He's one of two returning starters on the back end, along with ju- nior cornerback Justin Walley. He recorded 3 picks and 39 tackles a year ago. Nubin and Walley were named second- and third-team preseason All-Big Ten by Athlon Sports. Minnesota checked in 118th nationally in sacks (1.5) and 131st in tackles for loss (3.6) per game a year ago, and getting into the backfield more has been an emphasis this offseason. Notes Minnesota ranked sixth in the country in third- down defense, with opponents converting on only 27.8 percent of their attempts, and fourth in red zone touchdown percentage allowed (42.9) in 2022 … The Gophers gave up only 130 plays of 10-plus yards, good for ninth in the nation. ❑ Minnesota Must Replace Most Of Its Top Players 2023 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2022 Result Aug. 31 Nebraska W, 20-13 Sept. 9 Eastern Michigan — Sept. 16 at North Carolina — Sept. 23 at Northwestern W, 31-3 Sept. 30 Louisiana-Lafayette — Oct. 7 Michigan — Oct. 21 at Iowa L, 13-10 Oct. 28 Michigan State W, 34-7 Nov. 4 Illinois L, 26-14 Nov. 11 at Purdue L, 20-10 Nov. 18 at Ohio State — Nov. 25 Wisconsin W, 23-16 PLAYERS TO WATCH Offense: Sean Tyler, 5th-Sr., RB — The West- ern Michigan transfer totaled 2,820 rushing yards (averaging 5.7 yards per carry) and 23 touchdowns over four seasons in the MAC. Defense: Tyler Nubin, 5th-Sr., S — He was one of nine Power Five safeties to register 4 or more interceptions last season. GAME 6 • MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS • OCT. 7 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Michigan leads 76-25-3 First Meeting: Minnesota 14, U-M 6 (Oct. 17, 1892, in Minneapolis) Last Meeting: U-M 49, Minnesota 24 (Oct. 24, 2020, in Minneapolis) Head Coach: P.J. Fleck, 44-27 (7th year) at Min- nesota, 74-49 overall (11th year) 2022 In Review: 9-4, 5-4 Big Ten (T-2nd West) Final 2022 Ranking: Unranked Returning Starters: (4 offense, 4 defense, 2 specialists) Last Bowl Appearance: 2022 (Pinstripe Bowl vs. Syracuse, W 28-20) RETURNING LEADERS Passing: Athan Kaliakmanis (946 yards, 3 TD) Rushing: Bryce Williams (249 yards, 3 TD) Receiving: Daniel Jackson (557 yards, 5 TD) Tackles: Cody Lindenberg (71) Sacks: Kyler Baugh, Lucas Finnessy, Cody Linden- berg, Jalen Logan-Redding (1) Interceptions: Tyler Nubin (4) Sixth-year senior tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford's 497 receiving yards checked in 13th among all tight ends in college football in 2022. PHOTO COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA