The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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24 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2024 BY CHRIS BALAS M ichigan football will have a much different look in 2024 after losing many of its best players from a national championship team, not to mention the majority of the coaching staff. The Wolverines will rebuild under first-year head coach Sherrone Moore, with offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell, receivers coach Ronald Bellamy and offensive line coach Grant Newsome (from tight end) his only holdovers from the previous staff. The good news: there's still plenty of talent on the roster, and most of it seems intent on staying and trying to "run it back" to another title in 2024. There are at least six All-America candidates in defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, cornerback Will Johnson, tight end Colston Loveland, running back Donovan Edwards and safety Rod Moore, and plenty of All-Big Ten talent behind them as well. Depth will be key, however, and is one of many questions we have entering spring football practice. Here are our five most pressing questions as of March 18 (the first day of practice), starting with the "big two." WHO'S THE STARTING QUARTERBACK, AND IS HE ON THE ROSTER? Michigan has five players vying for the starting job with varying levels of experi- ence, but none with a lot. Jack Tuttle re- turns for a seventh year of eligibility, and though he looked good in mop-up duty a year ago, completing 15 of 17 passes, he's not a sure thing. Still, he has more experi- ence than any of the others, appearing in 15 games with five starts at quarterback at Indiana, completing 104 of 182 passes for 901 yards with 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions there. "Having Jack Tuttle is extremely valu- able to the room as far as a veteran guy that's been a couple different places," Campbell said. "… He's just a great leader — great way about him, really good passer of the football." Junior Jayden Denegal might have been the most improved offensive player on the roster last year, Campbell said, while true freshman Jadyn Davis "embodies what you want in a quarterback," he added. "… Leadership, command, the care factor, the 'it' factor. When you're around him, his personality is infectious." Davis is still probably a year or two away, but he's already made progress as an early enrollee. Senior Davis Warren has shown flashes, but injuries prevented progress last year, while junior Alex Orji is probably the most intriguing of the bunch. He'd be our frontrunner heading into spring ball, an elite athlete who continues to improve. "Great understanding of the offense," Campbell praised. "His development of throwing the football from Day 1 that I got here as an analyst to now is vast. It's not even the same guy. He looks like a totally different player right now, and the ball pops off his hand." We still think the next QB could come from the portal, but Campbell seems con- fident in his guys. "We're going to evaluate the guys on our roster this spring," he said. "We're excited with them, and I have no con- cerns that there's not a guy on this roster that would be able to lead Michigan next year." SPRINGING FORWARD TO 2024 Michigan Football Still Has Talent, But Several Questions Heading Into Spring Practice Grad student quarter- back Jack Tuttle returns with a seventh season of eligibility. He com- pleted 15 of 17 passes for 130 yards and 1 touchdown in limited action a year ago. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL