The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1523593
THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 23 options at running back and receiver. The Wolverines' three-year run as Big Ten champions could be in serious jeopardy." Like Lindy's, Athlon Sports projects Michigan as the No. 8 seed facing No. 9 Alabama in the College Football Playoff, but it has Alabama prevailing in the re- match of last year's overtime thriller in the Rose Bowl. Athlon also picked No. 1 Georgia over No. 2 Ohio State in the CFP title game. Phil Steele's College Football '24 Longtime numbers cruncher and col- lege football prognosticator Phil Steele follows a similar pattern, but his projec- tion for Michigan is slightly lower than Athlon and Lindy's. Steele picked Michi- gan to finish fourth in the Big Ten — be- hind Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State — and No. 9 nationally. Steele pointed out that "they go from one of the most experienced teams (No. 7 in his experience ranking in 2023) to one of the least (No. 117 nationally, the second- least experienced in the 18-team Big Ten)." Steele also gave a nod to Michigan's op- ponent winning percentage (.624, ranked 10th nationally) this season as another indicator of the gauntlet in 2024. Even with a lack of starting experience and a much tougher schedule than in years past (15th-most difficult nationally vs. 63rd a year ago), Steele said of U-M: "They still have one of the top defenses in the country and cannot be counted out, especially if a QB develops this year and they get into the postseason, they could be dangerous." From a sheer talent perspective, Steele ranks Michigan No. 12 in the land, and his rankings of Wolverines among his top NFL Draft-eligible players bear that out. He has CB Will Johnson (No. 2 overall), DT Mason Graham (No. 13) and TE Colston Loveland (No. 20) all pegged as first- round picks. Understandably, he also gave each of those three players his No. 1 rating in their respective position groups. He also has nine other Wolverines ranked among the top overall draft-el- igible players at their positions: Max Bredeson (No. 4 FB), Kenneth Grant (No. 4 DT), Rod Moore (No. 4 FS), Jaishawn Barham (No. 6 ILB), Tommy Doman (No. 7 P), Donovan Edwards (No. 8 RB), Der- rick Moore (No. 14 DE), Jaden Mangham (No. 18 FS) and Ernest Hausmann (No. 45 OLB). Michigan's tradition of special teams excellence is in good hands, according to Steele, who tabbed long-snapper William Wagner as a first-team All-American. One of the advertisers in Steele's mag- azine is Sirius XM College Sports Ra- dio's "Off Campus" show hosted by Ja- cob Hester and Bobby Carpenter. Three Wolverines earned special mention on their "All Meathead Radio Team" this year: Bredeson, Graham and Loveland. What does it mean to be a Meathead? It's a term of endearment. "You are a guy that has a combination of grit, physicality, toughness and loyalty," the SiriusXM radio hosts said. "You can always count on a Meathead to get the job done. Chances are, if you can't find him he's either in the weight room under a stack of heavy weights or in a film room with a clicker in his hands. We've put together a list of guys that are always going to be team-first, and as they've shown, will put their body on the line for that extra inch." ❑ ATHLON 1st 2nd 3rd School Team Team Team Total Ohio State 9 * * 9 Oregon 6 * * 6 Michigan 3 * * 3 Iowa 3 * * 3 Minnesota 2 * * 2 Penn State 2 * * 2 USC 2 * * 2 Michigan State 1 * * 1 Purdue 1 * * 1 Illinois — * * 0 Indiana — * * 0 Maryland — * * 0 Nebraska — * * 0 Northwestern — * * 0 Rutgers — * * 0 UCLA — * * 0 Washington — * * 0 Wisconsin — * * 0 LINDY'S 1st 2nd 3rd School Team Team Team Total Ohio State 6 4 1 11 Iowa 4 1 3 8 Oregon 2 4 1 7 Michigan 3 3 — 6 Penn State 2 1 3 6 Washington — 1 3 6 Minnesota 2 1 2 5 Michigan State 2 2 — 4 USC 3 — — 3 Wisconsin 1 1 1 3 Illinois — 1 2 3 Maryland — 1 2 3 Nebraska — 1 2 3 Indiana — 2 — 2 Purdue — 2 — 2 Northwestern — — 2 2 Rutgers — — 2 2 UCLA — — 2 2 PHIL STEELE 1st 2nd 3rd 4th School Team Team Team Team Total Ohio State 7 2 4 — 13 Oregon 3 4 5 1 13 Iowa 3 2 4 3 12 Michigan 5 2 2 1 10 Penn State 2 3 2 2 9 Minnesota 3 2 1 1 7 USC 1 3 — 3 7 Nebraska — 2 2 3 7 Maryland 1 3 — 1 5 Northwestern 1 2 1 1 5 Rutgers 1 1 1 2 5 Wisconsin — 1 2 2 5 Michigan State 1 1 1 — 3 Purdue 1 — 1 1 3 Washington — 1 — 2 3 Illinois — — 2 1 3 Indiana — — 1 2 3 UCLA — — — 3 3 ATHLON DL — 2nd LB — 4th DB — 4th LINDY's DL — 2nd LB — 8th DB — 10th PHIL STEELE DL — 4th ST — 5th DB — 8th LB — 18th RB — 20th OL — 36th WR — 58th Wolverines On All-Big Ten Teams Pos. Player Athlon Lindy's Phil Steele TE Colston Loveland 1st 1st 1st DL Mason Graham 1st 1st 1st DB Will Johnson 1st 1st 1st RB Donovan Edwards * 2nd 2nd OL Josh Priebe * 2nd 3rd DL Kenneth Grant * 2nd 3rd P Tommy Doman * — 2nd DE Josaiah Stewart * — 4th * Athlon only published first-team picks in magazine Preseason All-Big Ten Honorees By School * Athlon only published first-team picks in magazine Michigan In National Unit Rankings