The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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22 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2024 FOOTBALL PREVIEW man amongst boys. … They have enough talent on defense to sustain. That's a given." Speaking of the Michigan defense, Lindy's ranked new defensive coordina- tor Don "Wink" Martindale as the No. 11 most pivotal coordinator move in col- lege football this offseason, calling him "Sherrone Moore's most important hire to his first-year staff." Lindy's notes that Martindale is the originator of the system that his predecessors at Michigan (Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter) transplanted from their time as his protegé with the Baltimore Ravens, and that Martindale tends to be a bit more blitz-heavy than Macdonald or Minter. In addition to tabbing Graham as Michi- gan's most valuable player, Lindy's looked to the defense to identify defensive back Zeke Berry as the squad's emerging star and linebacker Jaishawn Barham (a Maryland transfer) as the team's top newcomer. Lindy's quoted the Wolverines' head coach on Barham: "As quiet as can be, just goes about his business the right way, just how we like the transfers that come here." As for the big questions about Michi- gan, Lindy's stated the obvious about the Wolverines' quarterback situation: "J.J. McCarthy left a year early with no heir apparent." It also asked, "Who will catch the passes?" with Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson off to the NFL. At the end of the day, even with those big questions that will need to be an- swered by the Wolverines, Lindy's still picked Michigan to make the College Football Playoff for what would be the fourth consecutive season. It has No. 8 U-M winning a rematch in the CFP first round against presumptive No. 9 seed Alabama and its new coach, Kalen De- Boer. The publication then has Michigan bowing out in the quarterfinals to No. 1 seed Georgia, which it predicts will go all the way with a 27-17 win over No. 2 seed Ohio State. Athlon Sports Athlon slotted Michigan at No. 7 over- all and also picked Ohio State and Oregon to finish ahead of U-M in a division-less Big Ten this year. "The reigning national champs return only five starters, but enough of a foun- dation remains for new head coach Sher- rone Moore to keep this team in the hunt for a Big Ten title," Athlon predicted. "The offense will be a work in progress early in '24 with five new starters up front and a quarterback battle that could ex- tend into the season." The publication went on to say, "The Wolverines' offense is currently designed to stick with its ground-and-pound formula, looking to eat away at time of possession and wear down opposing de- fenses. But lacking a proven quarterback and every-down back could mean a step back in efficiency." However, Athlon had nothing but plaudits for the Michigan defense, stat- ing that a defense anchored by All-Amer- icans Mason Graham and Will Johnson "can carry this team to another double- digit win total." It noted that the nation's No. 1-ranked defensive unit has a new coordinator in Wink Martindale, calling him "the architect of the disguise-heavy defense introduced at Michigan in 2021." It went on to predict that Martindale will look to carry that over while mixing in some additional blitzing and pressure. The publication pointed to Michigan's Week 2 matchup with Texas in Ann Arbor as a "huge early test to see how far along Moore is in his effort to keep Michigan at the top of the Big Ten." Graham and Johnson both received first- team preseason All-America honors from Athlon, as did tight end Colston Loveland. Senior running back Donovan Edwards garnered third-team recognition and also was on Athlon's "Tier 2" Heisman Trophy watch list, checking in at No. 12 overall. I n g r a d i n g 2 0 2 4 's n e w h e a d coa c h e s, t h e S h e r ro n e Mo o re h i re wa s ra te d N o . 7 i n t h e n a t i o n . Michigan checked in with four of the "10 best games of 2024," with — no surprise — the Nov. 30 matchup with Ohio State garnering No. 1 status. "The Game will more than likely matter on a national scale," Athlon stated. The other ranked U-M games were Texas (No. 4), Oregon (No. 7) and at Washington (No. 12). Athlon's annual scouting report from an anonymous opposing Big Ten coach, went as follows: "The trick for Sherrone [Moore] is to keep the momentum of a na- tional championship culture through all the roster turnover. I think you'll see a lot of familiar Harbaugh practices and ideas this first season, because they've got to rebuild before they can put a new signature on the program. … The defense will lead the way for them; that can help bridge the rebuild on offense. Will [DC] Wink [Martindale] just rip it and blitz? That will be interest- ing to see. … They're basically turning over the entire offense, and they need to find some receiver talent for whoever wins that starting job at QB. … This is going to be a massive transition even though they kept on the interim from last year. They'll take a step back, but maybe not as far as you think." In its final analysis, Athlon said that while Michigan maintains much of what made its defensive unit so elite, first-year head coach Sherrone Moore "must settle on a quarterback, hand the offense to a new coordinator (Kirk Campbell) and help bring along a new offensive line, all with fewer Michigan's Preseason All-Americans • DB Will Johnson — first team (Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele) • TE Colston Loveland — first team (Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele) • DL Mason Graham — first team (Athlon, Lindy's); second team (Phil Steele) • LS William Wagner — first team (Phil Steele) • RB Donovan Edwards — third team (Athlon) ATHLON 1. Ohio State 2. Oregon 3. Michigan 4. Penn State 5. USC 6. Iowa 7. Nebraska 8. Wisconsin 9. Rutgers 10. Washington 11. Maryland 12. Minnesota 13. Michigan State 14. UCLA 15. Illinois 16. Northwestern 17. Indiana 18. Purdue LINDY'S 1. Ohio State 2. Oregon 3. Michigan 4. Penn State 5. USC 6. Iowa 7. Wisconsin 8. Nebraska 9. Washington 10. Rutgers 11. Maryland 12. Michigan State 13. Northwestern 14. UCLA 15. Minnesota 16. Purdue 17. Illinois 18. Indiana PHIL STEELE Preseason Magazines Predict The Big Ten 1. Ohio State 2. Oregon 3. Penn State 4. Michigan 5. Iowa 6. USC 7. Nebraska 8. Rutgers 9. Wisconsin 10. Maryland 11. Washington 12. Indiana 13. Illinois 14. UCLA 15. Minnesota 16. Northwestern 17. Purdue 18. Michigan State