The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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54 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2024 H ere are three burning questions for Michigan football as it enters an extremely important fall camp: HOW WILL THE QB SITUATION PLAY OUT? Michigan coaches are tasked with finding the team's starting quarterback, and there's no easy or obvious choice. In fact, the race is as wide open as it's been in over a decade, probably since De- nard Robinson broke out against UConn in 2010 in his first career start, after not being named the starter prior to the beginning of the season. The Wolverines have a few top options in graduate Jack Tuttle, a seventh-year player; senior Davis Warren, a former walk-on; and junior Alex Orji, who appeared to be fourth string last season and has attempted only 1 career pass. Tuttle has the experience, with five career starts (all at Indiana), includ- ing four against ranked opponents, but he's 1-4 in those tilts. Warren has had a long journey, after beating cancer and seeing his prep senior season wiped out due to COVID-19. Orji, meanwhile, is interesting. He seems to be the favorite to land the job according to national preseason pro- jections, and perhaps it's because of his tantalizing, off-the-charts athleticism. It's also because he's the most likely quarterback on the roster to play. In fact, offensive coordinator and position coach Kirk Campbell said this offseason that Orji will be "part of the offensive game plan no matter what, but the com- petition is very much open." Whether that means Orji will be a change-of-pace, wildcat-type quarter- back or the every-down starter remains to be seen. All of it will be determined during fall camp, with head coach Sher- rone Moore saying that Michigan may not know who the main man behind center will be until one week out from the opener. HOW GOOD CAN THE DEFENSE BE? Michigan lost seven starters to the NFL and senior safety Rod Moore to injury, yet there's significant, top-shelf talent returning to the defense. In addition to graduate Makari Paige and senior edge Josaiah Stewart, a slew of juniors will lead the way in cornerback Will John- son, defensive tackles Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham, and linebackers Jaishawn Barham and Ernest Hausmann. The Wolverines may have multiple first-round picks in the NFL Draft next spring, and they could all be from the defensive side of the ball. Johnson, Gra- ham and Grant are all prime candidates. There are depth concerns in the front seven and at cornerback, but it also has to be acknowledged that there's perhaps little chance that a Michigan defense will ever again possess as much depth as last year's unit did. The Wolverines will have to add to the number of capable players throughout the season, with fall camp being a kickoff for that process, but there's enough talent behind the starters to feel good about that development occurring. WHO WILL BREAK OUT? Predicting Michigan's break- out players for this coming sea- son is tough, since there's a lot of opportunity for Wolverines who have waited their turn to seize the moment after many starters de- parted. But there are two juniors who lead that pack in wide re- ceiver Tyler Morris and defensive back Zeke Berry. In fact, Morris is set to make a huge jump, after reeling in just 13 receptions for 197 yards with 1 touchdown last season. We pre- dict he will lead the team in re- ceiving yards in 2024. That leap will be similar to what Roman Wilson did between his junior and senior campaigns — catching 25 passes for 376 yards in 2022 before going off with 48 grabs for 789 yards in 2023. Berry has played just 45 career snaps on defense, but he's one of the most im- portant players on the unit in 2023. He's set to play both nickel back and safety, with it being unclear at this time how exactly that split will play out. The nickel position has been one of the most key spots on the field ever since the Wolverines shifted to their current defensive system in 2021. Daxton Hill was great in 2021, and Mike Sainristil played at a high level over the last two seasons. The position is responsible for both playing in the box, getting physical and stopping the run, but also covering some of the best receivers on the field. Berry has the athleticism to make it happen, and he said this spring that he's really started to have a high-level un- derstanding of reading offenses. Sain- ristil, of course, helped him during his first two years on campus. ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ ❱ CLAYTON SAYFIE Three Burning Questions Junior wide receiver Tyler Morris looks to have a breakout season in 2024. While he only caught 13 passes last year, he averaged 15.2 yards per reception, and his lone touchdown came in the Rose Bowl win against Alabama. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athletics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton.Sayfie @on3.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @CSayf23.