The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MAY 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 23 up and get better at, but he's a continued work in progress. He's more than capable to do it. "[Davis] got better. He progressed and did things, so every single day, he got better. Bryce made him better, and he made Bryce better … just the tempera- ment that he had and the relationship was really cool to watch two guys com- pete every day." The Wolverines' projected start- ing receivers didn't play much, which didn't help the passing stats. Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley hauled in a 25-yarder on a nice throw from Davis for the Maize team, but Davis' second- longest completion — 20 yards to Logan Forbes — came on a tipped ball, a fortu- nate bounce. Underwood, meanwhile, found a surprising target in former Michigan walk-on Hoffman. With sophomore tight end Hogan Hansen out (banged up, we've heard) and veteran Marlin Klein seeing limited action like most of the projected starters, Hoffman took advantage with 7 receptions for 148 yards, including the 88-yarder. Sophomore receiver Channing Good- win hauled in 3 catches for 23 yards, including a 15- and a 7-yarder to the left side in front of the corners for nice gains on one drive. As for the running game — Maize team sophomore Jordan Marshall, ex- pected to be one of the primary ball car- ries next year, rushed only 6 times for 9 yards in a limited role, but his backfield competition, Alabama transfer Justice Haynes, looked the part for the Blue squad. He ran for 51 yards on 6 carries, including a 26-yarder in which he got outside left tackle for a big gain. "You saw the little flash with Justice Haynes when he bounced that one to the left. He's a guy that's got home run speed and ability, but he's been a great leader," Moore said. "… Jordan, he just worked his tail off and tried to emulate him as much as he can." Former walk-on Bryson Kuzdzal was a surprise third back after Benjamin Hall announced his transfer, and he rose to the occasion with 14 carries for a game- high 105 yards for the Maize, including a long run of 30. "He ran really well today. We really feel highly about him, and [sophomore] Micah Ka'apana [15 carries, 34 yards, TD]," Moore said. DEFENSE WAS A BIG TEST FOR A REVAMPED OFFENSIVE LINE The big question mark heading into the game was the offensive line, and how they'd hold up against a front seven expected to be one of the best in the country. It went about as expected based on spring reports from insiders, starting with a sack from veteran defen- sive tackle Rayshaun Benny on the first play and consistent pressure from the edges throughout. "I think the biggest piece is that they get challenged by the defensive line ev- ery day," head coach Sherrone Moore said of his men up front on offense. "I think our D-line is going to be really deep, and it's always different in the spring games because everybody's split up. There are different combinations of people — ones playing with twos, twos playing with ones, and threes playing with twos — so, you don't get really caught up in that. "But I've seen them progress. I think Coach [Grant] Newsome has done an unbelievable job with that group. They've really fought every practice, and you can see them getting better and better." Left tackle remains the biggest ques- tion mark, and all struggled in pass pro- tection. Junior Evan Link, transfer Brady Norton, and freshman Andrew Babalola have all gotten looks, but it's open. "There's not really a solid starting five," Moore said. "I know that [grad se- nior] Gio El-Hadi would be a starter [at guard]. [Graduate senior] Greg Crippen would probably be a starter [at center], [sophomore] Andrew Sprague [at right tackle], and then there'd be a rotation. There could be Brady Norton; it could be Andrew Babalola. It could be [junior] Nathan Efobi. It could be Evan Link in different spots." Finally, while the defense rotated sev- eral in and out and the projected starters played minimally, a few players stood out. Sophomore linebacker Cole Sul- livan led the Maize with 5 solo tackles and 2 assists, and corner Jo'Ziah Ed- mond also looked good with some nice MAIZE AND BLUE GAME HIGHLIGHTS Scoring Blue — Stuart Blake, 28-yard FG Blue — Micah Ka'apana, 2-yard rush TD (Blake kick) Blue — Jalen Hoffman, 88-yard receiving TD from Bryce Underwood (Blake kick) Rushing Maize — Bryson Kuzdzal, 14 carries, 105 yards Blue — Justice Haynes, 6 carries, 51 yards Passing Maize — Jadyn Davis, 6-of-17, 74 yards, 2 INT Blue — Bryce Underwood, 12-of-26, 187 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Receiving Maize — Logan Forbes, 3 catches, 42 yards Blue — Jalen Hoffman, 7 catches, 148 yards, 1 TD Tackles Maize — Cole Sullivan, 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack Blue — Shamari Earls, 5 tackles Interceptions Maize — Tevis Metcalf, 1 Blue — Jeremiah Lowe, 2 Underwood, the freshman quarterback with all eyes on him, completed 12 of 26 passes for 187 yards with a touchdown and 1 intercep- tion in his first game in a Michigan uniform. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL