The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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S P E C I A L I S T S 114 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ture a new starting long snapper, along with a new holder on placements. Ei- ther Hollenbeck or Bauer will likely hold, while graduate student Greg Tarr will strive for both consistency and anonym- ity as the Wolverines' snapper. "I liked him a lot, coming out of high school," Kornblue said of Tarr. "We ranked him as a five-star Division I snap- per. The first time I saw him, I was really impressed with him — not just his abil- ity, but his demeanor. He's put on the size and strength since he's been in col- lege to fit the position, to be what Michi- gan expects. He's a team guy. He's a guy who, ability-wise, has gone toe-to-toe with [William] Wagner the last couple of years. Wagner was just able to have that edge on him. "I think Tarr is a safe bet, in terms of a replacement. He hasn't been in a Week 1 starting position, but he's got enough maturity that the team should feel as good at the position as any other." Gone are the days when quarterbacks made the holds, like Brian Griese and Tom Brady used to do. Now the punter generally does the honors, and that posi- tion, along with the long snapper, will go a long way in telling the tale of Zvada's success this season, Kornblue noted. "Kicker-snapper-holder — those guys all practice together every day," he said. "Those guys hang out together and form that bond. That is as critical to a kicker's success as anything. Most people don't realize how important that holder's job is. Harbaugh put scholarships on holders in the past. "If the snapper and holder are doing their jobs, it makes it much easier for a kicker to do his. "Michigan understands that. Histori- cally, they've had good holders. It's a level of excellence where there's not as much attention put on it, but that's been a piece of the kicking success Michigan has had over the years." The Wolverines can feature plenty of explosive candidates at the kick and punt return positions. These are always subject to change in fall camp (or the season itself), but coming out of spring ball, sophomore running backs Jordan Marshall and Micah Ka'apana appeared to have an inside track on the kick re- turn spots. Meanwhile, junior receiver Semaj Morgan looked like the lead punt returner, followed by freshman receiver Andrew Marsh or sophomore wideout I'Marion Stewart. Marshall turned heads with his 100- yard rushing effort in the bowl game against Alabama. He also registered 100 yards on 4 kick returns at Indiana in 2024, including a career-long 37-yarder. Ka'apana recorded a single rush for 4 yards last season, and was recognized as Scout Team Player of the Week leading up to the Arkansas State game. Morgan, Michigan's most-utilized punt returner, averaged 11.1 yards on 9 punt returns last season. Stewart did not see game action last year as a freshman, but earned Scout Team awards on both offense and special teams. There are definitely new pieces at play on the special teams, but not at the spot where the most games are won and lost. That, in itself, provides a big boost, head- ing into a season in which the Wolverine harbor College Football Playoff hopes. ❑ [FYI] ❱ The Wolverines finished fourth in the country in BCF Toys' special teams efficiency ratings, an opponent-adjusted possession efficiency metric representing the scoring advantage per non-garbage possession a team's non-offensive and non-defensive units would expect to have on a neutral field against an average opponent. Michigan ranked 27th in 2023, second in 2022 and third in 2021. ❱ Michigan's last 43 field goals have been kicked by players who transferred into the program — James Turner (18-of-21 in 2023; Louisville transfer) and Dominic Zvada (21-of-22 in 2024; Arkansas State transfer). Zvada (95.5) and Turner (85.7) rank first and second in Mich- igan history in career field goal percentage (minimum 15 attempts), ahead of Jake Moody, who converted on 82.1 percent of his attempts from 2018-22 and stands fifth on the list. ❱ Zvada isn't just accurate, having made 55 of his 62 field goal attempts in his career, but he has a big leg. The Chandler, Ariz., native needed only 10 games and 14 attempts to become the Wolverines' single-season and career leader in field goal makes of 50-plus yards, with his fifth coming against Indiana in 2024. He ended the year with 7 makes from 50-plus, never missing from that distance. Hayden Epstein, Quinn Nordin and Jake Moody are all tied for in the Michigan record book for the second-most in a career (4). ❱ Michigan averaged 10.5 yards per punt return (seventh in the Big Ten) and 20.6 yards per kick return (ninth) last season. While the Wolverines were second in the conference by al- lowing only 15.7 yards per opponent kick return, teams recorded 17 yards per punt return on 14 runbacks against U-M, that mark standing 17th of 18 conference teams. ❱ Junior tight end Zack Marshall (191), graduate wide receiver Joe Taylor (189) and sopho- more linebacker Cole Sullivan (154) are U-M's three returning leaders in special teams snaps last season. All three players are expected to play big roles here again in 2025. Following Tommy Doman's transfer to Florida, the punting job will be decided between senior Hud- son Hollenbeck (above) and graduate transfer Luke Bauer. Hollenbeck averaged 46.2 yards for U-M on 6 punts against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl last year, while Bauer posted a 41.8-yard average on 49 punts with Missouri last season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL SPECIALISTS 45 Greg Tarr (6-2, 215), Gr., LS 90 Hudson Hollenbeck (6-2, 206), Sr., P 96 Dominic Zvada (6-3, 180), Sr., K — Luke Bauer (6-5, 207), Gr., P — Trent Middleton (6-3, 230), Jr., LS — Beckham Sunderland (6-1, 201), Sr., K