The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538670
SEPTEMBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 37 college football's "defensive best in character and performance" and was the second inside linebacker selected in the 2024 draft. GREG CRIPPEN OL ★★★★ Was supplanted by two incoming transfers in consecutive years, Olusegun Oluwatimi (Virginia) and Drake Nugent (Stanford). Olu- watimi won the Outland (best interior line- man) and Rimington (top center) trophies in 2022, while Nugent was a finalist for the latter in 2023. Crippen has seen action in 27 games, including eight starts in 2024, and is expected to start again in 2025. CRISTIAN DIXON WR ★★★★ Transferred to Central Missouri last offsea- son, following three seasons of being buried on the Wolverines' depth chart with only six game appearances. TOMMY DOMAN P ★★★ Appeared in 31 games in four seasons and started at punter in each of the last two cam- paigns before transferring to Florida for his fifth season in 2025. TAVIERRE DUNLAP RB ★★★ Rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in 33 games played at U-M and will spend the 2025 season just down the road at Eastern Michigan. DONOVAN EDWARDS RB ★★★★ He had a pair of long touchdown runs in two of the biggest games in program history — 75 and 85 yards in a 45-23 win over Ohio State in 2022, and 41 and 46 yards in a 34-13 victory over Washington in the 2023 national championship game. Appeared in 50 career games with 13 starts in his career, posting 2,251 rush yards and 19 touchdowns, along with 131 yards passing and 2 touchdowns and 86 catches for 797 yards and 4 touchdowns. GIOVANNI EL-HADI OL ★★★★ Has appeared in 42 games thus far with 31 on the offensive line and 16 starts, 13 com- ing during the 2024 season during which he earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors from the coaches and media. El-Hadi will move from right to left guard in 2025. DOMINICK GIUDICE OL ★★★ Switched from defensive line to offensive line in 2023 and appeared in 18 games be- fore transferring to Missouri. Played in 10 contests in 2024 and made five starts at cen- ter after winning the job out of fall camp. TJ GUY EDGE ★★★ Guy was primarily a depth piece early in his career, but has appeared in 36 games with three starts on defense, all coming during the 2024 season. He recorded 32 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and 6 quarterback hurries last year. Guy is expected to start op- posite Derrick Moore in 2025. LOUIS HANSEN TE ★★★★ Played in three games from 2021-22 at Michigan before transferring to UConn. He recorded 26 catches for 269 yards and 4 touchdowns between the 2023-24 seasons. JAYDON HOOD LB ★★★★ Competing for a backup spot at linebacker this season, after earning playing time in 26 games during his four years thus far in Ann Arbor. IKE IWUNNAH DT ★★★ Finally saw the field in game action in his senior year, appearing in 11 games and re- cording 8 tackles after establishing himself as a depth piece. Iwunnah returns for a fifth collegiate season in 2025. JA'DEN McBURROWS CB ★★★ McBurrows appeared in 19 games in four seasons at Michigan while working through various injuries. He transferred to Appala- chian State this spring. J.J. McCARTHY QB ★★★★ Finished his career with a 27-1 record as Michigan's starting quarterback, before becoming tied as the Wolverines' highest- drafted signal-caller in history (Forest Eva- shevski, 1941), going No. 10 overall to the Minnesota Vikings in 2024. In 2023, McCarthy was named first-team All-Big Ten and became U-M's first-ever win- ner of the Big Ten Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year award, completing 72.2 percent of his passes for 2,991 yards with 22 touch- downs. He ranks fourth in program history with 482 career completions and sixth with 6,226 passing yards. TYLER McLAURIN EDGE ★★★ Appeared in 18 games during his collegiate career before transitioning into a coaching internship at U-M. ROD MOORE S ★★★ The Clayton, Ohio, native "called game" against Ohio State in 2023, notching the in- terception with 25 seconds to go that sealed a 30-24 victory. The 2023 third-team All-Big Ten standout has started 27 of the 37 games he has played in to date. He missed the 2024 season after suffering a torn ACL in spring camp and is expected to make a full recovery and start in 2025. GEORGE ROOKS DT ★★★★ Spent two seasons at Michigan, appearing in nine games, prior to transferring to Boston College. He started 11 of the 13 games he played in at defensive tackle for the Eagles in 2024, compiling 28 tackles. Transferred to Syracuse for his final season. ❑ TOP CONTRIBUTOR TO DATE QB J.J. McCarthy McCarthy is one of the best quarterbacks in Michigan history — "the best," per former head coach Jim Harbaugh — and he led the Wolverines to two straight Big Ten titles and a national championship as the starter. He took the offense to a new level and came up clutch in big moments during the 2022-23 seasons after starring in a less-prominent role as a freshman. UNSUNG HERO DT Rayshaun Benny He played behind a slew of elite defensive tackles the last two years but still made his mark and has positioned himself for a similar level of stardom in the middle of the defensive line this year. READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT THIS FALL EDGE TJ Guy He proved last season that he could be a productive piece in Michigan's pass rush rota- tion and could be a major beneficiary of the attention Rayshaun Benny and Derrick Moore get from opposing defenses. He and Moore have a chance to be the next in line in terms of great pass rush duos in Ann Arbor. REPORT CARD Players In Class: 22 Rivals Industry Team Rank- ing: 15th Players Still At Michigan: 7 A generational quarterback, an elite linebacker, a running back made for leg- endary moments and loads of talent else- where, the 2021 class — much of which was recruited during the COVID-19 pan- demic — panned out, to say the least. A handful of contributors still remain, in- cluding Rod Moore, whose knack for big plays will be welcome back on a team that has College Football Playoff aspirations. A