The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 41 ❱ MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Five Best Players 1. Junior RB Justice Haynes: The Alabama transfer is the first Michigan player ever to rush for 100-plus yards in each of his first four contests, doing so against New Mexico (159), Oklahoma (125), Central Michigan (104) and Nebraska (149) while totaling 6 touch- downs. He's added 9 catches for 29 yards. Haynes has forced 15 missed tackles, racked up 309 of his 537 rushing yards after contact and moved the chains 22 times. He's tied for third in the country and stands first in the Big Ten in rushing yards, and he's averaging a whopping 8.1 yards per carry. The 5-foot-11, 210-pounder has been a weapon for the Wolverines, even when the blocking in front of him has been less than stellar. 2. Freshman QB Bryce Underwood: The 6-foot-4, 228-pound Detroit native's stats have been fairly modest — 56.9 percent completion rate, 733 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception through the air, with 22 carries for 169 yards and 3 scores on the ground. But his impact has been tremendous, evidenced by the Wolverines ranking tied 26th nationally with 6.9 yards per play. That mark is up from 4.7 last year, which checked in 127th in the sport. A difference- maker with both his arm and legs, Underwood is only getting better and more comfortable as both a talent and leader. 3. Senior LB/EDGE Jaishawn Barham: In his second season at U-M after transferring in from Maryland, the 6-foot-3, 243-pounder has been the biggest impact player on coordinator Wink Martindale's defense. As a result, Martindale has used him in whichever way he can, putting stress on opposing offenses. Barham has recorded 16 tackles, including a team-best 4.5 stops for loss and Wolverine-high 3 sacks. He's also second on the squad with 10 pressures, behind only senior edge Derrick Moore (11). Michigan moved Barham to edge rusher in the third game of the season, and he's been a force ever since. In his two games there, wins versus Central Michigan and Nebraska, he's totaled 8 pressures and 3 sacks. 4. Senior LB Ernest Hausmann: The green dot player who receives play calls from Martindale through helmet communication leads Michigan with 29 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a sack. He's added 8 pressures, checking in third on the team, on 23 pass-rush snaps, laying 4 hits on the quarterback. A team captain, Hausmann gets the defense organized and makes plays all over the field. 5. Sophomore LB Cole Sullivan: The Pittsburgh native is living up to the hype, which isn't always the case for a player who generates loads of offseason buzz. A bigger, faster, stronger Sullivan — standing 6-foot- 3, 230 pounds — made a big impact with an interception and sack to end back-to-back New Mexico drives in a 34-17 win Aug. 30. He's recorded 19 tackles, including 3 for loss and 2 sacks, on the season, and added another pick on a deflected ball in the 30-27 triumph over Nebraska Sept. 20. Sullivan is earning more and more playing time and proving to be one of the most talented players on that side of the ball. Key Moment Before Michigan's 16-play, 77-yard drive for a field goal to go up 30-20 with 3:54 remaining Sept. 20 at Nebraska, the Wolverines had only two drives longer than four plays. It was paramount they had a long one for points when up only seven, and the offense delivered. Michigan picked up three key third-down conversions on the possession: junior wide receiver Semaj Morgan shook a tackle and moved the chains on third-and-5, junior running back Justice Haynes got 16 on a third-and-10 screen pass and found a nice lane for a 19-yard gain on another third-and-10. Michigan didn't punch it in with a touchdown, but got close enough for Dominic Zvada to drill a 21-yarder to go up two scores. That was a "gotta-have-it" drive, and U-M got it. Best Highlight On fourth-and-1 from the Central Michigan 23-yard line, freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood lined up under center in an offset I- formation. He faked the handoff to sophomore running back Jordan Marshall and rolled to his right, but found a defender jetting toward him in the backfield. Underwood stopped on a dime, reversed fields to his left, tucked the ball and turned on the burners himself, running down the sideline, shaking a tackle at the 3-yard line and rumbling into the end zone to put the Wolverines up 48-3 with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter of a 63-3 victory. Bold Prediction Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood will have his first 300- yard passing game in one of the next two outings — Oct. 4 versus Wisconsin or Oct. 11 at Southern California. Both defenses have been susceptible to allowing a lot of passing yards. Purdue went for 305 on USC, while Wisconsin has allowed 382 to Alabama and 265 to Maryland. There will be opportunities, and both teams have actually stopped the run fairly effectively. — Clayton Sayfie Superlatives For Michigan's Four Games From Aug. 30 To Sept. 20 Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood has accounted for 902 yards of total offense and 5 touchdowns in the first four games (733 yards passing and 2 TDs; 169 yards rushing and 3 TDs). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL