The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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4 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2026 HAIL TO THE VICTORS I would like to congratulate the Michigan Wolverines on their men's basketball cham- pionship from all the Maize and Blue fans in Columbus, Ohio. Tom, April, Tiff and the Baby Robbins Another Dusty May win is being missed by some. Of course he led Michigan to its first natty since 1989, and set or tied multiple Big Ten records this year (conference wins, conference home wins, total wins). We all remember the 19-win total increase last year (from 8 to 27) that set Big Ten and Michigan records. But this year, after increasing the win total again, from 27 to 37, he is respon- sible for the fifth-highest year-over-year win increase in Michigan history, so he has num- ber 1 and number 5 on that list in just two years at Michigan. His mark on Michigan records in his short tenure is truly amazing. Robert Murden I assume many of us were too amped up last night to sleep well and stayed up way too late. My body feels it today. Well worth it!! Go Blue! TrueBlueFanatic Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying the hell out of this destination but man did I love the journey. This was without a doubt the most enjoyable season I could ever imagine. I don't want it to be over with this team. Go Blue!! O_How_I_Hate SPRING GAME TAKES Hard to tell anything on Bryce [Underwood] with such limited action and split squads. He looks a little bigger and faster, but also still seems to have that hitch in his delivery. Not much more to say on Tommy Carr. I read the spring reports, but you really don't know until you see them. He looked poised, great pocket presence, and nice touch. He looks like a capable backup and still has 4 months to grow and improve. I obviously missed it, but good to see [OL Evan] Link playing. D-line looks good, and the young defensive ends are going to be a problem for opposing teams. We'll rotate them to keep them fresh, but we look 4 deep for sure. I'm excited to see how they continue to progress. Amaizingblue Maybe a biased take, but I am choosing to be excited by some awesome progress on defense. [DL Deyvid] Palepale deserved that shout out. [DE Dominic] Nichols looked good. A small thing here but something I think bodes very well, early on Zeke [Berry] and [Aisea] Moa communicated perfectly to push the coverage after [Jordan] Marshall mo- tioned out for a screen. In that scenario, the nickel and both LBs should look like a row of foosball players moving side to side while staying connected. Berry and Moa nailed it. Responding to late motion and adjusting on the fly was something the D struggled badly with last season. USC took advantage of it. Night and day difference here watching today. NotTom I'll tell you with 100% certainty the staff has zero concern with Bryce based on THIS GAME. They've seen 20 practices, or whatever. Carr was VERY encouraging for the future. WLBergstrom711 There were wildly obnoxious overreac- tions well before this game. Just a few weeks ago there was a lengthy discussion about how Michigan was going to win games in shootouts because a random poster shared "inside" info about how the defensive line was so terrible. Pretty funny how quickly the defense is getting written off just because the talent is unproven. Beefalo87 Overall, I liked what I saw today. I saw com- petence, I saw a competitiveness and I saw guys get better in a split-squad scrimmage. I think a lot of people don't understand that this is used as a foundation to build on. You need spring game scrimmages to see the good, the bad, and the ugly to see where you need to build from. Remember, these guys haven't played football since January and had 15 spring practices. I'm not sure what everybody was expecting, especially with a lot of your main characters out — I mean a lot of them. Today was a good day and a great step forward. Like NotTom noted with the coverage adjustments a lot of little things that were glaring holes last year seem to be corrected. You really didn't see that today, and those small things make the difference. Theguy49503 ❱ Be Heard! Send your letters to: Wolverine Letters P.O. Box 2331 Durham, NC 27702 Or email: mark.panus@on3.com Letters may be edited for clarity or length. Letters/From Our Website: TheWolverine.com May 2026 • Vol. 37, No. 11 ISSN 1048-9940 TheWolverine.com Senior Editor Chris Balas Senior Writer John Borton Staff Writers Clayton Sayfie Anthony Broome Ethan McDowell Drew Hallett Contributing Editors Stu Coman Matt Herb Cathy Jones Chris Riffer Steve Downey Layout And Design Jeanette Blankenship, Chris Miller Contributing Photographers Lon Horwedel, Per Kjeldsen Eric Bronson/Michigan Photography Andrew Mascharka/Michigan Photography Cover Photo Andrew Mascharka/Michigan Photography Editor & Publisher Mark Panus Business Analyst Sarah Boone Circulation Coordinator Beverly Taylor Marketing Coordinator Elena Rehberg Advertising Sales Maria Taustine (502) 552-4390 Customer Service Shelby Cragg, Cathy Jones, Elena Rehberg (800) 421-7751 The Wolverine is published monthly. A one-year (12 issues) subscription is $74.99. The Wolverine is printed at The Papers in Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Wolverine, P.O. 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