at least four starts), and the offense
will return seven .
Competition: After being hired in
early January 2011, too late to effectively recruit the 2011 class, head
coach Brady Hoke signed 27 and 25
recruits in the 2012 and 2013 classes,
with 51 of the 52 still on the roster.
Many of those players should emerge
as probable contributors over the next
eight months, giving Michigan very
real competition at many key positions, perhaps most importantly along
the offensive line where 10 players
from those two classes are set to vie
for five spots.
U-M will also feature competition
at tailback, receiver, defensive line,
linebacker, cornerback, and for good
measure — quarterback.
Depth At Quarterback: Michigan
found itself in a precarious position
throughout the 2013 season — having
to rely on a true freshman if anything
happened to quarterback Devin Gardner. In the bowl game, that scenario
played out, and while rookie Shane
Morris played well, his presence still
Devin Gardner now has a full campaign of starting experience at quarterback heading into
his final season, but Shane Morris will be competing to unseat him as Michigan's starter
under center in 2014.
photo by Lon Horwedel
