J.D. PicKell: Don’t write off Michigan football in 2024

He’s not wrong. #GoBlue

When it comes to the 2024 college football season, no one is looking at the defending national champions.

No, Georgia didn’t win it all last year, that honor belongs to Michigan football, but you’d think the Bulldogs were looking to get their fourth-straight championship. Their competition? It comes from either Eugene, Columbus, or Austin. But in Ann Arbor, many seem to believe that the Wolverines will be lucky to get eyes on them.

Michigan came in ranked No. 12 in the ESPN FPI, signs it will be a good team, yes, but certainly not a national championship contender. And On3’s J.D. PicKell says that overlooking the maize and blue would be a mistake.

“If the college football world is this party that’s bumpin’ — you’ve got music, you’ve got this big crowd, there’s probably a lot of things going on across this room — Michigan, just hanging back on the wall, sipping on some water, just like, ‘Hey, we’re still here. Hey, remember us, national champions. Don’t worry about us — have your fun, have your party, don’t worry about it,'” PicKell said. “Michigan has prided themselves on being a developmental program. It might not always be in that top five when it comes to recruiting rankings on signing day, but what Jim Harbaugh has done over the course of his time there is take guys that they are excited about physically and also competitive-makeup-wise and mold them and develop them into being stars when it’s their time to play on Saturday.

“The assumption that Michigan is just gonna fall off the face of the planet, I think is a little bit lazy — because of what I just said. Just because we don’t know all the names of the guys that are gonna be studs for Michigan this coming season doesn’t mean they haven’t had dudes that have been developing and are now gonna step into their role to star for Michigan this upcoming season.”

Michigan only won a national championship last year but it won the Big Ten and made the College Football Playoff three-straight years. With four players projected to be first-round NFL draft picks next year, it wouldn’t be a surprise, especially with the playoff expanding, to see the Wolverines in the hunt for a fourth straight season.