Many believe that Michigan football is about to fall off a cliff after winning the national championship and losing nine-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. But one major outlet isn’t so convinced that the demise is coming.
Sure, 2024 appears to be a little uncertain as Sherrone Moore takes the helm. There’s no obvious starting quarterback, though Alex Orji appears to be the odds-on favorite this offseason. But the defense, led now by former Baltimore Ravens coordinator Wink Martindale, has a ton of promise and incredible personnel, despite the losses of key playmakers to the NFL.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg rated the top 25 college football teams in terms of future rankings (subscription required), and the maize and blue came in quite highly at No. 5 overall.
5. Michigan Wolverines
2024 Future QB ranking: 19
2024 Future defense ranking: 3
2024 Future offense ranking: 10
2023 Future team ranking: 4Scouting the Wolverines: The defending champions are oddly one of the harder teams to project because of who departs Ann Arbor, both on the field and on the sideline. Michigan would be lower in a one-year projection after saying goodbye to a team-record 13 players selected in the NFL draft, as well as Harbaugh and several vital assistants, such as defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert. New head coach Sherrone Moore played a huge role in Michigan’s rise the past three seasons, but he has never led a program and only became a coordinator in 2021. Moore’s first team is fascinating, as it includes several higher-level draft prospects — cornerback Will Johnson, tight end Colston Loveland, defensive linemen Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant — but significant questions at quarterback, offensive line and other spots.
There is a lot more of a breakdown on ESPN if you follow the above link.
While Michigan did fall a spot, that was likely due to the quarterback situation being uncertain following J.J. McCarthy’s early departure from the program while Jadyn Davis gets his legs underneath him. But with Carter Smith and Brady Hart committed to come in after Davis, there’s a solid lineage at the position. Not to mention, the transfer portal changes things as a quarterback who’s established could come in any given year to take the reins.
Defensively, Michigan looks to be in solid position and it continues to recruit very well there. There’s still some work to do offensively, but the line has been recruited well, as has running back and tight end. The questions come at wide receiver, mostly, but the Wolverines are finding players who seem to fit their system well.