After winning the national championship in 2023, the Michigan football team took a step backwards last season. The Wolverines did lose a lot of their top talent, and also their head coach. Michigan finished the season with an 8-5 record, but wins over #2 Ohio State and #11 Alabama gave the program some momentum, along with a commitment from quarterback Bryce Underwood, who was the #1 recruit in the 2025 class.

Last season, the biggest issue for the Michigan football team was that it didn’t really have a quarterback. Three players got opportunities, and none of them came close to meeting the standard. However, the Wolverines have Bryce Underwood now, and that should help the cause.

Having Underwood will make a big difference, but Michigan will need to have talented players around him. One anonymous Big Ten coach thinks that there should be more focus on the running backs.

“The focus is on [Bryce] Underwood, but it should be on finding new backs to go with him,” the coach said, according to an article from On3.

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The one offensvie position group that Michigan should be feeling really good about is the RBs, so it’s a bit surprising to see a Big Ten coach have that take. The Wolverines are returning sophomore Jordan Marshall, who had a massive game in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama. He won MVP of the game. Speaking of the Crimson Tide, Michigan also picked up Alabama transfer Justice Haynes, who was one of the best RBs in the transfer portal.

Losing Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings does hurt, but the Michigan football team has some great backs with good experience. With a capable QB like Bryce Underwood, this could be a College Football Playoff team.

“They would’ve been a serious postseason contender last year if they had a quarterback on the roster,” another anonymous coach said.
“Now they do, so it’s all about how fast [Chip] Lindsey can get him up to speed and going.”