The Michigan football season is almost here as the Wolverines will kick things off on August 31st against Fresno State. The Wolverines have a lot to defend this season as they have won the Big Ten three seasons in a row and they won the national championship last year. Obviously, the expectations and goals for Michigan remain the same. However, it will be incredibly hard to replicate the success as this team is almost entirely different.

Not only did Michigan football lose most of their starters from a year ago, but their coaching staff is also completely different. Jim Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers, and a good chunk of important staff members left with him. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is one of them, so the Wolverines have a new head coach and two new coordinators this year.

Offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell has been with the program for a couple of years, and he is the new OC now that Sherrone Moore is the head coach. Wink Martindale, who has coaching experience with the Baltimore Ravens like other past Michigan DCs, is the new defensive coordinator.

The coaching staff looks very different, and the players that we see on the field for Michigan are going to look very different as well. The Wolverines lost 10 out of 11 offensive starters last year as tight end Colston Loveland is the only one that is back. On defense, Michigan is in a better position and returns some of their top playmakers from a year ago, but they still lost some elite talent on that side of the ball.

The offense is definitely the area with the most question marks. With just one returning starter from a year ago, there will be a lot of new faces on that side of the ball. With just a few days before the Wolverines get their 2024 season started, let’s take a look at who we might see on offense this year.

Wide receiver

In terms of the wide receiver position, there are two faces that we know we will see a lot this season: Semaj Morgan and Tyler Morris. Morgan and Morris both got a good amount of reps last season and both of them made some big plays in some of Michigan’s biggest games.

Article Continues Below
More NCAA Football News
Ryan Lochte Kayla Reid
Ryan Lochte’s wife shares cryptic ‘betrayal’ post amid divorceAutumn Hawkins ·
Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) during the second quarter in game five of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center
Naz Reid’s massive Timberwolves contract has Bobby Marks questioning value of dealJackson Stone ·
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Nickeil Alexander-Walker (9) prepares to play the New Orleans Pelicans before the game at Target Center.
NBA rumors: Pistons, Hawks the leaders to steal away Timberwolves free agentRishav Bhat ·
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) reacts against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half in game three of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Timberwolves’ Julius Randle to sign $100 million contract after Naz Reid bonanzaTroy Finnegan ·
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) in the second half at Target Center.
Jeff Teague makes grim retirement prediction for Pelicans’ Zion WilliamsonJackson Stone ·
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) smiles after a Philadelphia 76ers foul during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center.
Does Lakers’ LeBron James have a no-trade clause?Preston Byers ·

The four other receivers that should hear their name called often this season are Frederick Moore, Amorion Walker, and transfer C.J. Charleston. Walker and Moore seem like the top contenders for WR 3.

QB

Michigan quarterback Alex Orji runs the ball in the second quarter of the College Football Playoff national championship game against Washington
© Melanie Maxwell / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Michigan football QB battle has had some developments in the past couple of weeks, but we still don’t know who the starter is. However, we know that the battle is down to Davis Warren and Alex Orji as Jack Tuttle is still dealing with an injury from last year. At this point, it would be very surprising if Orji isn’t the starting QB.

OL

Michigan has had the best offensive line in college football for the past three years, but they will have an entirely different unit this season. We already know that Giovanni El-Hadi, Myles Hinton and transfer Josh Priebe have earned starting roles. Greg Crippen and Dominick Guidice are battling it out at center, and Evan Link and Andrew Gentry are fighting for the right tackle spot. Expect Gentry and Crippen to win those battles.

We already know who will be starting everywhere else on offense for Michigan football as there were some positions that didn’t really have battles this offseason. Still, there is a lot up in the air heading into the season-opener this weekend, but all of our questions will be answered soon.

Michigan and Fresno State will get things started at 7:34 PM ET on Saturday night from Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. The game will be airing on NBC, and the Wolverines are favored by 21.5 points.