100 Michigan football thoughts and questions for every day until the 2024 season begins
Thursday meant we were 100 days from watching the Michigan football team take the Big House field under the lights to kick off the 2024 season against Fresno State.
A lot has happened with U-M's chief athletic program since it was last seen on the field, confetti reigning down upon the team at NRG Stadium in Houston, moments after defeating Washington 34-13 to become 2023 national champions.
However as much fun as that was for Wolverines fans across the globe, it's officially in the past and will not factor into this upcoming season. There are some things we think we know about what the new team will look like and questions that are certainly unanswered — precisely what this exercise is for.
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Here are 100 Michigan football things — thoughts, questions and general musings — with kickoff now less than 100 days away.
Final thoughts about the 2023 season and team
It's still hard to believe Michigan actually won the national championship.
J.J. McCarthy will be even more appreciated with each passing week, and his 27-1 record in two years as a starter will not be bettered for at least 50 years.
The transfers who came in — primarily Drake Nugent, LaDarius Henderson, Myles Hinton, Ernest Hausmann, Josh Wallace, James Turner, AJ Barner — didn't become stars, but were the final pieces of the puzzle.
Right, wrong or indifferent; the various scandals surrounding the team served as a unifying force to bond the group and help spearhead the national title run.
Neither Blake Corum nor Donovan Edwards were fully healthy last season, yet combined for more than 2,100 all-purpose yards of offense and 33 total touchdowns.
Mike Sainristil's transition from offense to defense was the best isolated coaching move of Jim Harbaugh's U-M tenure.
The most underrated part of Michigan's team last year was its discipline. It had the fourth fewest penalties in the nation despite playing either two or three more games than the teams ahead (Air Force, Minnesota and Florida Atlantic).
The Wolverines led the FBS in turnover margin (plus-17) as the defense forced 25 turnovers, while the offense committed eight giveaways.
The defense was as dominant a unit as has been seen in recent years. The Wolverines allowed 9.5 points per game, the best mark in the FBS since Nick Saban's Crimson Tide in 2011 (8.8).
Business got finished.
Questions about the 2024 offense
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11. Would it be better to go with a quarterback with a high ceiling (Alex Orji) or a high floor (Jack Tuttle)?
12. Who will emerge as the No. 1 wide receiver? Semaj Morgan, Tyler Morris, Fred Moore?
13. Can Edwards shoulder the load as primary running back? He averaged 14.4 touches per game in 2022 compared to 9.9 touches per game last season. Corum averaged 18.3 touches per game last season and 21.5 in 2022.
14. What does Kalel Mullings' role look like? He has run the ball more than half-a-dozen times in a game once (eight carries for 47 yards vs. Minnesota last season); does U-M see him as a true secondary option or simply a short yardage back?
15. Who emerges as the third running back? Last season, it was Corum, Edwards and Mullings. This year the favorite to win the position is either Tavierre Dunlap, a senior who played in 10 games last year, or Benjamin Hall a sophomore who popped in the 2023 spring game.
16. Who will complement Colston Loveland in the tight end room as the true in-line option? AJ Barner and Luke Schoonmaker had those roles the past two years; this season, Marlin Klein, appears to be more the pass-catching type like Loveland than an interior blocker.
17. Can the offensive line remain elite (Joe Moore Award finalist three years in a row, two-time winners) while replacing the entire starting unit from last season?
18. Is there enough depth in the trenches should something go wrong, like the Zak Zinter injury last season?
19. Is this the year Hinton puts it together and lives up to his "first round" potential?
20. When should the QB battle get decided? Let it carry into the season like McCarthy and Cade McNamara, a la 2022, or make a decision as soon as possible so there's direction heading into the season?
Questions about the 2024 defense
21. After losing both starting linebackers to the NFL draft, can Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham (Maryland transfer) fill that role without drop off?
22. Can anyone adequately replace Sainristil at the nickel? The same question was posed after the departure of Dax Hill and Sainristil was more than capable, so there is hope it can happen again.
23. How is the depth of the defensive line affected after losing three key contributors in Kris Jenkins, Braiden McGregor and Jaylen Harrell?
24. Was the Rose Bowl a coming out party for Josaiah Stewart, and is he ready to take that next step as a consistent, game-to-game edge player at the Big Ten level?
25. Can Derrick Moore follow Mike Morris and became the edge player who takes a big step in his upperclassmen years?
26. Does Will Johnson get a chance to show he's (possibly) the best DB in the nation? Or do quarterbacks avoid throwing to his side of the field entirely?
27. Will Rod Moore return at any point this year following surgery this spring?
28. Who will have the bigger year of the frequently mentioned names to watch: Enow Etta or Cam Brandt?
29. After emphasizing turnovers last year, can Michigan again force takeaways?
30. Will Mason Graham be a first-team All-American?
Questions about the 2024 coaching staff
31. Is Sherrone Moore ready to lead a team on Sunday through Friday, not just Saturday?
32. What will an offense look like with Kirk Campbell calling the shots as offensive coordinator?
33. Will defensive coordinator Wink Martindale be as aggressive with his blitzes as he was in the NFL?
34. Does WR coach Ron Bellamy have enough talent in his room to excel in the passing game?
35. How will DB coach Lamar Morgan organize his recently acquired defensive backs from the transfer portal?
36. Can strength and conditioning coach Justin Tress create the same results as his ballyhooed predecessor, Ben Herbert?
37. How will DL coach Lou Esposito rotate the bodies on the line? A rally group like last year's DL coach Mike Elston, or more of a traditional first line and second line?
38. Does the run game look any different now, under the tutelage of former Ohio State RBs coach Tony Alford?
39. Can U-M's staff stay out of trouble? There were already two arrests and dismissals this offseason Greg Scruggs and Denard Robinson. Multiple coaches were fired in 2023: offensive coordinator Matt Weiss (computer crimes), analyst Connor Stalions (illegal sign-stealing operation) and linebacker coach Chris Partridge (interfering with investigation).
40. Will new OL coach Grant Newsome be able to maintain the level Moore, now the head coach, helped build in that room?
READ MORE: Tony Alford found 'toughness' after leaving Ohio State for Michigan
Questions about the 2024 schedule
41. Does Fresno State have trap game potential with all eyes on Michigan-Texas the next week?
42. Has there ever been a schedule with this many intriguing games on it?
43. How do we feel that U-M doesn't have a game in Ann Arbor between Sept. 29 and Oct. 25?
44. Is it a little underwhelming that USC gets to come to Ann Arbor in September, not, say, November?
45. Does anybody wish that one of the trips this year was to Oregon, UCLA or USC?
46. If you could guarantee a win over OSU, but it meant losses to Washington, Oregon AND Texas, would you take it?
47. Will Michigan go undefeated at home for the fourth consecutive season?
48. Over/under 3.5 kickoffs for U-M in the noon slot throughout the entire season? So far, of the four Michigan games which have announced kick times, only one (Ohio State) is scheduled for noon.
49. Does it even make sense to open the year with five consecutive home games?
50. Which Big Ten team that's not on the schedule do you wish was on it for this season?
Questions about Harbaugh and his former U-M staffers
51. Has Harbaugh slept past 6 a.m. since moving to the West Coast?
52. Will he get new chickens one he is fully settled in L.A.?
53. With the Chargers now in El Segundo, which will be Harbaugh's favorite local beach: Hermosa or Manhattan?
54. Will the Chargers make the playoffs after missing it last season with a 5-12 record?
55. Does anybody who left U-M for L.A. owe any explanation of any sort?
56. Which staffer now in Los Angeles NOT named Harbaugh is the biggest loss for Michigan football? Herbert, Elston, Jesse Minter, Rick Minter, Steve Clinkscale or Dylan Roney?
57. Will Harbaugh win a Super Bowl in the next five years?
58. With the Chargers staff having so many ties to Ann Arbor, will it create another player and/or coaching staff pipeline similar to what Michigan has had with the Baltimore Ravens in recent seasons, thanks to John Harbaugh?
59. Did Jim Harbaugh leave Michigan high and dry? Or do you thank him for what was accomplished and move on?
60. Will Harbaugh mention Moore by name and wish him luck before the first game of the season?
Questions for 2024 incoming transfers
61. Will OL Josh Priebe be able to make a similar impact on the interior of the line like Olusegun Oluwatimi or Drake Nugent (even though they were centers and Priebe is a guard)?
62. Already an elite athlete, is Barham capable of picking up the playbook in a single offseason and mastering it to the point where he's the coach on the field from the middle of the defense?
63. How will Jaden Mangham explain going from Michigan State to Michigan, after being a starter in East Lansing?
64. Can new DB Aamir Hill handle the leap from the FCS (Albany), where he was an All-American, to the Big Ten?
65. Is the fourth time the charm for fifth-year transfer safety Wesley Walker, after previous stops at Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Louisville earlier this offseason? Pro Football Focus says he did not allow a passing TD in 349 snaps last year.
66. Will UNLV DB transfer Ricky Johnson be able to crack the rotation in the secondary?
67. After transferring back to Ann Arbor from Ole Miss, is Amorion Walker a better fit at WR than DB?
68. Will Arkansas State transfer K Dominic Zvada win the job over sophomore Adam Samaha? Zvada went 34-for-40 on field goals the past two years with a long of 56 yards in 2022 and 53 last season.
69. Where does CJ Charleston fit in the receiver room? The Youngstown State transfer had 36 grabs for 503 yards and four touchdowns last season, and U-M is desperate for proven pass catchers.
70. Does U-M have any remaining areas of need in the transfer portal?
General statements on U-M's offense
71. The quarterback has to be picked ASAP. U-M's offensive identity will center around its signal caller, and the sooner Moore and Campbell know who that is, the sooner the offense can discover how it best operates.
72. Get the ball to Semaj Morgan. He's a home run waiting to happen who should be targeted about seven times per game with three designed runs and a few chances in the return game. If he touches the ball 10 to 15 times a game, good things will happen.
73. Conservative is the name of the game. Running for four yards isn't sexy, but this U-M team will need to stay ahead of the sticks and control time of possession. If it does so, it can lean on what should be an elite defense and score just enough points to win the majority of its games and be competitive in all of them.
74. Loveland will have the best individual tight end season in the history of Michigan football.
INSIDER: Can Michigan football's leading receiver actually line up at TE? We'll find out in 2024.
75. Mullings' hard-nosed running style will make him a fan favorite by the midpoint of the season.
76. U-M's guard position will be the strength of its line this season between Priebe and Gio El-Hadi.
77. Max Bredeson will be U-M's most beloved H-back since Ben Mason became a mainstay under Harbaugh from 2017-20. Bredeson will play both H-back and tight end, and you can book it now: He will score his first career touchdown this season.
78. This needs to be the year where Tyler Morris takes the next step after coming to Ann Arbor as a consensus top-150 player in the nation but recording just 16 catches for 222 yards and one score in his first two seasons.
79. Edwards needs to be a focal point of the offense, but not necessarily as a traditional runner; continuing to get him involved in space will lead to his success more than traditional power runs.
80. The offense will not be as potent as last season when it scored 36 points per game (No. 2 in the Big Ten), but the sleeper to watch in the passing game is Fred Moore, a 6-foot-1, 190 pound freshman who Morgan told the Free Press is poised for a breakout year.
General statements on U-M's defense
81. The starting duo of Graham and Kenneth Grant will be the best DT combination in Michigan history.
82. Adding four DBs via the portal in 72 hours just about made up for the four critical losses from last year's room: Sainristil (second-round draft pick), Wallace (UDFA), Moore (knee injury) and Keon Sabb (transfer to Alabama).
83. For secondary members like J'Yaire Hill, Kody Jones, Zeke Berry and Ja'Den McBurrows,, the arrival of four experienced players in the defensive backfield is a sign that cracking the rotation just got much harder.
84. If TJ Guy can be half of what he has been billed to be over spring, U-M has a real weapon coming off the edge.
85. If Rayshaun Benny is able to fully recover by this summer, don't be surprised if he becomes the clear-cut third name in the DT room directly behind Graham and Grant.
86. Feels like a now-or-never season in Ann Arbor for some of the linebacker depth pieces like Jimmy Rolder, Micah Pollard and Jaydon Hood.
87. Someone will need to step up as the vocal leader on the defensive line with Jenkins in the NFL.
88. Who will get the "green dot" to communicate with Martindale, now that one player on offense and one on defense can have a speaker in their helmet, per new NCAA rules?
89. The schedule likely won't allow for the numbers to translate this way, but pound-for-pound, the defense looks on paper to be nearly as talented as last year's team.
90. Quinten Johnson was seen as a starter a few weeks ago, but with the influx of talent from the portal, the sixth-year defensive back will need to work to hold onto his job.
Questions we need answered
91. If Graham and Grant had a hot dog eating contest for 10 minutes, who would win and how many dogs would they get down? Best guess: Graham with 13.
92. If everybody on the team played another sport, who would be the best and at what sport?
93. If the U-M roster was stranded on a desert island, who would you choose as your survival mate?
94. Who is the best singer on the Michigan football team?
95. Which non-kicker on the team would be able to make the farthest field goal?
96. Who will be the highest rated Michigan player when EA Sports College Football 25 comes out this summer?
97. Who would win an arm wrestling competition between the entire team?
98. Would more Michigan football players rather fight 10 elephant-sized kindergarteners, or 50 kindergartner-sized elephants?
99. If all members of the U-M coaching staff ran a 40-yard dash, who would win?
100. How many games will Michigan football win this fall?
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 100 Michigan football thoughts, questions for every day until kickoff
