Post-spring ball projected Michigan football 2023 offensive depth chart

It’s been nearly a week since Michigan football held its annual spring game, so now we’re moving into speculation mode (as well as recruiting) until fall camp begins in August.

The Wolverines return the fifth-most production in the country, which means that there aren’t a lot of questions about who will be starting where, though the offensive line has some uncertainty given how many contributors and former starters there have been, intertwined with the three newcomers who transferred in. Wide receiver also has some question marks given Ronnie Bell’s departure and how the two freshmen will be utilized (not counting incoming freshman Karmello English).

That said, here is our best guess at the current offensive depth chart for the Michigan Wolverines now that spring ball has come to a close.

Quarterback

Photo: Isaiah Hole

McCarthy is the obvious starter, and while Jack Tuttle appears to be the main backup, as we saw in the spring game, he and Davis Warren are essentially 1a and 1b. Warren had the more impressive performance in the spring game, and while Tuttle went 50% passing, there’s no reason to believe given what we heard all spring that he’ll fall behind there. Thus, the duo will likely split duties as the backups to J.J. McCarthy.

Running back

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Obviously, Corum and Edwards are entrenched, and Corum will likely be the first man on the field every game. But Edwards is considered a co-starter and will retain that role in 2023.

More interesting is who may be behind them, and given that Kalel Mullings got the nod last year over CJ Stokes, we still have Mullings ahead, but we also put Benjamin Hall up there as the true freshman is likely to also see time as a third-down back, given what we heard all spring as well as what we saw in the spring game.

Tight end

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Barner and Loveland will likely start a lot of games at the same time on opposite ends of the offensive line, so the question is more of who’s behind them. Bredeson, a former walk-on, saw a lot of time last year, where Hibner was mostly relegated to special teams. But we saw Hibner on display early in the spring game, and he’ll likely see more time on task now as he enters his senior year.

Wide receivers

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson are returning starters and will retain those roles. Tyler Morris is expected to step into Ronnie Bell’s role as a slot receiver.

The bigger questions come from who’s behind them? Clemons seems like an optimal X or Z receiver and will likely see a lot more time in 2023. On the other flank, Peyton O’Leary showed off all we heard last year in fall camp during the spring game, leading all receivers with an impressive performance. True freshman Fredrick Moore also was a standout in the spring game and could see early time. Behind Morris, it gets a little tricky, because Henning should be the starting slot receiver, but his role on offense has diminished greatly in the past year. We’ll see if that changes through the rest of the offseason, but we currently have him splitting time behind Tyler Morris with true freshman Semaj Morgan.

Left tackle

Joe Rondone-The Arizona Republic

Persi started the Rutgers game in 2022 when Ryan Hayes was unavailable due to injury. Yet, we still have Henderson as the likely starter, even though he is finishing up his classroom work at Arizona State. Henderson was brought in to be the starter, and despite him not being involved this spring, we expect him to get that nod once the time comes.

Left guard

Photo: Isaiah Hole

This should come as no surprise as it’s the status quo from last year.

Center

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Nugent was banged up, so we didn’t see him during the spring game, but the former Stanford center, we believe, still has the inside track to starting this fall. However, he’s being pushed hard by Anderson and Crippen, who are, in turn, pushing each other.

This one is not set in stone and will likely come down to the wire.

Right guard

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Zinter is obviously entrenched, and we’re doing some projection with Hinton, given that he was a tackle at Stanford. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Michigan move him around to get him on the field, if necessary. Atteberry was the backup to Zinter at right guard last year and should retain that role, as well.

Right tackle

Photo: Isaiah Hole

The battle from this time last year rages on again, given that Jones started the season, but after his injury, Barnhart finished it impressively. So, whoever gets the starting role is likely the backup, but Hinton could be a factor here, as well.

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire