The Victors

1. Bryce Underwood is in command of the offense. Making good reads/decisions, not turning the ball over, finding the open receiver, shows anticipation, etc. Team will go as far as Bryce takes them this year.

2. Offensive line IS as good as expected and WILL be the best five starting. I think this group has Joe Moore potential. Guarnera should be Michigan's best center since Olu. This staff clearly wants Babalola to win the LT job and he won't be moving inside. For the rest of the spots, I always hear coaches talk about picking their best five and figuring out positions after, but often what happens is 3-4 spots are figured out, and then position familiarity takes over for that last spot. Frazier, if he loses the LT job, but is still a best five player, better be at LG, RG, RT. If Sprague has to move to guard so Frazier stays at tackle, fine. You have a bunch of guards with Link, Efobi, Norton, Gach. If they are part of the best five, then play them, but I don't want to hear the RG job is the last battle and Efobi is a RG so he's going to start there.

3. The team is healthy. I mean, I know this is an obvious one, but this roster is very starter heavy in my opinion. Outside of offensive line, maybe defensive end, there at least appears to be a massive drop off from starter to bench, or there is depth concerns. Michigan has players who can be top 3 in conference, all-conference, one of the best in the country, at every spot except maybe TE and LB, and I'm more optimistic than others about someone at LB emerging. But if Marshall or Hiter gets hurt, Marsh or JJ, Hill or Snowden it's going to hurt bad.

4. Rod Moore isn't just healthy, but he looks like the best player in the secondary. He is playing fast and physical, and most importantly, he is not dealing with any soreness. I've been hearing almost all offseason how good Moore looks and feels. At least one person I would consider very cautious has said he looks the best he has looked since he was injured. I've been pretty consistent, I don't think that matters. Can he survive the grind? I think Chris Bracy is going to be a star this season, but having a healthy Moore would be immeasurable. Leadership too. I like Jordan Young and hope he plays a ton, so maybe Moore only needs 20-25 snaps, but if it actually looks like he could play the season, that would be amazing.

5. Defensive end, pass rush is relentless. Michigan is at its best when it can get after the quarterback. This group is giving me 2021/23 vibes. A healthy JHD has Hutch potential. I'm not saying he's going to break the sacks record and be the #2 overall pick, but his best tape reminds me of Hutch. Double digit sacks, good edge intengrity, some TFL, yes please. I hope Cam Brandt is more consistent, maybe slides inside at times, but I NEED the Dom Nichols hype to continue. I've been obsessed with Lugard Edokpayi since he arrived, he has insane physical tools, give me an Ojabo breakout. But this group could be 5-6 deep. Nate Marshall got buried last year like Nichols and people forget he's a former five star. Carter Meadows hype was low because he wasn't here in the spring, but he's a five star and maybe the best freshman edge in the country. I want to hear JHD looks like a one of the best in the country, and they can rotate 4-6 with little to no drop off.