After a phenomenal 12-2 season and a Big Ten Championship, Michigan now looks towards establishing themselves as a consistent power in 2022. It appears like Jim Harbaugh will not be leaving for an NFL job. While there was a lot of smoke surrounding this, it’s likely to have been just a negotiating tactic to get a better deal to stay in Ann Arbor after taking a substantial pay cut the year prior. He proved a lot of doubters wrong this season, including myself.
Michigan will have some major losses to overcome including both of their star pass rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, as well as safety Daxton Hill. They’ll have some great additions though as well, including Virginia transfer, All-American center Victor Oluwatimi who will help maintain the Wolverine’s dominant offensive front which paved the way to an incredible 39 rushing touchdowns in 2021.
The Offense
Losing Hassan Haskins after his fantastic season last year is tough, but having both Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards to step up in his absence is about as good of a situation as you could possibly ask for. Ronnie Bell will be back with the Wolverines after missing most of 2021. Having the #1 WR back will be a big boost to an already strong offense. Ronnie Bell along with Andrel Anthony, Cornelius Johnson, AJ Henning, Roman Wilson, and Mike Sainristil make up a very talented WR room. The versatile TE Erick All will also be returning, strong blocker and reliable receiver coming off a good junior season.
The dominant offensive line will return LT Ryan Hayes, LG Trevor Keegan, and RG Zak Zinter. They’ll be losing RT Andrew Steuber and C Andrew Vastardis. However, the addition of All-American C Victor Oluwatimi via the transfer portal gives them a great replacement for Vastardis. The only question on the OL will be with who wins the RT job between Karsen Barnhart and Trente Jones. Either way, this should be another very good OL coached by Sherrone Moore.
The Elephant in the QB Room
The most important decision that Jim Harbaugh will have to make for his team next season is who will be under center. Cade McNamara led the Wolverines to 12 wins, a Big Ten Championship, and their first win over Ohio State in a decade. The team was very run-heavy and while McNamara did a good job of managing the offense, he wasn’t the one being relied on to win games. He has done everything asked of him though and has done very well in his role as well as being a respected leader on the team.
J.J. McCarthy flashed incredible ability during the glimpses of him that we got to see in 2021. 7 total touchdowns, connected on very impressive deep balls, showed outstanding mobility, looked like a future pro. McCarthy’s arm talent and mobility could elevate Michigan’s offense from good to elite. How productive he was coming in cold was something rarely seen, imagine how he’d look after being able to get into a rhythm. Michigan’s loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff demonstrated that their offense is just not on the level of a championship team. You have to be able to stretch the field, and far too often Michigan has been unable to do so with McNamara.
McCarthy is who I think should start, and I think he is who Harbaugh will ultimately name the starter. It won’t be an easy decision though with the stability that Cade offers, but the talent of McCarthy is too much to waste. He has a rare combination of arm talent and mobility. I know many unproven Michigan QB’s have been hyped up in the past, but I genuinely believe that McCarthy is the type of QB who could go #1 in the draft in a couple of years.
This throw by our freshman JJ McCarthy was unreal! So excited for the future with him pic.twitter.com/w0KVUo6Ql7
— Sidelines – Michigan 〽️ (@SSN_Michigan) September 4, 2021
The Defense
Mike Macdonald is a very bright defensive mind who I have confidence in but losing Hutchingson and Ojabo will be a big blow. The star pass rushers combined for 97 total tackles, 25 sacks, and 7 forced fumbles in 2021. Their production will be nearly impossible to replace. Chris Hinton, another starter on the DL, has surprisingly decided to declare early as well. The linebacker room is losing Josh Ross who has 235 tackles in his career at Michigan. The secondary will be losing star safety Dax Hill as well as starting corner Vincent Gray.
The DL starters will be Mazi Smith as the NT, likely Kris Jenkins at DT replacing Hinton, and then Upshaw and Mike Morris as the DEs with Jaylen Harrell playing the Ojabo role as an edge-rushing LB/DE. We could also see the emergence of highly touted recruit DT Rayshaun Benny. This should be a strong group with a lot of talent and chances to see guys like Harell break out. The linebackers will return starters Nikhai Hill-Green and Junior Colson. We’ll also see plenty of Michael Barrett, Kalel Mullings, and Jaydon Hood mixed in as well.
DJ Turner really came on as the 2021 season went on and will be the team’s top corner next season. Gemon Green, Jaden McBurrows, and true freshman Will Johnson will compete to start opposite of Turner. I would expect the nod to go to Green to start the season given his experience. The starting safeties should be Rod Moore and RJ Moten, both are talented players and have flashed ability on the field already.
The Wolverines will also have both kicker Jake Moody and punter Brad Robbins returning in 2022 which is huge for the team. Both of whom are two of the best players at their positions.
2022 Schedule
