As the start of the college football season rapidly approaches, the preview magazines are beginning to hit the stands.
Athlon Sports is high on the Wolverines as a contender for the Big Ten title. In its season preview of Michigan, Athlon says that some of U-M’s biggest question areas are on offense.
“The biggest question with Gattis' addition to the offense: What changes, exactly?” Athlon writes. “The short answer: Gattis will introduce spread concepts and, in his words, completely remove the huddle from the equation.
“This style of offense suits returning quarterback Shea Patterson, who finished last season with 2,600 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air. Before his transfer to U-M, Patterson ran a similar offense at Ole Miss, so the spread isn’t exactly foreign territory for the senior.
“His return is a big boost for a quarterback room that has plenty of unproven depth. Dylan McCaffrey, Joe Milton, Brandon Peters and Cade McNamara are all expected to compete for positioning behind Patterson.”
Athlon says that Michigan’s running back position is something to be concerned about.
“While the offense has many familiar faces returning, perhaps the one position that was hit hardest by attrition is running back,” Athlon writes. “The Wolverines will have to recover from losing senior Karan Higdon and, unexpectedly, senior-to-be Chris Evans, whose status with the football program remains up in the air.”
On defense, Michigan loses some significant start power from its 2018 team.
“The Michigan defense was hit hard by offseason attrition,” Athlon writes. “Losing players such as defensive linemen Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich and linebacker Devin Bush Jr. would devastate any defense. Of course, the player departures aren't the only losses, as the Wolverines also lost defensive line coach Greg Mattison to arch-rival Ohio State, leaving Mattison’s replacement, Shaun Nua, with some work to do …
“It was readily apparent during the Wolverines' bowl loss to Florida that replacing Bush, a consensus All-American who sat out the game to rest an injured hip, will certainly be a tall task. Returning linebacker Josh Ross worked the middle of the field in Bush’s absence in the bowl game and is expected to compete for the job. Outside linebacker Devin Gil will also compete at the open spot in a platoon-type role, with Jordan Anthony also in the mix.”
Overall, the preview thinks that Michigan has a chance at winning its Big Ten division.
“While it'll be interesting to see how the Wolverines fill the holes on both sides of the ball, it's certainly not uncharted territory for Harbaugh and his program. After doing it once before with arguably a bigger rebuild in 2017, the Wolverines look primed to make another run at the Big Ten East title.”
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