Michigan Football: Position Battle Breakdown

Fall camp begins tomorrow for Michigan football, which means a couple things — it's almost football season and starting positions are being fought for in practice.

The Wolverines don't have many open starting spots, but there are several. We'll run through some of the most notable position battles below.

The contenders: Fifth-year senior Juwann Bushell-Beatty, redshirt freshman James Hudson

The favorite: Bushell-Beatty

Michigan's most glaring weakness is at left tackle. Last year, Mason Cole helped out the squad by shifting over to the position instead of playing center, where he was more comfortable. This year, U-M needs to find a new solution. Bushell-Beatty has far more experience than Hudson, who has never taken a snap as a Wolverine, but lacks Hudson's upside, who switched over from the defensive line last season.

Incoming freshman Jalen Mayfield has a high ceiling as well, but likely wouldn't be ready to play by week one.

Bushell-Beatty is a solid run blocking lineman that needs work in the passing game. His experience, however, gives him the slight edge here — at least for the Notre Dame game.

The contenders: Sophomore linebacker Josh Ross, redshirt sophomore linebacker Devin Gil

The favorite: Gil

This competition is truly wide open. Michigan has plenty of depth at linebacker, but the focus seems to have narrowed to Ross and Gil for the spot vacated by Mike McCray.

Both would be speed upgrades from last year, but neither can match the wisdom McCray brought to the defense. Gil started in place of McCray against Florida and performed adequately. Fifth-year senior linebacker Chase Winovich also talked highly of him at media days, suggesting that he may have a slight lead over Ross. Juniors Devin Bush Jr. and Khaleke Hudson are locked in at the other linebacker and viper positions, it's just a question of who joins them on the field. Junior Josh Uche has impressed this summer as well, so don't forget about him, although he's more likely to play on the outside like fifth-year senior Noah Furbush did in 2017.

This one is too close to call.

The contenders: Junior guard Michael Onwenu, redshirt sophomore Stephen Spanellis

The favorite: Onwenu

Both Onwenu and Spanellis received significant playing time last fall, with Onwenu beginning the year as the starting right guard and Spanellis playing a variety of roles, including backup center.

Onwenu is an elite run blocker, but has struggled to shed enough weight to be as good in pass blocking situations. Due to this, Spanellis, who's a well-rounded player, is pushing him for the starting job.

In the spring, many assumed it was Onwenu's job no matter what. However, that's not the case. This one is just as wide open as left tackle, and the spot will go to whoever performs better during camp.

Either way, Michigan should be just fine at right guard. Both players are solid and can be counted on as — at minimum — average players. If one guy can break out, it would help form a rather dominant interior offensive line.

As camp begins, we'll give the edge to Onwenu, but keep a close watch.

The contenders: Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour, fifth-year senior Bryan Mone, fifth-year senior Lawrence Marshall

The favorite: Dwumfour

Sophomore Aubrey Solomon has locked up one of the two starting defensive tackle positions, but the hole left by Maurice "Mo" Hurst remains. The player most seem to be excited about is Dwumfour, who would fit in next to his close friend, junior defensive end Rashan Gary.

Dwumfour has a quick burst off the line of scrimmage and has improved his strength in the offseason. We fully expect him to be the starter, but having two fifth-year seniors behind him will keep the pressure on.

The contenders: Senior wide receiver Grant Perry, redshirt freshman wide receiver Oliver Martin

The favorite: Perry

The race is similar in some ways to the left tackle battle, except Perry has shown that he can be a reliable target in the passing game. Martin was a four-star recruit that has many of the same traits as Perry, but without the experience.

Michigan will do well with either player, it's just a matter of who the coaches feel they can rely on more — and who has a better rapport with U-M's quarterback.

For now, we'll give the edge to Perry.

The contenders: Junior running back Tru Wilson, freshman Christian Turner, freshman Hassan Haskins, sophomore O'Maury Samuels

The favorite: Samuels

In his Michigan career, coach Jim Harbaugh has proven he prefers to have three startable running backs. Senior Karan Higdon and junior Chris Evans easily are the top two backs, but there isn't a clear No. 3 heading into camp.

Wilson, who is a walk-on, has been mentioned by Harbaugh as the third man since the spring, but he'll have to fight off both Turner and Haskins, who are incoming freshmen, along with Samuels, who was a four-star recruit himself and played sparingly in 2017.

One has to believe that if Samuels can stay healthy he'll get a shot, but keep an eye on Turner as well.

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