Michigan is 13-0 and Big Ten Champions, heading to the College Football Playoff.
With the regular season at a close, let's look at each position group and give players their "grades" for the season. Each player came to the season with different levels of expectations that changed throughout the year, and the grades will be relative to those expectations.
JJ McCarthy was not the high-risk, high-reward QB many projected. Only 3 interceptions to go with his 24 total TDs.
Davis Warren became the backup QB, and while he only threw 9 passes, he completed 5 of them for 89 yards and had 4 first-down plays. He is the very likely QB2 heading into next season.
Before the season I would have guessed Alex Orji was more likely to change positions than get snaps at QB. He only threw one pass, but he had 6 carries for 37 yards and 2 touchdowns in mop-up duty early this season.
While awards punished him for a late-season injury, the fact is Blake Corum was the best running back in the nation this year. We had high expectations, but he exceeded them.
Donovan Edwards struggled to stay healthy throughout the season, but in the biggest games when Michigan needed him most he was an absolute beast.
CJ Stokes burst onto the scene, but deal with some freshman moments throughout the year. Overall a solid season for the kid from South Carolina.
A walk-on contributing at Michigan, a story as old as time. His 4th down play against Illinois was one of the biggest of the season. Solid contributing year for Isaiah Gash.
Tavierre Dunlap lost out on the RB3 role early in the season. Then he lost snaps to Gash. Now, it looks like Kalel Mullings will take his role moving forward. He's going to need a strong offseason to bounce back in 2023.
Ronnie Bell returned from an ACL injury to lead Michigan in receiving for the third straight season. Only ding was going 3/16 with catches in traffic.
Cornelius Johnson was inconsistent, but like Edwards, was big in the biggest moments. His six touchdowns led the team.
Roman Wilson looked like WR1 at the start of the year. 196 yards and 3 touchdowns in the first 4 games, but he finished with 76 yards and 0 touchdowns in the last 9 games.
Relative to expectations, Andrel Anthony didn't come close to the year many expected. 19 targets and only 7 receptions. Michigan tried to get Anthony involved, and it just never seemed to click.
AJ Henning is a home run waiting to happen when he has the ball, but Michigan just didn't work hard to get him the ball. Only 9 targets, but 7 receptions, all short. Not the Deebo Samuel role we expected.
Michigan's highest-graded receiver was Luke Schoonmaker. Second on the team in receptions and yards and was instrumental to the run-blocking scheme.
It was a tall ladder tight end room at the start of the year, and Colston Loveland seemed to climb every week. He became TE2 against Nebraska and went 7 for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns in the last 4 games. Most impressive? His 3-for-3 catch in traffic rate.
Not many had higher expectations heading into the season than Olu Oluwatimi. The best center in the nation was, well, the best center in the nation. What a season for Olu.
You could argue Zak Zinter was Michigan's best OL, which is crazy considering the year Olu had. Michigan's best pass blocker and second in run blocking to only Olu.
The only thing that hurt Trevor Keegan this year was a few moments of inconsistency. Much like Zinter he was a monster in the pin and pull. Has there been a better interior in Michigan's history?
Ryan Hayes gets lost in the mix, but he was solid and consistent. A left tackle that allows zero sacks on the season gets an A grade every time.
Karsen Barnhart took over at RT and his versatility continues to be a valuable asset as he played three positions on the offensive line.
Trente Jones was just starting to show his promise after an injury took him out and eventually saw him lose his role. He was inconsistent, allowing too many sacks early on, but you saw the flashes of the athletic ability that could make him the next great OL.
Giovanni El-Hadi became the most valuable piece of the Wolverine's depth, playing 359 snaps at LG in place of injured Keegan. No sacks allowed and the same efficiency score as Hayes. El-Hadi will be a favorite to start next year.
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