Published Feb 19, 2023
Michigan Football: Spring football best guess depth chart
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Trevor McCue  •  Maize&BlueReview
Senior Editor
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@trevormccue

Michigan football is starting spring practice with one of the more talented rosters in all of college football.

With a combination of returning veterans, rising underclassmen, incoming transfers, and ready-to-step-up role players the Michigan depth chart is, well, deep.

There are some known starters like quarterback JJ McCarthy, but there are position battles all over this roster. Not just for starting positions but rotational spots as well. Michigan takes advantage of its depth and rotates any place it can. Earning a spot in the two-deep or even as the third player that comes in during mop-up duty just means more on-field reps and more opportunities to challenge for an even bigger role.

This is our best guess for where the depth chart stands now based on roles last season, comments from players and coaches, and some guessing based on potential.

STATUS identifies starter, backup, depth, or a specific role like a short yardage back, Any assumed position battles are represented with "/" between player names. Any depth lists will be separated with commas, with no player having a clear edge.

Quarterback
StatusPlayer

Starter:

J.J. McCarthy

Backup:

Davis Warren

Depth:

Jack Tuttle

Alex Orji

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Running Back
StatusPlayer

Starter (1A):

Blake Corum

Starter (1B):

Donovan Edwards

Spell:

CJ Stokes / Cole Cabana

Short Yardage:

Tavierre Dunlap / Kalel Mullings

Depth:

Leon Franklin, Isaiah Gash, Benjamin Hall

Wide Receiver
Amorion Walker will be practicing with offense and defense in the spring.
StatusPlayer

X Starter:

Darrius Clemons

X Backup

Peyton O’Leary

Z Starter:

Cornelius Johnson

Z Backup:

Amorion Walker*

Y Starter:

Roman Wilson

Slot Backup

AJ Henning / Tyler Morris

Depth:

Cristian Dixon, Karmello English, Semaj Morgan, Frederick Moore

Tight End
StatusPlayer

Starter (1A):

Colston Loveland

Starter (1B):

AJ Barner

H-Back:

Max Bredeson

Depth:

Matthew Hibner, Marlin Klein

Offensive Line
StatusPlayer

LT Starter:

LaDarius Henderson

LT Backup:

Jeffrey Persi

LG Starter:

Trevor Keegan

LG Backup:

Giovanni El-Hadi

C Starter:

Drake Nugent

C Backup:

Greg Crippen / Raheem Anderson

RG Starter:

Zak Zinter

RG Backup:

Andrew Gentry

RT Starter:

Trente Jones / Karsen Barnhart / Myles Hinton

RT Backup:

Andrew Gentry

Tackle Depth:

Tristan Bounds, Evan Link, Connor Jones, Alessandro Lorenzetti

Guard Depth:

Reece Atteberry, Nathan Efobi, Amir Herring, Dom Guidice,

Defensive Line
Derrick Moore could slide into the end role in the defensive front
StatusPlayer

Starter NT:

Kenneth Grant

Backup NT:

Cam Goode

Starter DT:

Mason Graham

Backup DT:

Rayshaun Benny

Starter DE:

Kris Jenkins

Backup DE:

Derrick Moore / Ike Iwunnah

Depth

Trey Pierce, Brooks Bahr

EDGE
StatusPlayer

Strong Side Edge Starter:

Braiden McGregor / Derrick Moore

Weak Side Edge Starter:

Josaiah Stewart

Depth

TJ Guy, Kechaun Bennett, Enow Etta, Aymeric Koumba

Inside Linebacker
RJ Moten could play a WILL / Rover role
StatusPlayer

MIKE Starter:

Junior Colson

MIKE Backup:

Jimmy Rolder

WILL Starter:

Michael Barrett / Ernest Hausmann

WILL Backup:

Nikhai Hill-Green

SAM Starter:

Jaylen Harrell

SAM Backup:

Tyler McLaurin

Depth:

Jaydon Hood, Joey Velazquez, Micah Pollard, Jason Hewlett, Breeon Ismail, Semaj Bridgeman, Hayden Moore

Cornerback
Amorion Walker could compete for CB2 in spring
StatusPlayer

CB1 Starter:

Will Johnson

CB2 Starter:

Ja'Den McBurrows / Kody Jones / Myles Pollard

Nickel Starter:

Mike Sainristil

Nickel Backup:

Zeke Berry

Depth:

Cam Calhoun, Jyaire Hill, DJ Waller

Safety
StatusPlayer

FS Starter:

Rod Moore

FS Backup/Third Safety:

Keon Sabb

SS Starter:

Makari Paige

SS Backup:

RJ Moten

Depth:

Caden Kolesar, Damani Dent

Special Teams
StatusPlayer

Starter (K):

Tommy Doman /Adam Samaha

Starter (P):

Tommy Doman / Cordell Jones-McNally

Stater (KR):

AJ Henning

Starter (PR):

AJ Henning