Position Breakdown: Special Teams

For our Position Breakdown series, we are going to take a look at each position group for Michigan Football with spring practices nearing a close.

How does the current depth chart shake out?
What are the storylines or things you should be watching heading into the summer and eventually of course the season?
What's the X factor, whether it's a player, coach, or situation that could change the way the group looks?

Let's talk about the special teams.

Michigan's special teams units have some of the best in the country under Jay Harbaugh. While the expectation will be for the block and return units to continue to lead the way, big changes are coming to the kicking game.

Jake Moody has been handling kickoffs in Ann Arbor for the last five seasons. He was the primary field goal kicker for the last two seasons and was one of the best in the nation. Brad Robbins has been the leading partner for 4 of the last 6 seasons at Michigan, as well as Jake Moody's holder. Losing both of them in the same year is no small deal.

Being able to count on the reliability of Moody and Robbins not only impacts scoring, but it impacts the decisions of a coaching staff throughout a game. At times when Michigan has struggled in the red zone, it could always count on field goals from Moody. The margin for error is slim.

The man who will have the weight of replacing BOTH players will be Tommy Doman. Doman is no slouch, a former top recruit as a kicker and punter. Recruiting services to kicking specialist groups all rated Doman somewhere between 1st and 6th at both positions. He was the all-state kicker and competed at the All-American Bowl. It will be a difficult task, but the junior has the potential to be the next great specialist.

In the return game, AJ Henning and Roman Wilson are likely to be the primary returners again. Michigan has some elite speed and playmaking ability in two freshmen, Karmello English and Semaj Morgan. Morgan has had an impressive spring, and with the WR room so deep, getting him on the field with special teams would make a lot of sense.

The only choice here is Doman.

Michigan has struggled at times in the red zone, and having Jake Moody to rely on for field goals is a gamechanger. When the offense stalled, Moody had been clutch for Michigan, including a game winning field goal last year against Illinois. Doman, again has the potential, but it is unreal to expect him to have the conversion rate or length of Moody. Michigan's offense has the potential to be explosive in 2023, but it is going to have to convert at a high rate, especially in tough games like at Penn State.

We know Doman has the leg, but we don't know how he will perform in clutch moments in front of 100,000 plus. Obviously playing behind Moody and Robbins the last two seasons was beneficial, but now it is his show. If he can be reliable, Michigan will be comfortable, if not, the pressure turns up on the offense.

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