Spring Ball Breakdown: Ranking Michigan's Offensive Position Groups

Spring football practices began Monday (Feb. 22) for the Michigan Wolverines, meaning the page has officially been turned from the 2020 season to 2021, with the Maize and Blue looking to right the ship after posting a 2-4 mark last year.

Here, we power rank Michigan's position groups on offense, with returning production, emerging talent, depth and expected impact all playing factors.

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This may be the strongest position group on the entire team, which includes the 2020 squad's best player, arguably, in redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins. He led the Wolverines in rushing with 61 carries for 375 yards (average of 6.1) and touchdowns with six, including the game-winner in triple overtime at Rutgers.

The group is not as deep as originally expected, with Zach Charbonnet, who scored 11 touchdowns in 2019, transferring to UCLA this offseason. However, redshirt freshman Blake Corum got some significant playing time a year ago, toting the rock 26 times for 77 yards and two scores, and catching five passes for 73 yards.

Freshman early enrollee Donovan Edwards, a four-star recruit out of West Bloomfield (Mich.) High, could make an immediate impact and will likely be in the rotation this fall. He was the No. 58 player overall and No. 3 running back in the 2021 class, per Rivals.com.

New position coach Mike Hart, a former Michigan running back and the school's all-time leading rusher, has plenty to work with in his first season back in Ann Arbor. There's enough here for Michigan to have a productive run game, if the offensive line holds up.

Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is once again in charge of the wide receiver room. The group underachieved last season, but inconsistent quarterback play had a hand in that. With that said, the Wolverines should be stronger here this coming season since every player returns at the position.

Redshirt junior wideout Ronnie Bell is the headliner, with the Kansas City, Mo., native having led the Wolverines in receiving each of the last two seasons. After racking up 48 receptions, 758 yards and one touchdown in 2019, he hauled in 26 balls for 401 yards and a score in just six games last season.

Redshirt sophomore Cornelius Johnson emerged as a downfield threat in 2020, catching 16 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns, while averaging a team-high 15.9 yards per reception. Fellow redshirt sophomore Giles Jackson, who also serves as Michigan's returner of kicks and punts, will provide experience in the slot position after making 15 catches for 167 yards last season. Classmate Mike Sainristil caught two touchdown passes but had some trouble with drops.

Redshirt freshmen Roman Wilson and A.J. Henning both showed flashes a year ago and could earn bigger roles, while speedy four-star freshman Xavier Worthy may be too good to keep off the field as well.

Michigan's offensive line will have a new look again. In addition to having a new position coach in Sherrone Moore, who was promoted to co-offensive coordinator from tight ends coach, the Wolverines lost Jalen Mayfield to the NFL Draft — the fifth of five 2019 starters to now be playing at the next level.

There will be some familiar faces, however, with redshirt junior Andrew Stueber having eight career starts under his belt and redshirt sophomore Ryan Hayes having four. Stueber has the ability to play either guard or tackle, which is a plus for Moore when trying to put the best five on the field, while Hayes has only seen action at left tackle. Redshirt junior Chuck Filiaga began all six games at left guard a year ago but struggled and may find it tough to reclaim his starting spot if the youth behind him emerges.

Louisiana Tech graduate transfer Willie Allen, a 6-foot-6, 343-pounder, has played plenty in his career in the Sun Belt and could step in right away at tackle, possibly guard.

Among those younger players who must take the next step for Michigan's line to again be one of the Big Ten's best are redshirt freshman Karsen Barnhart, who showed flashes in 276 snaps at left tackle last season, and redshirt freshman Zak Zinter, who did the same at right guard in 214 plays. Ditto redshirt freshman Trevor Keegan, who impressed at left guard against Penn State in the finale, his only portion of extended playing time.

The center spot is an interesting one, with Zach Carpenter having transferred to Indiana. It is also unclear whether or not Andrew Vastardis, who started the first four games a year ago, will return for his sixth season. That leaves redshirt freshman Reece Atteberry and two four-star true freshmen, Raheem Anderson and Greg Crippen as players expected to play the position, though it remains to be seen if a guard like Keegan or Zinter could make the switch to man the middle.

Offensive line being the third-best position group on the offense is a based quite a bit on potential. There are a lot of pieces to like, but a lot still to be proven. There's a long ways to go between now and the fall, and it's up to Moore and his players to gel throughout the spring and summer.

Now that Joe Milton has transferred, it officially looks like a two-man race to become Michigan's starting quarterback in 2021, with redshirt freshman Cade McNamara and highly-touted freshman J.J. McCarthy being the contenders. Redshirt freshman Dan Villari will be in the mix but is likely to finish third.

Unless head coach Jim Harbaugh brings in a transfer, Michigan's scholarship quarterbacks, now being mentored by the newly-hired Matt Weiss, have a combined 132 snaps played between the three of them.

McNamara was brilliant in leading the Wolverines back from 17 down at Rutgers, forcing overtime and winning the game in the third extra session. He went 27-of-36 passing for 260 yards and four touchdowns, and earned himself the starting job the next week, before suffering a shoulder injury against Penn State that limited him and ultimately took him out of the game.

There's simply not enough of a sample size to make a determination on just how good McNamara is. McCarthy is expected to be very good in college, but it's hard to know when the light will turn on for him. We're in wait-and-see mode here, with there being a low floor but fairly high ceiling.

The tight ends are the most unproven group on Michigan's offense.

Nick Eubanks has graduated and moved on, and h-back Ben Mason has done the same. That leaves redshirt sophomore Erick All as the leader. A stellar run blocker — who earned a 77.9 run-blocking grade from PFF last season — All should bring it from a blocking perspective. But he's unproven as a pass-catcher, having brought in only 13 career catches for 92 yards and no touchdowns.

Redshirt sophomore Luke Schoonmaker has two career catches for 54 yards and one touchdown, while redshirt freshman Matt Hibner did not appear in game action during his first year on the team. The good news for Michigan is, it is bringing in four-star freshman Louis Hansen, who looks promising, but he's not an early enrollee and will have to get himself up to speed in a hurry this summer if he wants to crack the rotation right away.

Position coach Jay Harbaugh has worked with some good ones in Jake Butt and Zach Gentry, and he's tasked with trying to develop one from this group into the next All-Big Ten performer.

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