Michigan Football held its annual Maize and Blue Spring Game Saturday. The game was an opportunity for fans to get a first look at the 2023 Michigan Wolverines, including seeing new players wearing a Michigan uniform in The Big House for the first time. Michigan added seven transfers in the offseason, and four shined in their debut at Michigan Stadium.
Josaiah Stewart joins Michigan from Coastal Carolina where he was a dominant EDGE rusher for the last two seasons. Stewart flashed his strength and speed Saturday, getting to JJ McCarthy twice in the first half. Stewart showed his ability to take an offensive lineman on head-on, engage with his hands, and then use his legs to pursue the quarterback or ball carrier. Stewart has double-digit sack potential for the Wolverines in 2023.
Jack Tuttle was ranked the #5 QB in the 2018 class when he committed to Utah. He would transfer to Indiana after one season and appear in 15 games over the last 4 seasons. The former team captain joined Michigan looking to add experience and leadership to the quarterback room. We had heard throughout spring camp that Tuttle was performing well and had the lead in the battle for the backup quarterback role, and we saw that at times Saturday. Tuttle looked calm in the pocket, scrambled well, and made some strong throws on a windy day in Ann Arbor. Tuttle took some big hits during the game. He will be in a battle all offseason long with Davis Warren.
Tuttle's former Indiana teammate tight end AJ Barner also joined Michigan this offseason. The Wolverines have breakout start Colston Loveland but need to replace Luke Schoonmaker and Erick All. Michigan consistently uses two tight ends, so there will be plenty of reps for Barner. Barner looked good blocking and was also able to snag a couple of receptions from his former Hoosier teammate, and a touchdown late from Alex Orji.
One of the bigger additions of the offseason was a freshman breakout from Nebraska, linebacker Ernest Hausmann. Michigan was led by Junior Colson and Michael Barrett last season but did not have much depth behind the two leading tacklers. Colson and Barrett return, but Hausmann is an impact player who will not be kept off the field. Hausmann led both teams in the first half with 5 tackles. He showed his ability to fill running lanes, create pressure on the quarterback, wrap up ball carriers, and forced a fumble in the second half.
Michigan has three offensive linemen transfers who did not appear in the spring game. Drake Nugent and Myles Hinton are recovering from off-season injuries, while Ladarius Henderson will join the team in the summer. All three are expected to be fully healthy by summer workouts.
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