Way-too-early breakout candidates for Michigan football in 2023

With spring practice just a few weeks away for Michigan football, we will start to see what the beginning stages of the 2023 football team will look like. The pieces for a three-peat in the Big Ten are certainly there but there is no ignoring a handful of positions that need to be addressed.

Spring is a good time to get some players some much-needed practice reps in hopes that some can exceed expectations to put themselves in a good position on the depth chart heading into summer.

As way-too-early prognostications go, it's always a fun game to imagine what a team could look like if certain players can come in and make an impact.

Here are Maize & Blue Review's way-too-early breakout candidates for the 2023 season, in no specific order.

We all know that Will Johnson will be entering the season as the No. 1 corner option. As a true freshman, he played his way to being a mainstay towards the back half of the season and won't relinquish his role anytime soon.

Where the depth falls behind Johnson is one of the major storylines heading into the season. With the Wolverines not addressing the defensive back position during its string of transfer portal acquisitions, and there's still a chance the Wolverines can still do so moving forward, depth at the defensive back position is falling into the unknown category.

This is where Ja'Den McBurrows comes in. Playing in only four games during the 2021 season, McBurrows did not see playing action in 2022 due to having knee surgery in the latter stages of the 2021 season. The coaching staff made the smart decision to not rush him back onto the field.

The 2023 season is where McBurrows can shine. He could very well exit spring occupying the second corner position for the program. The coaching staff has been high on McBurrows since signing him in the 2021 recruiting class. If he can live up to those expectations, you'll be looking at a prime breakout candidate on the defensive side of the ball.

We at M&BR have been high on Clemons since he signed with the program in the 2022 recruiting class. After showing promise during the spring game, the path to playing time was difficult for Clemons in 2022.

With Ronnie Bell moving on to test the professional waters and Andrel Anthony departing via the transfer portal, the path to move up the depth chart is prime for a candidate like Clemons to take advantage of it.

The pass game at Michigan is what it is at this point. They're not going to throw the ball 50 times a game but if the Wolverines can replicate what it did at the end of the year, making effective downfield throws and letting J.J. McCarthy do what he excels at, Clemons could be the beneficiary of some passes thrown his way as an outside receiver.

Not only on the outside but in various other spots, too. If Clemons can show versatility playing on either the outside or the slot, he will show his value in a lot of ways the Wolverines could certainly benefit from in the passing game.

Obviously, the biggest question about whether he will see the field is his downfield blocking ability.

It's easy to list transfer portal additions as breakout players as we haven't seen them in the U-M system and anything positive they do would be deemed a major success.

However, none of the Wolverines' plethora of portal additions could benefit from a new setting quite like Indiana TE transfer AJ Barner. We all know how much the Wolverines love to utilize its tight ends in the offense. Whether it's specialty blocking packages, putting someone out wide or just letting someone get loose down the field, Barner is the type of tight end that can do it all, which is exactly what the Wolverines will be missing entering the season.

With Luke Schoonmaker moving on, the Wolverines will be missing its all-around tight end. It's not a knock on Colston Loveland but the freshman has some work to do with blocking aspects, there's no doubt that he is fully capable of being a possession tight end.

For Barner, he can do it all. If you need him to block, he'll make the block. If you need someone in the middle of the field to make the tough catch, he'll do that, too.

It would not come as a surprise to see Barner become a safety blanket for McCarthy right away.

Depth at the linebacker position was razor-thin for the Wolverines last year so it should come as no surprise that the Wolverines went to the transfer portal to pick up Nebraska linebacker transfer Ernest Hausmann.

After being forced to play early due to injuries ahead of him, Hausmann acquitted himself well on a bad Nebraska team. Struggling early, he eventually found his footing and finished the season strong, including a handful of 10-tackle performances, with one coming against the Wolverines.

With Junior Colson a mainstay at linebacker, Hausmann could find himself excelling alongside Michael Barrett as an athletic three-headed monster that includes experienced depth with Nikhai Hill-Green and Jimmie Rolder who also played as a true freshman.

While we can't predict what the offensive line depth chart is going to look like, Stanford transfer Drake Nugent has a good of a shot as any to step into the starting center role and lock it down from spring onward.

Listed as Pro Football Focus' Top 10 returning interior offensive linemen in the country, he was also graded as a Top-10 center according to PFF's metrics. Funnily enough, graded slightly above Olu Oluwatimi, who won the Rimington and Outland Awards this past season.

If he continues to play at the level he has been on an even better offensive line and far more talented offensive unit as a whole, the Wolverines really won't miss a beat as it tries to three-peat for the Joe Moore Award.

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