Way too early depth chart prediction for Michigan's offense in 2023

It is January. There are still NFL decisions to be made and some players will enter the portal. I am willing to make some guesses, but obviously know this will all be fluid. Some position groups are already pretty obvious, some are a complete crapshoot. But Michigan is looking at arguably its best roster in a very long time.

Let's have some fun and see how the depth chart sits today.

For the first time in the Harbaugh era, Michigan has zero quarterback controversy heading into the offseason. JJ McCarthy will return as a starter and will likely be a popular name on preseason award watch lists.

Davis Warren appears to be staying at Michigan, which would be a massive win for the Wolverines. I expect him to be the de facto backup next season as he continues his development toward potentially being the Michigan starter as early as 2024.

I say defacto because Indiana transfer Jack Tuttle brings so much experience. But Tuttle is coming to bring that experience to the QB room as a leader and a valuable piece in meetings and practice. Who plays may be situational, but I think he is third-string.

Alex Orji is set to return, and while I do think a position change is still possible, as QB there would likely be more packages run next year for him, post-redshirt season.

For now, today, I think Blake Corum returns. Obviously, if he does, he is once again RB1 and likely the Heisman favorite.

Donovan Edwards would be RB1B and hopefully able to stay healthy. We didn’t get to see much of the duo at full strength this year, but when we did, they were unreal. Just ask Penn State. Edwards would obviously be RB1 if Corum were to go to the NFL, but either way, he is a serious Heisman candidate because of his threat in the passing game.

CJ Stokes came out of fall camp on fire and locked into the RB3 role. His freshman season was derailed after a fumble against Maryland and the team seemed to have confidence issues with him after he missed two huge rushing lanes against Ohio State. I expect Stokes to bounce back next season, but he will face competition from freshman Cole Cabana. Cabana is a burner and will be too good to not see the field in 2023.

Kalel Mullings to RB appears to be permanent, and he is likely to assume a short-yardage role in 2023. He has tons of potential there, and an offseason at the position instead of a linebacker will only help.

I am going to hedge the wide receivers like I always do when I do a depth chart. Michigan has never run standard 3 wide sets, players rotate, and they have recruited guys that can line all over. Also, there is a good chance we could see some portal attrition here in the very near future, so we will work with what we have.

The one spot I am extremely confident in is Darrius Clemons stepping in as the X receiver. He has all the size, speed, and tools you would want. He should have a breakout season on the outside.

I am torn with the other outside spot. Roman Wilson played almost exclusively in the slot during the season. Against TCU, he was outside more and had a massive game. With a less obvious replacement for Bell, I think Wilson takes this spot, but can obviously still line up in the slot.

With Wilson outside this obviously sets up well for AJ Henning to finally see starting snaps in the slot. He will be challenged by Tyler Morris, who of the “freak show” freshmen receivers saw the most action in 2023. Regardless of how they line up, those 4 will be part of the top 5.

The other is Andrel Anthony. This was obviously not the year many expected for Anthony, but he should have big opportunities next season, or he could choose to pursue a fresh start. He arguably could develop into the starting Z, and Wilson could move back to the slot. Amorion Walker is likely the other name to watch on the outside.

Michigan for the second year in a row brings in a very talented trio of receivers. Karmello English, Semaj Morgan, and Frederick Moore could each see the field as much as this year's freshmen class, if not more.

This is likely the most solidified and easiest-to-predict group.

While it would have been better to have a healthy All or Schoonmaker throughout the season, you can’t understate the value of the playing time Colston Loveland earned this year. He climbed the depth chart to TE2 as a freshman and made serious contributions at the end of the year. He is going to be one of the more unique receiving threats Michigan has had at tight end. I was on his hype train all offseason, get ready for it again in 2023.

I don’t know if I could have dreamt up a better addition than AJ Barner. He is going to thrive in the Schoon role, solid blocking, a great receiving threat up the seam and outside. Can take a pass for long yards after the catch and has the ability to win jump balls in the red zone.

Expect Max Bredeson to once again serve in his blocking and H-Back-type role. He will battle with Matthew Hibner who saw snaps against TCU and Marlin Klein. Don’t be surprised if either Zach Marshall or Deakon Tonielli have a similar rise and impact to what Loveland was able to do this year.

This is obviously the hardest one to project. It’s January, so this is just a crapshoot guess. Obviously, there are NFL decisions to be made and three transfers added to the mix. I am making these guesses based on what the roster makeup is today and complete guesses on NFL decisions. I am also not including recruits because there is already so much depth and it is tough to break through as a freshman, but the player who could see the field is Amir Herring. He’s a future star and an early enrollee.

As of today, my guess would be Zak Zinter enters the NFL Draft and Trevor Keegan returns. Obviously getting either back would be a huge win. I am penciling Keegan into his same spot, but he could move to LT as well, with Giovanni El-Hadi holding his own in LG snaps this season. This will be a theme. Via recruiting and now the portal, Michigan has a lot of guys who can play a lot of spots. We may have a roll the ball out and pick your top 5 situations.

For now, I’ve got Jeff Persi penciled in at LT. He played well in his first start, is crazy underrated, and showed growth throughout the season. Think he’s in a good spot to win that job, but there are a lot of names to watch. More on that in a second.

Center again could have been a Greg Crippen vs Raheem Anderson battle, but Michigan added a veteran center in the portal. I am going with Nugent because with so many new starters, having an experienced center would be a big deal. I do think Crippen or Anderson could win the job, and Anderson could play at G. He graded out as one of the top linemen when he played this year.

Arguably the most important spot on the line, because of Michigan’s run scheme and JJ’s tendency to go to the right, is who would replace Zinter. Obviously, if he is back, Michigan is ecstatic. If not, you want your best athlete at this spot, and right now I think that is LaDarius Henderson. Henderson played LG at Arizona State but has the length to play tackle. He has NFL footwork and was + in pulling schemes. He makes a lot of sense there.

Right tackle could be a battle between Karsen Barnhart and Trente Jones again, but as I said with Persi there are currently a lot of names to consider, assuming there aren’t more transfers out. Andrew Gentry will be ready to compete for a starting job after spending this year getting back into the flow of football. Myles Hinton is an experienced starter who has transferred in. Tristan Bounds, like Persi, has been underrated and developing well, waiting his turn.

Any one of these guys could start at RT or LT, and a few of them have potential at guard. We are going to learn a lot in spring camp, and then we can handicap the battles from there.

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