Does Michigan Football have the talent to make a run in the College Football Playoff?

There’s a lot of buzz around the Michigan Wolverines roster heading into another football season. Head coach Sherrone Moore not only signed a talented list of recruits, but he and his staff also brought in some of the top additions in the transfer portal. Michigan had enough four- and five-star recruits last season to win a championship according to the blue-chip ratio; imagine the potential after signing this year’s class.

For the next few weeks, we’ll examine what Michigan brings to the table in 2025, and this week we’re looking at the players who will be putting on that winged helmet in the fall. Do they have what it takes to make a run in the College Football Playoff next season?

Offense

It’s hard not to get excited about Michigan’s offense heading into the new year. You’ve got the best recruit in the class on your side, Bryce Underwood at quarterback, and the Wolverines also picked up an experienced transfer in Mikey Keene. Helping him out, you’ve got a loaded tight end room, and one of the team’s leaders and most physical players, Max Bredeson, is coming back to help this team win games. Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten Michigan’s running backs — behind Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall, Michigan is poised to continue its strong run game. These three position groups are going to help take this team far.

Here’s the catch: Michigan needs improvement, a lot of improvement, from the offensive line and the wide receivers if this team is going to make a run in the postseason. It seems doable, especially given some of the pickups at receiver. Guys like Donaven McCulley and Anthony Simpson have the potential to make an immediate impact for the Wolverines at the receiver position, but Michigan will need some returners, maybe Fred Moore or Semaj Morgan, to step it up this fall as well. On the offensive line, Michigan recruited five-star Andrew Babalola, and picked up some solid options in the portal. That combined with the experienced returners will surely help strengthen the position group, but we’ll have to wait and see if that is a big enough improvement over last season.

Defense

Rod Moore is coming back in the secondary, and even after an injury, his football IQ alone will help keep guys in position to make plays. Brandyn Hillman, Zeke Berry, and Jyaire Hill all come back again next season, and after the improvement they showed each week, this might be one of the position groups that can make the biggest leap in 2025. With the return of Moore, it might not be surprising to see Ernest Hausmann hand over the green dot and focus on the job he has to do at linebacker, and that could be better for the defense overall. He’s returning after picking up 89 tackles, two sacks, and an interception in 2024, and he can build on that in 2025.

Honestly, I’m finding it pretty difficult to think of a major area of concern on this defense. After a season of working with Wink Martindale, it seems reasonable to expect the most out of each position group. The defensive line should be solid once again, especially since it’s returning some major talent like Derrick Moore, TJ Guy, and Rayshaun Benny.

You are saying goodbye to some of the best, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Will Johnson, and Josaiah Stewart, so I could reasonably see the run defense taking a step back for at least part of the year while new players adjust to starting roles. However, with Martindale still in Ann Arbor and plenty of quality talents ready to take on bigger roles, this defense should still be very strong overall.

Special Teams

There’s no understating how exciting it is that Dom Zvada is going to return for another year at Michigan. Every time we say his name it’s tough not to mumble “he should have won the Groza.” He finished the season a perfect 7-of-7 on field goals from 50-plus yards, and only missed one all season. He’ll be an important piece for the Wolverines again, especially in big games.

The one piece that seems missing on Michigan’s roster is where it’s going to find a dynamic punt and kick returner. It’s a part of this unit that doesn’t seem clear, and that could be a real gamechanger when it comes to the postseason. Michigan had a huge return from Semaj Morgan in the Big Ten Championship Game a couple years ago, and Jordan Marshall showed a glimmer in 2024. Marshall should be off the table since he’ll get a lot of reps at running back, but we could still see Morgan on punt returns. It’ll be interesting to see if there are any new options in the fall that could help make the return game a strength for the special teams unit.

At the end of the day, Michigan’s roster seems like it has the talent to make a run in the playoff, but you’d expect to see some growing pains after losing some of the key players on the defensive line.

What do you think about the Wolverines’ talent heading into the fall? Do they have what it takes to make a playoff run? Let us know in the comments!

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