Michigan Football 5 Most Important Players Against Minnesota

The Michigan Wolverines are looking to bounce back this week against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. It’s Michigan’s first trip outside of Ann Arbor since last year’s date with Maryland in the penultimate game of the 2025 season.

The Wolverines will be entering a hostile environment against a Minnesota team riding some momentum that even forced their head coach PJ Fleck to wipe a player’s blood on his face.

Odd as it may be, Fleck will have his team ready to play against a Michigan team that cannot afford to turn one bad game into two.

Here are the five most important players for the Wolverines to get back in the winner’s circle.

5 Blake Frazier

The first guy on this list is someone who scared the entire stadium last week in Ann Arbor. Blake Frazier was writhing in pain in the second half against Iowa, and it was fair to wonder how severe the injury was based on his reaction.

Michigan is already missing their starting right tackle, Andrew Sprague. Frazier was filling in for him on the right side, with Evan Link sliding in as the left tackle in Sprague’s absence.

With Andrew Babalola also on the shelf, Michigan could ill afford another injury on the offensive line.

Frazier was able to finish the game, but is listed on the availability report this week. He was listed as probable, so it sounds like he’s going to be good to go.

Of all the players on the offensive line, Frazier along with center Jake Guarnera set the tone and give their run game some personality. Michigan needs to get back to being able to run the ball much better than they have so far this season.

Furthermore, Frazier needs to be able to stay in the game, because Michigan’s next man up is a true freshman Marky Walbridge.

Walbridge was a decorated recruit, but asking him to play significant snaps in a road game for a team coming off a loss is a tough ask for anyone. Frazier needs to go, and he needs to be effective.

4 JJ Buchanan

Speaking of players listed on the availability report, Andrew Marsh’s name popped up as a player who is listed as questionable.

What that means is anyone’s guess at this point, but Michigan’s passing game is really carried by their two big horses.

Marsh is one, having secured the first back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Roy Roundtree.

Buchanan piled up 100 yards receiving of his own and scored two touchdowns against Iowa. That included what was probably the best play of Bryce Underwood’s young career, a 46-yard strike where Buchanan gave Michigan the lead back.

If Marsh cannot play, or is limited, that makes Michigan’s passing game a one-man show. Buchanan will have to lead the way with a significantly heavier workload than what he’s had through the first four games. Michigan’s offense already runs the risk of being one-dimensional due to their lack of rushing success. They cannot afford to be anemic in the passing game if Marsh is limited.

Highest Graded Cornerback in College Football:

🐿️ John Nestor, Minnesota: 88.4@GopherFootball pic.twitter.com/IqLMPR0rn1
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 30, 2026

The other part of this is who is on the other side of him. Minnesota’s John Nestor is PFF’s highest graded corner in all of college football.

If Marsh is out, he’ll likely get the Buchanan assignment, and Buchanan will have to win some tough matchups.

3 Jyaire Hill

Someone in the secondary has to start catching passes. Michigan had their hands on several passes last week against Iowa, and came away with none of them.

Kyle Whittingham noted this week that Michigan needs to start generating more takeaways. He’s right, their defense has been very good for most of the year but cannot survive if they do not start making some big plays on the ball.

This player could really be anyone in the secondary, but we’re giving the nod to Jyaire Hill. He’s Michigan’s top cornerback, and leads the secondary in interceptions this season.

He made what is likely the biggest play of the year so far with his game changing interception against Oklahoma.

Tie ball game.
8:49 left in the game.
The offense has sputtered in the 2nd half, but the defense kept em in the game.
Jyaire Hill makes up for his earlier mistake with an enormous interception and return to the 6.
Huge play for Michigan. pic.twitter.com/5JVvPxvtDT
— Due# (@JDue51) September 13, 2026

Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey will go big game hunting. He’s not afraid to put the ball in some tough spots. That means that Michigan has to do a much better job on contested catches than they did a week ago against Iowa.

Hill is a big part of that, and would do Michigan a lot of favors if he can come away with a pass or two of Lindsey’s.

2 Jordan Marshall

Michigan’s offense was not supposed to look like this. Their run game was supposed to be dominant. Not just dominant, but one of the best in college football.

The backfield tandem of Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter were supposed to flirt with 1,000 yards rushing, while Bryce Underwood adds some flavor to the run game while using his legs.

Through four weeks, the Wolverines are ranked 92nd in the country in rushing. That’s well below the standard that is usually set for Michigan football.

Last week, Jordan Marshall looked as good as he has all season until he was curiously out of the game on the final possession.

Kyle Whittingham said it wasn’t because of an injury, and Marshall said he’s good to go. We’re taking him at his word this week. If he’s good to go, then he needs to start rumbling into the secondary to lead Michigan’s ground game to the heights they were supposed to reach before the season started.

That’s not all on him, but Marshall is a runner who sets the tone for his team. He’s a captain. If he can run through contact of Minnesota’s defenders, he could wear down their defense by the end of the game.

1 Another Pass Catcher

Who is a secondary pass catcher that is going to step up this week? Yes, Andrew Marsh and JJ Buchanan form what is a dynamic duo. They’re also the entirety of Michigan’s passing game. At some point, some team is going to be able to take away one of those guys and make things even harder. Iowa had some success at times doing so, especially in the red zone.

Michigan’s offense could really use someone stepping up to be some semblance of a reliable contributor. Whether that’s a tight end in the red zone, or a slot receiver able to just make some plays in the middle of the field so the offense is not so predictable.

Last week, Hogan Hansen got some run at tight end and is potentially looking for more reps this week. Can he be a presence in the red zone? Can he just be a safety blanket?

The answers are unclear as to who those players could be, but Michigan desperately needs to find someone else in the passing game to make some plays.

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