Michigan Football: 3 key improvements that could lead to a championship in 2025

The Michigan offense made significant improvements to its passing attack during the off-season.

Michigan Stadium under the lights | Christopher Breiler

Although Michigan finished the 2024 season on a strong note with wins over No. 2 Ohio State and No. 11 Alabama, the reality is that the Wolverines still fell short of their goals. No conference championship, no appearance in the College Football Playoff.

While it's clear there were a number of issues that held back Michigan last season, none were more obvious than the lack of a passing attack. Through the first half of the season, the Wolverines cycled through three different starting quarterbacks, with each guy struggling to solidify themselves as QB1. Fumbles, interceptions, and the inability to create explosiveness through the air forced Michigan to become a one-dimensional football team offensively, dependent almost exclusively on the rushing attack for any production.

The QB's certainly shoulder some of the blame for that lack of production last season, but the wide receivers and the offensive coordinator also shoulder some of that blame as well. Outside of superstar TE Colston Loveland, none of Michigan's pass catchers were anywhere near impactful through the air during the season. Making matters worse, the play calling seemed to lack the type of creativity that was necessary to getting the most out of a struggling offense.

Determined not to find himself in the same situation again in 2025, head coach Sherrone Moore made sure to make critical improvements to all three areas.

1. Bryce Underwood & Mikey Keene

Michigan freshman QB Bryce Underwood | Michigan Football

The QB situation in Ann Arbor right now looks completely different than it did this same time last year. With the addition of five-star recruit Bryce Underwood and veteran transfer Mikey Keene, Michigan has both elite talent and experience at the position this time around.

Although Keene was initially viewed a veteran who could take the lead in 2025 while Underwood spent a year developing, the early reports suggest that it could actually be the true freshman who assumes the starting role this fall. Part of that is due to the fact that Keene is working through an injury that has prevented him from participating in spring ball, while the other part is the fact that Underwood is as good as advertised.

Regardless of how that battle plays out, Michigan's improvement at the QB position during the off-season has resulted in a massive upgrade to the offense.

2. Big targets and experience at wide receiver

Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

It might not seem like it to the average fan, but this Michigan receiver room is incredibly deep. In fact, wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy recently said that this is the deepest the WR room has been since he joined the Michigan coaching staff back in 2021.

In addition to the return of guys like Fredrick Moore and Semaj Morgan, Michigan also scored some big wins on the recruiting trail with guys like Andrew Marsh and Jamar Browder. Both Marsh and Browder have been standing out as playmakers during spring ball, and Bellamy expects both to play a role within the offense this fall. Additionally, Michigan landed Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley during the off-season.

With both standing at 6-5 and weighing in around 200 pounds, McCulley and Browder provide the type of size at wideout that we haven't seen in Ann Arbor in quite some time.

Bellamy recently spoke about the WR size this year:

"You know, with the smaller guys—obviously, you like dynamic guys, right? Dynamic guys with the ball in their hands. But what the bigger guys give you is the one-on-one matchups. You can throw the ball up to those guys. You know, most people call them 50/50 balls. But, you know, if the ball’s in the air... it’s ours. That’s the mentality we have.

"And when you’re starting to roll out 6-3, 6-4, 6-5 guys—most of those guys have basketball backgrounds, right? Ball’s in the air—it’s a rebound. They’re boxing people out, using their big body. So that’s something we did not have last year for the most part. We do now. We feel good about the additions that we made to address that. But to me, it takes stress off the play caller and the quarterbacks."

3. Offensive Coordinator Chip Lindsey

Mickey Welsh / Advertiser via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Unlike his predecessor in 2024, Chip Lindsey arrives to Ann Arbor with nearly 30 years of college coaching experience, including significant time as an offensive coordinator. In 2024, his offensive unit at North Carolina averaged 32.3 points and 423.4 yards per game, including 233.9 passing yards per game. Following the 2023 season, Lindsey's Tar Heel offense finished the year averaging 491.2 yards per game (7th in the NCAA) and averaged 34.5 points per (20th in the NCAA).

That type of experience and success is exactly why Sherrone Moore made it a priority to bring Lindsey to Ann Arbor. With an experienced OC in the mix, there's a renewed sense of optimism that the Michigan offense will finally be able to utilize all of the incredible talent that remains on the roster.

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -

More Michigan News:

Michigan Football: Rod Moore considered a 'top' returning safety despite not playing in 2024

Michigan Football predicted to land a 2026 quarterback

Where Michigan football players go in simulated 7-round NFL mock draft

For additional coverage of University of Michigan athletics:

• Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @WingedHelmetMedia
• Follow us on Facebook: @TheWingedHelmet
• Follow us on Twitter: @TWH_chris | @TrentKnoop | @JerredJohnson7