Here's where Michigan Football's Position Groups Rank Nationally

It certainly looks like the odds are stacked against Michigan in 2021, at least as far as the analysts are concerned.

If you're one of those individuals who isn't all that concerned with preseason rankings, the following content won't mean all that much to you.  If, however, you are one of those individuals who believes that preseason rankings give a pretty good indication of where your team stands heading into a new season, you'll likely want to keep reading.

Phil Steele is a former ESPN insider and the current publisher of one of the most anticipated preseason publications in college football: 'Phil Steele's College Football Preview'.

In his latest preseason college football preview, Steele ranked the top 60 position groups for each college football program.  For purposes of this article, we'll focus strictly on the Big Ten conference and Michigan's overall ranking within the top 60 for each position group.

Quarterbacks

1. Indiana, No. 18
2. Wisconsin, No. 20
3. Purdue, No. 29
4. Nebraska, No. 30
5. Ohio State, No. 31
6. Penn State, No. 33
7. Minnesota, No. 42
8. Northwestern, No. 48
9. Michigan, No. 54
10. Illinois, No. 55

Unranked: Michigan State, Maryland, Iowa, Rutgers

Running Backs

1. Ohio State, No. 8
2. Penn State, No. 12
3. Wisconsin, No. 16
4. Minnesota, No. 19
5. Iowa, No. 35
6. Michigan, No. 50

Unranked: Michigan State, Illinois, Nebraska, Purdue, Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, Indiana

Wide Receivers

1. Ohio State, No. 1 
2. Penn State, No. 13
3. Purdue, No. 22
4. Indiana, No. 24
5. Maryland, No. 25
6. Michigan State, No. 46
7. Michigan, No. 53
8. Iowa, No. 55

Unranked: Rutgers, Northwestern, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska

Offensive Line

1. Ohio State, No. 2
2. Minnesota, No. 11
3. Wisconsin, No. 13
4. Michigan, No. 42
5. Penn State, No. 47
6. Iowa, No. 53
7. Illinois, No. 55

Unranked: Purdue, Michigan State, Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, Nebraska, Indiana

Defensive Line

1. Ohio State, No. 4
2. Penn State, No. 17
3. Purdue, No. 25
4. Illinois, No. 31
5. Michigan, No. 46
6. Iowa, No. 47
7. Indiana, No. 50
8. Northwestern, No. 58

Unranked: Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin

Linebackers

1. Wisconsin, No. 6
2. Penn State, No. 15
3. Iowa, No. 21
4. Ohio State, No. 30

Unranked, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue

Defensive  Backs

1. Indiana, No. 7
2. Iowa, No. 9
3. Wisconsin, No. 10
4. Penn State, No. 16
5. Ohio State, No. 19
6. Maryland, No. 28
7. Northwestern, No. 39
8. Michigan, No. 42
9. Michigan State, No. 46
10. Nebraska, No. 54

Unranked: Rutgers, Minnesota, Purdue, Illinois

Special Teams

1. Iowa, No. 4
2. Penn State, No. 8
3. Michigan, No. 40
4. Illinois, No. 49
5. Ohio State, No. 50 
6. Indiana, No. 58

Unranked: Michigan State, Maryland, Rutgers, Minnesota, Purdue, Northwestern, Nebraska, Wisconsin