Wolverine Digest

The No. 1 overall pick in Michigan Football's Spring Game is revealed

This pick might shock some people.
Trent Knoop|
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Michigan football will play its annual Spring Game on Saturday in front of fans who want to attend the game. The Wolverines are set to play four quarters of football and as they've done the last several years, the teams were drafted ahead of the game. On Wednesday, Michigan football's X account showed a 22-second video of the draft and a few players who are on each team.

Head coach Sherrone Moore introduced the first overall pick of this year's Spring Game, and it might shock some people. It appeared the Maize team had the first selection and it took true freshman offensive tackle Andrew Babalola.

Babalola came to Michigan as a five-star recruit and the 16th-ranked player in the 2025 class. While Babalola is projected to have a great career at Michigan, he's not predicted to start in 2025 -- at least not right away. The Wolverines recruited Babalola to become their next great left tackle, but early rumblings suggest Evan Link and Brady Norton are contending for the LT position to start the year. But if Babalola came off the board right away, that might speak to how well the true freshman has competed in spring practice.

In the first few seconds of the video, the screen flashed past both the Blue team and the Maize team's roster. We could see Damon Payne Jr., Dom Nichols, Derrick Moore, Ernest Hausmann, and Jimmy Rolder were all on the Blue team. While Jaishawn Barham's name was on the Maize roster.

The game will take place at the Big House on Saturday at Noon. The game will be televised on The Big Ten Network on April 27.

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

More Michigan News:

Notre Dame has a 'slight edge' over a top Michigan football target

Report: Michigan football to be 'buyers' in the spring transfer portal

Where ESPN ranks Michigan basketball transfers in new top-100 rankings

For additional coverage of University of Michigan athletics:

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI during the 2025 football season. Trent also serves as the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI. His other bylines have appeared on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.

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