Projecting Michigan's Week 1 Starting Lineup Before Fall Camp Begins

Fall camp is right around the corner. Let's take a look at how the Wolverines' starting unit could look.

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Big Ten Media Days is set to take place in Chicago next week, and then fall camp will be right around the corner, signalling college football is on the horizon. For Michigan, the Wolverines are coming off a nine-win season under Sherrone Moore, and new head coach Kyle Whittingham did an excellent job of retaining the roster, along with adding players via the transfer portal.

There will be a nice mixture of returning stars and some fresh faces lining up for Michigan when the Wolverines come out of the tunnel in Week 1 against Western Michigan. And, for us, we look ahead to Week 1 and predict what the starting lineup is going to look like ahead of fall camp.

How the starting offense would look

When predicting Michigan's starting offense, we are going to use Jason Beck's standard 11 personnel. With that being said, the Wolverines will go jumbo at times this season, and Beck has stated he will adjust the offense to Michigan's strengths.

But for simplicity, we are strictly looking at an 11 personnel look.

Position (11 personnel base)	Starter
Quarterback	Bryce Underwood
Running back	Jordan Marshall
Wide receiver	Andrew Marsh
Wide receiver	JJ Buchanan
Wide receiver	Jaime Ffrench
Tight end	Zack Marshall
Left tackle	Blake Frazier
Left guard	Evan Link
Center	Jake Guarnera
Right guard	Nate Efobi
Right tackle	Andrew Sprague

There aren't too many surprises in our starting lineup. The way we see things, there are six players who are locked into a starting spot — it's pretty easy to figure out who they are.

Tight end, WR3, and O-line battles

Tight end will be the first spot up for grabs, and either Zack Marshall or Hogan Hansen will get the job. Marshall saw a lot of action last season when Marlin Klein was banged up. As impressive as Hansen was in his freshman season, he also suffered durability concerns, which allowed Marshall to shine. As of now, he would get the nod.

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Wide receiver three is also a question mark. Jaime Ffrench comes to Michigan with a year of experience and he would make sense to get the nod as of now. But five-star Salesi Moa will push Ffrench to be the first player on the field. Travis Johnson, Jamar Browder, Kendrick Bell, and Channing Goodwin could all make a push, too, but Ffrench and Moa should see the most time.

There will be fall-camp battles for the starting LT, LG, and RG spots. As of now, Blake Frazier deserves to get the nod at LT, being the main player there last year after Evan Link suffered an injury. Andrew Babalola, a former five-star could win the job, and push Frazier inside. Speaking of Link, assuming he's 100%, he will likely earn a spot at either guard spot. Which would leave Nate Efobi battling Brady Norton and possibly Frazier for the other guard position.

Defense has some firepower

Jay Hill has traditionally run a 4-2-5 defense, but he can mix things up with multiple looks. For the starting defense, we will go with the 4-2-5 base.

Position (4-2-5 base)	Starter
Edge	John Henry Daley
Defensive line	Trey Pierce
Defensive line	Enow Etta
Edge	Cameron Brandt
Linebacker	Troy Bowles
Linebacker	Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng
Corner	Jyaire Hill
Corner	Zeke Berry
Nickel	Smith Snowden
Safety	Rod Moore OR Mason Curtis
Safety	Chris Bracy

The defensive line feels pretty safe where things are at now. Cameron Brandt played a lot of football last season and should get the first chance, but don't count out Dominic Nichols or Nate Marshall to give him all he wants in fall camp. However, Brandt is the choice as things stand today.

Linebacker battles and the question at safety

The only true fall camp battle on defense will be at linebacker. Michigan lost all three of its linebackers from last year, and the Wolverines are rolling with some young and inexperienced players. Troy Bowles is the veteran of the group and should become one of the starters.

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Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng likely has the most upside of any linebacker on the roster, but the question of durability also haunts him. Chase Taylor has been named a potential breakout star for Michigan this season, and he did look the part during his freshman campaign. One other player worth mentioning is transfer Nathaniel Staehling, who was very good last season at North Dakota State. He may or may not start, but he will certainly play a role.

The only other spot on the defense that may come into question is at safety if Rod Moore can't begin the season. By all accounts, his rehab has been great and Moore is ready to hit the field running, but Michigan has a good backup plan in place if not. Both Jordan Young and Mason Curtis will rotate with Moore and Chris Bracy this season, and if Moore isn't ready for Week 1, expect a heavy dosage of Curtis.