Ranking Every Michigan Football Position Group From Worst to First Through 5 Weeks

There is a clear winner for Michigan football through five weeks.

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Michigan is sitting at 3-2 on the season and the Wolverines are hoping to make some positive changes coming off the bye when they play Penn State next weekend.

The Wolverines' offense and defense are in two different realms. Michigan has the No. 122 total offense in the nation and the Wolverines have the No. 6 total defense.

Through five weeks of play, we are going to rank every position group from worst to first— with defense leading the way.

9. Tight ends

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Michigan's passing attack isn't very good, and this position has been almost irrelevant in the Wolverines' passing game. There have been three tight ends to catch a pass, and Hogan Hansen leads all tight ends, catching five passes for 35 yards.

Both Jalen Hoffman and Eli Owens have also recorded a catch(es) this season, but both are more of an H-back type of player. Last season, we saw Zack Marshall make an impact in the passing attack, but he's yet to log a reception — and he's made his thoughts known about that.

It would be nice to see Michigan have more tight ends run routes and be used as check-downs for the quarterback moving forward.

8. Quarterbacks

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It's been a Jekyll and Hyde season for Bryce Underwood. In both Week 1 and Week 5, Underwood looked like last season's Underwood — or worse. But between Week 2 and Week 4, he showed real progression.

Against Iowa, he threw for 276 yards and was four yards short of tying his career high. It was the best he's ever looked against a ranked team. But predetermining reads have haunted him this season and that's what happened last weekend against Minnesota.

It's safe to say that Jason Beck's scheme hasn't overly helped Underwood like many thought. But Underwood isn't helping himself either, and hopefully the Wolverines make some changes heading into Penn State week to help their signal-caller.

7. Running backs

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Michigan has the No. 100 ranked rushing attack in college football. That's crazy to write because the run game has been the Wolverines' identity for quite some time now. Even Jason Beck has been known for that — having the No. 2 ranked rushing offense in 2024 and 2025.

Bryce Underwood is Michigan's second-leading rusher with 212 yards. Take him out of the equation, and the Wolverines' run game is quite poor. Jordan Marshall leads the team with 244 yards and three touchdowns.

Now, it's not all of the running backs' fault. The offensive line isn't getting push that's needed, and there is a clear personnel to scheme issue. Beck likes the horizontal game, but Michigan is built for downhill rushing. That's what Michigan needs to get back to.

6. Special teams

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This is another unit that has had a Jekyll and Hyde season. Both the kicking and punting games have been good. Kicker Trey Butkowski has made all four of his field goal attempts, and punter Cameron Brown has put the Wolverines' defense in favorable positions.

But kick coverage and punt returns have been terrible. Andrew Marsh has done a poor job as the returner — muffing two punts this season. The Wolverines have had a few penalties on punt return, and Michigan has allowed some big plays in kick coverage — including a touchdown return against Iowa.

Kerry Coombs certainly has areas to fix coming off the bye.

5. Offensive line

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It's like there is a theme to this Michigan football team — a night and day difference. The offensive line has actually done really well in pass protection for the most part, but blocking for the run game has been a different story.

Bryce Underwood has been sacked eight times, but a few sacks have been due to him holding onto the ball and dancing around. Overall, with a banged up offensive line, it's held its own in the pass department.

But with how Jason Beck wants to attack the run game, Michigan's offensive line isn't blocking appropriately. The Wolverines are built for downhill running, and Beck needs his linemen to attack east-west, but that's not how this group was built.

Once again, if Beck makes a few scheme changes, the line could have a better seven games to end the season. Getting right tackle Andrew Sprague back would also help.

4. Wide receivers

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Two players have made this unit the best on offense: JJ Buchanan and Andrew Marsh. In fact, there have only been four wide receivers who have caught a pass this season for Michigan, and the other two are freshmen Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson. Moa has two catches and Johnson has one.

That's a big disparity from Buchanan catching 24 passes for 446 yards and four touchdowns, and Andrew Marsh's 25 receptions for 268 yards and one score.

But they've made enough plays to be considered big-time players for this team and they are targets Bryce Underwood can rely on. We really want to see some more playmakers emerge, especially Texas transfer Jaime Ffrench, who was supposed to be a big part of the offense.

3. Linebackers

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The linebackers were the biggest question mark entering the season, but this group has surpassed all expectations. They are deeper than anticipated and both Troy Bowles and Nathaniel Staehling are playing really good football.

Bowles is flying around and leads the team with 40 tackles. Staehling is tied for second on the team with 25 tackles. He also had the pick-six last weekend against Minnesota.

The Wolverines play Chase Taylor, Aisea Moa, and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, and really don't miss a beat with any of those three on the field. Michigan is a sound tackling team. The only weakness this unit has is in pass coverage, but with how dynamic they are in the run game, it can be overlooked.

2. Secondary

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Michigan has the No. 9 pass defense in the country, allowing just over 148 yards per game through the air. And the Wolverines' starters have been elite this season.

At corner, Michigan is loaded with Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, and Smith Snowden. Shamari Earls is CB4 and he has played starter-level football. At safety, Rod Moore has impressed since coming back from his injury, and Chris Bracy has been dominant.

We'd like to see this unit come away with more takeaways, though. Through five games, Michigan has recorded four interceptions, and only two of those are from the secondary. Michigan will be playing some pass-heavy teams here coming up and there will be opportunities to make that happen.

1. Defensive line

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Kyle Whittingham made people raise their eyebrows this offseason when he said the defensive line was the strength of the Michigan defense. Turns out, the head coach knew what he was talking about.

The Michigan defensive line has been excellent this season. Michigan is allowing less than 100 yards per game on the ground and the edge rushers are attacking the quarterback. The Wolverines have 12 sacks this season and both John Henry Daley and Dom Nichols have been elite off the edge.

Michigan is very deep at edge and if injuries were to occur, you feel good about the Wolverines' chances with who they have behind Daley and Nichols.

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