Ranking Every Michigan Position Group as They Enter 2026

In 2026, Michigan will hope to look very different from what it did in 2025 with Kyle Whittingham as the new head coach. He brought in two new coordinators, as well as a few key pieces from his roster at Utah. While a lot has changed in terms of the coaching staff, he was able to keep most of the roster intact and there's a lot of talent still on this team.

Earlier this off-season I already ranked both the offensive and defensive position groups, but now we're going to dive into a full team ranking of each position group as they enter the 2026 season below.

#1: Running Back

Michigan Wolverines quarterback Tommy Carr hands the ball off to running back Savion Hiter | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For me, this is a pretty easy #1 ranking, running back is at the top of the board. Jordan Marshall has already looked like a star in his half season of starting last season. While filling in for the injured Justice Haynes, he ended with 150 carries for 932 yards (6.2 yards per carry), and 10 TD's. As long as he can stay healthy for the full season he should have an easy time getting over 1,000 yards.

Also on the roster is former 5-star recruit Savion Hiter, who will only be a true freshman this fall but has already garnered a very high level of praise. Kyle Whittingham had this to say about him this Spring: “He's about 6 feet, 220 pounds, not an ounce of fat on the kid. Great contact balance, will pick up blitzes, has really good hands out of the backfield, explosive runner, can make you miss. I mean, his future is very, very bright. And like I said, his future starts now. I mean, he'll be getting carries from game one.”

As a recruit, Savion Hiter was compared to Bijan Robinson and Omarion Hampton, both former 1st round picks who have shown a high level of success thus far in their NFL careers. Needless to say, Savion Hiter has a very high ceiling and will play meaningful snaps right away.

At RB3 is Bryson Kuzdzal who elected to return to Michigan despite briefly entering the transfer portal this Winter. I imagine he could've started for other Power Four conference teams, because he's looked good when he's gotten carries for the Wolverines. But on this team, he's going to be the third running back. This position group is almost an embarrassment of riches for Michigan and that's why it's #1 for me.

#2: Defensive Line

Michigan State's Aidan Chiles is hit by Michigan's Dominic Nichols | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Like the running backs, I think there's a lot of overall talent on this defensive line for Michigan as they enter 2026. Kyle Whittingham actually ranked it #1 on the team this Spring in terms of position groups: "Again, that appears to be our strongest suit right now, as far as depth goes. Ten bodies ready to play, we’ll be 2.5 deep on the front of the defense there, and that’s a real luxury for us.”

The reason I rank it #2 is because while there are a lot of talented names on this team who all could take a step forward, there's not a lot of actual proven production yet. John Henry Daley is the headliner, as he has over 10 sacks last fall for Utah. Behind him at edge are Dominic Nichols, Cam Brandt, and Nate Marshall all in the mix to start. That's at least four bodies you can rotate in to help keep guys fresh all season long.

They also bring in former 5-star recruit who will be a true freshman this fall in Carter Meadows. He's probably going to be a situational pass-rusher for this team at most just because they already have so much depth at this position group and to be able to bring in a 5-star as a situational player is a real luxury.

At defensive tackle the starters will be Trey Pierce and Enow Etta who both have breakout potential as well, but neither one has put together a full season of high level play as of yet. Behind them are Deyvid Palepale and Jonah Lea'ea, who can both be solid contributors as well in the two deep. Between the entire defensive line, they have about 10 guys who can play this fall and that's not something most teams in college football can say.

#3: Offensive Line

Team Blue offensive lineman Jake Guarnera gets ready for the snap during the spring game | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Offensive line is #3 for me, again mostly due to the depth and high level talent who could breakout this fall for Michigan. To start, there's about seven different players who I think can be quality starters in the Big Ten.

Andrew Babalola is a former 5-star offensive tackle recruit coming off a serious injury, but on paper he should be healthy this fall. Blake Frazier stepped in part way through last season to start games as left tackle and looked pretty good in his time out there. Evan Link has played a lot of snaps for Michigan already in his career and likely slides inside to guard which is his more natural position. Nathan Efobi is another veteran who's been around a while and could start at guard as well. Brady Norton also can start at guard, and did so in three games last season. Jake Guarnera looked like one of the Big Ten's better centers last season, and that leaves Andrew Sprague who's got All-Big Ten type potential at right tackle.

It's a luxury that Michigan was able to bring all of these guys back because they'll not only have a good starting unit but they will at minimum, have another two players you feel good about coming off the bench if someone goes down. Collectively, they haven't hit their ceilings yet either, and I'm very curious to see if new offensive line coach Jim Harding can bring this group to another level.

#4: Wide Receiver

Michigan Wolverines wide receiver Andrew Marsh catches a pass for a touchdown as Maryland Terrapins defensive back La'Khi Roland | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In my opinion, this position group has seen the biggest upgrade year over year from 2025. Andrew Marsh returns as the sophomore star and could be Michigan's first 1,000 yard receiver since 2013. He didn't play hardly at all until the fifth game of the season last year and ended up with 45 catches for 651 yards, and 4 TD's. He's a true star if he can just replicate that production over a full season this year.

Michigan also brought in JJ Buchanan and Jaime Ffrench from the transfer portal. Buchanan is a true sophomore as well who had 26 catches for 427 yards and 5 TD's last fall as a true freshman at Utah. He's a nice complement to Marsh because he's more of the big bodied X-type wide receiver who can win the contested catches down the field.

Jaime Ffrench is a former top-100 recruit who will be a redshirt freshman after redshirting at Texas last year. He showed a lot of talent and potential as a recruit, but Texas just has a number of good wide receivers so he didn't see the field much for them last year.

Salesi Moa also enters the fold as a true freshman and another top-100 recruit at the position, and will likely be the 4th guy for the Wolverines. They also bring back Channing Goodwin, Kendrick Bell, Jamar Browder, and another highly ranked 4-star recruit in Travis Johnson. Between the talent at the top and the depth behind them, this is now a strong position group for Michigan and looks like it will continue to be so in the future with how young this room is as a whole.

#5: Quarterback

Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood runs with the ball after breaking a tackle against the Texas Longhorns | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This is where things start to get a little more interesting in my opinion. I'll admit, this is a bit of a projection pick to place the quarterbacks at fifth here.

I'm still a believer in Bryce Underwood, and in particular, I think the new offense and coaching staff could help bring out the best in him. He's still got all the talent in the world, and he definitely showed flashes of future stardom last season despite playing in a bad offense with no dedicated quarterback coach. Now that he has a more creative offense, and a quarterback coach to help him clean up some of the inconsistency with his mechanics, I still think better days are ahead for the former #1 overall recruit.

Behind him will be a battle for the #2 spot, with true freshman Tommy Carr and Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi going at it to be the backup option. Fowler-Nicolosi has started a fair amount already in his college career at Colorado State, but he's more of a depth piece and not really someone you want starting Big Ten games. Tommy Carr looked good in the spring game, but he's still just a true freshman.

Hopefully the backup doesn't have to play this fall for Michigan, because if Bryce Underwood goes down or struggles badly there's not really someone you feel good about as the #2 option behind him. The ceiling of Bryce Underwood is why I rank this position group here at #5 for Michigan.

#6: Safety

Michigan Wolverines defensive back Rod Moore tackles Washington Huskies wide receiver Jalen McMillan | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

I rank safety 6th because if things break right, they could be a strength, but if things break wrong it could also be a weakness. I'm fairly high on this group this year, but there is a big question mark that could cause it to slide much further down this list, which is the health of Rod Moore. If Rod Moore can get back to the player he was in 2023, this group could be a strength of Michigan's defense. If the last two seasons of injuries start to take its toll on him, or he fails to get back to full health, this position group could be a weakness.

Outside of Rod Moore, Michigan will likely start Chris Bracy, a transfer from Memphis, who ranked very highly according to PFF in stopping the run last season. He likely slots in at strong safety, and behind the top two guys are Jordan Young and Mason Curtis who have both flashed at times in limited playing time so far for Michigan.

To fill out the rest of the depth will be Kainoa Winston, Jacob Oden, Jordan Deck, and Oklahoma transfer Taylor Tatum. This position group could end up being very good this year for Michigan, but could also be a weakness if Rod Moore doesn't get back to full health, or if they have another injury or two that might expose their relative lack of depth compared to some of the other position groups.

#7: Cornerback

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver David Adolph head butts with Michigan Wolverines defensive back Jyaire Hill | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Cornerback is up for me, largely due to the starting three being good in my opinion, but there's a little bit of a concern with the depth of the room. Jyaire Hill has 1st round NFL upside if he can put it all together this year. On the other side will likely be Zeke Berry who's played a lot of snaps already for Michigan and could also be an NFL draft pick if he has a good season. In the slot, it will be Utah transfer Smith Snowden who was very good for Utah in the same position last year. Those top three all have NFL potential, but behind them there's not a lot of proven depth.

Shamari Earls has a lot of talent, but he hasn't really shown anything on the field yet for the Wolverines. Maybe he just needed a year to acclimate to the college game, but at least on paper he's got almost no experience so it's hard to know if he can be someone you can count on this year. Jo'Ziah Edmond is another guy who could play out at cornerback for Michigan, and he himself is a former 4-star recruit who was highly regarded entering college. Again, he hasn't played much yet though so he's a bit of a question mark as well.

Behind those guys will be Jamarion Vincent, Joshua Nichols, and Jeremiah Lowe. Vincent is a true freshman they're excited about long term but probably needs a year or two to adjust to the speed and strength of the college game. The other two in Nichols and Lowe are experienced college players who are best slotted for depth roles in my opinion.

The top three at cornerback can be really good, but if there's even one or two injuries for long stretches of this season it could get uncomfortable out there for Michigan.

#8: Linebacker

Michigan linebacker Troy Bowles tackles Purdue running back Malachi Thomas | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Similar to the corner back room, I have some concerns with the linebacker depth entering the season. On paper there's four players that could all be good players this year for Michigan but none of them have really proven it yet at the major college level.

Chase Taylor has gotten high praise, but needs to be counted on to be a quality starter. Nathaniel Staehling is a NDSU transfer who broke out for them last season but will now have to replicate that success in the Big Ten. Troy Bowles is another returner who looked good in limited action last year but will have to do it over a full season now. Same goes for Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng who is a former highly ranked recruit who has to step up and be ready to play this fall.

That's just a lot of question marks at the position, and to expect them all to hit and be good this year for Michigan is too optimistic in my opinion. If they get 2/4 to be good players this year, that might be good enough, but that would leave them vulnerable to injury issues.

Behind those top four they took in two more transfers in Max Alford and Aisea Moa who both have experience in Jay Hill's defense but are just a step behind athletically to those top four guys at the position. Linebacker is one of the bigger keys of this team to me because they could end the year much higher than the #8 position group on this team but if they're hit with injuries or if not everything falls into place for them, it could be the worst position on the entire team.

#9: Tight End

Michigan tight end Hogan Hansen makes a catch against Central Michigan defensive back Caleb Spann | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Last for me on this team entering 2026 are the tight ends. I don't think this is a bad room by any means, but it also lacks the star power that I think other position groups are capable of producing. Injuries have hit this room fairly hard over the last two seasons. Hogan Hansen for me is a guy I've been excited about, he looked good when filling in for Colston Loveland in 2024 but missed almost all of last season with injuries.

Zack Marshall is certainly solid but fairly unspectacular. He's more of a run-blocking asset than a pass-catching one, but will play a lot this year. Athletically I like Deakon Tonielli but he hasn't shown it yet in college either. Jalen Hoffman and Eli Owens are also classified as tight ends here but really fit the fullback role more.

This is a room where all five guys could play this fall but outside of Hansen, none of them have shown the ability to be an above-average Big Ten player, and that's why it's the lowest ranked position group for the Wolverines as they enter this season.

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