Three Things to Watch For in Michigan's Spring Game

Michigan will have its annual Spring Game this Saturday at 2PM on Big Ten Network. Kyle Whittingham did take some air out of it earlier this week by announcing that a number of their starters will not play in the game. He didn't mention any specific names, but did say this:

"There’s going to be a lot of ones that don’t participate. I mean, we’re not going to put a guy in there that we know what he can do, and he’s where he needs to be, and has played hundreds of snaps here. I mean, there’s no reason for that. So it’s a chance to showcase the twos and threes in as close to a game environment as we can structure and manufacture. It will be two separate teams."

Based on what he said, high profile players like Bryce Underwood, Andrew Marsh, and Jordan Marshall are likely among those who won't play much if at all in this game. That doesn't mean there can't be things to look for in this particular spring game though, as it will be a good chance to look at some of the 2's and 3's on the depth chart for Michigan this fall. Let's dive more into the three things to watch for in Michigan's spring game below.

New-look offensive and defensive schemes

This has got to be the first thing Wolverine fans will want to look for, as Michigan will be breaking in new offensive and defensive schemes. Both sides of the ball will undoubtedly be very vanilla in terms of play-calling, but you will still get to see the base offensive and defensive schemes.

On offense, Jason Beck will be coordinating it this year, and I'll be very curious to see how different it looks from year's past. He still wants to emphasize running the ball, but hopes to revamp and modernize the passing attack.

On defense, Jay Hill is trying to get Michigan back to a 2023 style defense where they can keep opposing QB's guessing and be multiple in their looks and coverages. Michigan fans will get a first look at both schemes in this game and that will be very interesting to watch.

Savion Hiter and other talented Freshman

There's been a lot of buzz surrounding the former 5-star running back recruit, and Saturday might be Wolverine fans' first chance to see him in the winged helmet. Kyle Whittingham recently said this about the young freshman, "Savion Hiter, he’s another bright spot. We’ve talked about him several times during the course of spring. But he’s really a great fit for this offense and has really impressed me with his blitz pickup."

Savion Hiter is already looking like he'll be Michigan's #2 running back this season and given that he needs to continue to learn the speed of the college game, he should at least get some playing time in this game. He's the single most player I'm most excited to see this Saturday with how much talent he has and how much he's already been praised by the coaching staff.

Michigan also welcomed some other highly rated recruits in this past class that I'm interested in watching. Salesi Moa is one, along with Travis Johnson at wide receiver. Both of them look like they might be in the wide receiver rotation this fall, and it'll be interesting to see how they look against other college players in this spring game.

Tommy Carr at quarterback will also likely get a lot of playing time in this game and it'll be nice to get a very early look at who might be the starting quarterback once Bryce Underwood leaves Ann Arbor. All the Freshman should get at least some run in this game and it'll be interesting to see who's already standing out amongst their peers.

Defensive depth

It can't all be sunshine and rainbows, as this is the thing I'm the most concerned with on Michigan's defense. The top-line starters on defense should be pretty good, but on paper, there is not a lot of depth. Kyle Whittingham has so far been pretty optimistic about their depth on defense but I'd still like to see them perform well with my own eyes in this spring game.

Players like Dominic Nichols and Nate Marshall on the DL, players like Nathaniel Staehling, Aisea Moa, Max Alford, and at LB, and players like Shamari Earls, Jo'Ziah Edmond, Mason Curtis, and Jordan Young at DB all will likely have a chance to play in this game. If they play well, that will be a good sign that this defense will in fact be in a good place with their depth next season. If they don't play very well, it will only reinforce the questions people have about Michigan's defense in 2026.

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