10 Michigan football post-spring bold predictions for 2025 season

Michigan football closed out its spring sessions two weeks ago with the 15 practices culminating in the annual spring game. Now, all eyes are on summer conditioning and then fall camp as the Wolverines prepare for the 2025 season.

Now that we’ve got our eyes on the team, albeit in a split-squad scrimmage — both in person as well as via the delayed broadcast — we have some thoughts about what this team might be this season. With that in mind, here are our 10 post-spring ball bold predictions for the Michigan Wolverines, putting out there what might be this upcoming year given what we’ve seen.

1. The defense will be top five

Wink Martindale

There was some scuttlebutt that the front seven may be among the best in the country, and after seeing the line and the linebackers flying to the football, we’re pretty sure that will be the case. This is the fifth year of the system, but the second year under architect Wink Martindale, who fielded a much better defense at the end of last year compared to early in the season. While this isn’t Iowa DC Phil Parker’s system, one where lesser players fit as a part of the whole, the types of players that Michigan has brought in mixed with their knowledge of what Martindale wants allows these guys to play fast — and we saw that in the spring game.

The secondary has some questions, but they played very well two weeks ago and there’s room to grow. It’s difficult, given the depth and potential, to see many other defenses match what this one is capable of.

2. The offense will be in the upper half of CFB

This is actually a relatively low bar to clear given just how bad the offense was last year. Michigan brought in Chip Lindsey to oversee the offense, and he has a lot of toys to play with. As a coordinator who has revitalized many attacks in his career, given the personnel he inherits, this shouldn’t be too tall a task for Lindsey to add some basic functionality to the offense. The team struggled mightily last year due to the offense being among the worst in all of college football, but with some semblance of a passing game, this unit should benefit greatly, as it will allow for a better rushing attack, while also keeping the defense from wearing out as it did last year

3. Bryce Underwood will be freshman of the year

The true freshman is currently the odds-on favorite to start the season, and after seeing what he was able to do in the spring game, we’re pretty confident that there aren’t many (or any) players around the country who have his type of talent or potential. Given the toughness of the early schedule (Oklahoma in Week 2 and Nebraska in Week 4 — both games being on the road), there might be some early struggles. But by the time the midseason hits, he should be relatively acclimated and should have a good feel for the speed of the college game.

It’s rare that a quarterback would be seen as the breakout player, but not unheard of. Trevor Lawrence shined his first year, and Tua Tagovailoa won the national championship for Alabama. We’re not going that far, but given the prominence of Underwood’s position and how much better the offense will likely look compared to last year, the upgrade should be glaring.

4. By the end of the year, a freshman WR will be the No. 2 target

The Wolverines have a lot of untapped potential at the wide receiver position and while Channing Goodwin was Underwood’s favorite target in the spring game, we think that one of the three freshman wide receivers will become his go-to by year’s end.

Jacob Washington is a big target who has yet to arrive in Ann Arbor and will have some acclimating to do, but Jamar Browder had an excellent spring (but not a very good spring game) while Andrew Marsh has the recruiting accolades. By the time the Maryland game rolls around in Week 13 (the week before The Game), at least one of those talented young receivers should have broken out, and we’re all but counting on it.

Why No. 2? Because it’s pretty clear that Donaven McCulley will be No. 1, but that should also create opportunities for those who draw attention away from him.

5. The secondary will be top 10, but have moments of struggle

Unlike last year, Michigan doesn’t have a clear No. 1 cornerback entering the season. With Will Johnson off to the NFL, the expectation is that Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill will start at the boundaries, and while Berry held his own in the latter quarter of 2024, at the moment, neither are necessarily striking fear into the hearts of opposing quarterbacks.

The safety position is solid and deep, but the lack of depth at corner is cause for some concern. Freshman Shamari Earls could be on the Will Johnson trajectory, but that’s a big ask for a first-year player, even with how good he looked in the spring game (mostly covering Peyton O’Leary).

6. The offensive line will be among the best in the Big Ten

Many pundits are declaring the offensive line something of a loss already, but that’s not how we see it. Much of the struggles in the spring game were due to the split squad, and while there’s a question at left tackle, we’ve seen Evan Link handle Alabama just fine in the ReliaQuest Bowl. So for him, if he’s the starter, it will be about consistency. But we’ve seen him do it, so it is possible.

Why among the best in the conference though? Well, Michigan has recruited superior talent and has much more potential. At the moment, we’d more predict this group to be solid but not spectacular, but what other offensive lines in the conference will truly stand out? With a head coach focused on the unit and the addition of Juan Castillo to the coaching staff, we’re sure that by midseason, this group will be humming like it did just a few years ago.

7. One player in the front seven will emerge as a first-round draft pick

Wink Martindale said at his pre-spring press conference that he wasn’t sure that this was a group that has a bona fide first-rounder, but there are several players who could emerge as such. Edge rusher Derrick Moore, defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny, and linebackers Jaishawn Barham and Ernest Hausmann have superior size-speed combinations that could be tantalizing for NFL teams next year. All four are expected to take major steps forward this year and all four looked excellent in the limited viewing in the spring game. While someone else could emerge, we think one of those players will find themselves hearing their names called on Thursday next year.

8. Michigan will beat Ohio State for a fifth-straight year

Ohio State may have just won the national championship, but its still in a dangerous position as it pertains to the rivalry. The Buckeyes continue to build out the skill positions and though they’ve paid a little more attention to the offensive line, the defensive line still looks to be a work in progress. Meanwhile, the Wolverines are built to dominate the trenches and until further notice, we don’t see much of a change in The Game in that regard.

With new coordinators and a new quarterback, and The Game being in Ann Arbor, it’s unclear that the Buckeyes will have what it takes to change the course of the rivalry after losing four straight.

9. The Wolverines will go 11-1 in the regular season

Michigan could have had a much better record in 2024 if it had just a competent offense, ranked somewhere in the 80s rather than the 120s. But the offense didn’t find any ability until Week 13 against Northwestern a year ago. We expect it to come along much more quickly this year.

Assuming that this offense will be, at worst, middling under Chip Lindsey and Bryce Underwood, that should make this group much more complementary — which is the style of play that allowed the Wolverines to win a national championship in 2023. It’s not about being elite everywhere, but having elite line play and competent playmakers surrounding the lines. We think that the Wolverines will be close to that. And given the schedule, minus not having two home games in a row all year, there are only a few question marks (at Oklahoma, at Nebraska, at USC, vs. Ohio State). We think that Michigan will win three of the aforementioned four, and don’t really see any other losses on the schedule. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see this team go 10-2, but 9-3 is probably the floor, and it wouldn’t be that surprising to see this young group go undefeated given that they avoid teams like Penn State and Oregon. In fact, of last year’s five losses, four of those teams aren’t on the schedule this time around (the only one is Washington, who Michigan gets at home).

10. Michigan will make the College Football Playoff this year

Given that we’re expecting a 11-1 season, this shouldn’t be a surprise. And with the expanded 12-team playoff, even a two-loss team could make it to the big dance. Thus, yes, we do think that the Wolverines will get in, but there may be some consternation due to (lack of) resume because of the schedule.

But a win over Ohio State, should that happen as we’re currently predicting, will ease some fears.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Bold Michigan Wolverines predictions after spring ball

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