6 Michigan Football position groups that helped their stock this spring

Even if the offense still needs time, a disruptive defensive front will go a long way towards keeping Michigan in games early while the other side figures things out.

Linebackers

The linebacker room entered spring with a ton of uncertainty, but it sounds like the young players made real progress. Jay Hill specifically pointed to the young linebackers that took steps forward, which is notable given how little proven experience Michigan returned. Troy Bowles, Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Chase Taylor all had a chance to establish themselves, and the overall buzz around the group was more encouraging than expected this spring.

There’s still a difference between spring improvement and being ready for a full Big Ten season, but this room at least appears to be moving in the right direction.

Quarterbacks

This one is a little complicated because Bryce Underwood is still the clear starter and Michigan’s ceiling depends heavily on how much cleaner he becomes by the fall. But as a position group, the quarterback room did help itself because of Tommy Carr.

Carr was one of the pleasant surprises of spring, and Whittingham even said if Michigan had to play right now, Carr would be the No. 2 quarterback. That’s meaningful, especially after Colin Hurley’s departure and with Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi not arriving until later this summer.

Nobody should turn this into a quarterback controversy, but Carr’s spring gives Michigan a better feeling about its depth at the position, which is huge.

Secondary

This one is less surprising, but the secondary kept everything in front of them during our brief spring game sample size and showed strong communication — something that tends to stand out early under a new defensive coordinator. There weren’t many breakdowns, and the group played with a level of discipline that allowed the defensive front to be aggressive.

We may not have seen any interceptions or many highlight plays in general, but the defense was also playing an incredibly basic brand of football during the spring game. This group looked steady and reliable, which echoes everything we’ve heard from the coaches coming out of spring practice up to this point.

The bottom line

Spring hype can fade quickly once real games arrive, but a few rooms gave Michigan something real to build on. The roster still isn’t finished sorting itself out, but the Wolverines don’t look short on options, and that’s a pretty good place to be this time of year.