Michigan Football Spring Game position grades

**Tight ends: B**

It was a solid performance from the tight ends, as Eli Owens finished with a game-high 28 yards on four catches, while Hogan Hansen and Deakon Tonielli combined for three catches and 38 yards. It appears Michigan is comfortable with all three tight ends playing a significant role this season, and they all flashed their ability throughout the spring scrimmage.

**Offensive line: C+**

The offensive line played well at times, but it definitely wasn’t an inspiring outing for a unit that needs to be better than a season ago. Blake Frazier, Jake Guarnera and Andrew Sprague seem to be solidified as starters, and Evan Link held his own. But the offensive line allowed five sacks and seven tackles for loss, and helped create just 3.3 yards per rush. There’s still a lot to be desired.

**Defensive line: A**

The defensive line was the most impressive unit of the day, constantly forcing the quarterbacks to scramble out of the pocket. Travis Moten posted a game-high two sacks and six tackles, while Nate Marshall had one sack. Bobby Kanka also had a big-time tackle on a goal-line stand, forcing a turnover on downs with a pad-popping hit.

**Linebackers: C+**

The linebacker room is certainly one of the biggest areas of concern entering this season, and the spring game didn’t exactly instill a ton of confidence moving forward. Adam Bazzi was the most productive linebacker, totaling two tackles for loss and one sack, and true freshman Markel Dabney showed some promise. But the linebackers were quiet for the most part, which is a bit worrisome.

**Secondary: B+**

Whittingham previously said the secondary has a lot of potential but plenty of room to improve as well. In the spring scrimmage, it was mostly positive results from the defensive backfield. Kainoa Winston tied a game-high six tackles and one pass breakup, Chris Bracy and Taylor Tatum had key pass deflections, and Nico Andrighetto had a perfectly-timed hit to force an incompletion.

**Special teams: B-**

Since there was no punting in the spring game, the only special teams we got a chance to see was the field goal kicking unit. Stuart Blake looked comfortable in his first game with the Wolverines, going 2-for-2 on field goal attempts. Pitt transfer Trey Butkowski missed his only field goal attempt, but he bounded back with the go-ahead extra point.