Michigan football: Bold predictions for each offensive position group

Michigan football’s lofty expectations for the 2023 season could need some bold and unexpected developments to take place in order to win a national title. Every season has its fair share of plot twists and storylines out of left field, making things impossible to guess in the summer.

Here is a bold prediction for each position group on offense this season.

Quarterbacks

A long-standing record is going down

It’s time to start calling shots for the season. John Navarre has the single-season passing yards record of 3,331 (2003) and Elvis Grbac and Chad Henne are tied for the most touchdown passes in a single season with 25, set in 1991 and 2004, respectively. One of those numbers is going down this year by quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Our bet is that it will be the passing touchdown record. It remains crazy that in a sport that has gotten increasingly pass-happy, even if Michigan itself hasn’t, nobody has surpassed 25 touchdowns since 2004. Much of that has to do with the fact that when Michigan gets into the red zone, it chooses to grind its opponents into dust than air the ball out. If it isn’t broken…

Michigan could be more aggressive through the air this fall with taller targets to deploy in sophomores Colston Loveland and Darrius Clemons. That could be enough to shake things up in the red zone, which is the key to McCarthy breaking the touchdown record.

Running Backs

The third back is…

CJ Stokes. There has been a ton of buzz for freshmen Cole Cabana and Benjamin Hall, but Stokes has a chip on his shoulder after an up-and-down freshman season in Ann Arbor. The more time in the lab with Mike Hart, the better, and strength coach Ben Herbert should also help with his development.

Stokes needs to work on his ball security, but his experiences should help shape a productive back for the 2023 season. The hope is that Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards stay healthy, but even if they do it will be helpful to spell them for someone with experience. The freshmen will be factors down the road, but it feels like their presence has made Stokes a forgotten man.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Michigan’s leading pass catcher

This could be anyone this fall, but we are going to plant a flag for Roman Wilson. Injuries and inconsistent production have hampered Wilson early in his career, but he finally has a chance to be a go-to weapon in the Michigan offense. He had three total touchdowns on his first four touches of the season in 2022, then went through stretches without much production throughout the year.

Wilson has bulked up this offseason, and the staff could make an effort to get him the ball more. He is a home run threat whenever he touches the ball, and if he polishes his route running and get form a connection with McCarthy down the field, it would not be a surprise to see him slide somewhat effortlessly into the role vacated by Ronnie Bell.

Offensive Line

Not how you start, but how you finish

It is not a bold take to say Michigan’s offensive line will not win the Joe Moore Award a third season in a row, but maybe it is given that many of the same pieces return from the last two years. While we expect them to be elite once again, there seems to be a little more fluidity to what the possible lineup combos could look like compared to the last two seasons. There is a chance that the group that starts in the opener might not be who is out there when they play Ohio State.

That might not be the worst thing in the world. The depth is tremendous, and we expected the interior combo of Zak Zinter, Drake Nugent and Trevor Keegan to be the best in college football. But for this group, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. The Joe Moore Award has only been followed by two of the weaker performances of the last two years in the College Football Playoff. They need the edge and chip on their shoulder of getting snubbed heading into the title run.

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