Michigan OT Jalen Mayfield returning is huge for Wolverines’ Big Ten hopes

If Jalen Mayfield can play for Michigan football, it can contend this year.

Jalen Mayfield wants back in at Michigan football, which would be wonderful for the Wolverines.

Mayfield, who projects as a first-round 2021 NFL Draft prospect at offensive tackle, initially opted out of the 2020 college season. Though he did sign with an agent, this was before the Big Ten got its season back on track with an Oct. 24 start date. Assuming guys like Mayfield, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons and Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman can play, this is great.

Jalen Mayfield’s return to Michigan will help Joe Milton have success.

The Michigan Wolverines are in a group of about five teams that can semi-realistically win the Big Ten this season. Though they are on the bottom of that quintet, getting back a first-round talent at tackle will help bring out the best in new starting quarterback Joe Milton, who beat out Dylan McCaffrey in fall camp, essentially forcing the dual-threat playmaker to graduate and transfer.

Michigan has a navigable schedule but doesn’t get any breaks from who it draws out of Big Ten West this year. While the Wolverines do get the Big Ten West favorite Wisconsin Badgers at home, they begin the year on the road against another tough team in the Minnesota Golden Gophers up in Minneapolis. Add in their rivalry games with Ohio State and Penn State, and there you have it.

Michigan could go undefeated in Big Ten play, but it can also go 5-3 if the Wolverines can’t prove they can beat a quality team this season. By potentially getting Mayfield back, the Wolverines offense stands a good chance to not be as painfully pedestrian as it has been throughout the entire Jim Harbaugh era in Ann Arbor. If the offense can match the defense, Michigan can thrive.

Though it’s not official yet, we should anticipate any player who opted out in Big Ten country that wants back in will be allowed to do so, regardless of if he signed with an agent or not. This is an unprecedented season and we should expect the NCAA to rule accordingly in favor of the student-athletes like Mayfield who want to play ball this fall with their best friends. Why deny them that?

If Mayfield can return for Michigan, the Wolverines have a better shot of getting to Indianapolis.

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