Michigan football: 3 major questions Wolverines need to answer
By John Buhler
The Michigan football program must answer these three questions before the season starts.
After reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history, the Michigan football program has to pick up the pieces in what will continue to be an intriguing offseason for the Wolverines.
Michigan may have won the Big Ten, but were Dawg food vs. Georgia in the national semifinals down in Miami. Factor in head coach Jim Harbaugh playing flirt with the Minnesota Vikings, and we have to wonder how much positive momentum is even left in the program after how much things have changed in Ann Arbor since the calendar flipped over. The Wolverines have some work to do.
There are several questions Michigan will have to answer, but these are at the front of the line.
Michigan football: 3 major questions the Wolverines will have to answer
3. How will the Wolverines go about replacing a phenomenal defensive line?
Without question, the best part of the Wolverines team from a season ago was its defensive line. This unit saw Heisman Trophy finalist Aidan Hutchinson go No. 2 overall to the Detroit Lions, as well as David Ojabo and Chris Hinton Jr. get drafted. Other players from this great defense are gone, but attrition to the team’s biggest strength is an issue the Wolverines will have to navigate.
The good news for Michigan is they will have seasoned veterans in the trenches. Kris Jenkins and Mazi Smith are upperclassmen at both defensive tackle spots, while Mike Morris is a senior at defensive end and Taylor Upshaw is a graduate student coming off the edge. While it is unlikely one of them will be as good as Hutchinson or Ojabo were, collectively, this group could do just fine.
If Michigan can remain strong in the trenches despite attrition, the Wolverines will hold their own.