The team the team the team. I'm not going to start off talking about He Who Shall Not Be Named in the First Paragraph because I want to take a more holistic look at Michigan's 2025 team. But this looks like a complete team. I don't think it's a championship team, but it's a complete team in that there are no glaring weaknesses or players who are obviously overmatched. Now some might say "Meh, it's New Mexico and they were 5-7 last year and lost their coach and brought in a bunch of new players," but it's a team that had a mindset of running the ball last year (#2 in the country in 2024) and it's one that seems to have taken on the attitude of its coach. I heard good things about Jason Eck a few years ago on the coaching clinic circuit, and the team played with some swagger, which you have to do coming into Michigan Stadium as a giant underdog. Michigan looks like a pro team in the sense that there are no easy days against pro teams. If you have an injury on your 53-man roster in the NFL, you bring in another guy who looks like a pro, because he's been a backup or he's a veteran who played for ten years but maybe didn't have the right contract situation. I mentioned before that this is the deepest Michigan team I've seen (perhaps not the best, but the deepest), and I think that showed on Saturday night.
Name: Jyaire Hill Height: 6’2″ Weight: 190 lbs. High school: Kankakee (IL) Kankakee Position: Cornerback Class: Redshirt sophomore Jersey number: #20 Last year: I ranked Hill #20 and said he would be a starting cornerback with 25 tackles and 2 interceptions (LINK). He started nine games and made 35 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 9 pass breakups. TTB Rating: 88
Hill had an odd season in 2024. It was both a breakout season and an odd season. He became a starter for the first time, making nine starts in a defensive backfield that had Will Johnson, Zeke Berry, and Aamir Hall. The season included his first career interception, a very nice play against Minnesota.
And then against Northwestern, he didn't start, played only seven snaps, and wore #35 in what appeared to be a disciplinary move. It's not often that a player changes numbers for a single game, but the whispers behind the scenes for the past couple years have been that Hill is extremely talented but still has some work to do with the choices he makes.
Can Hill take that next step in 2025? He should be a starter at cornerback, and he reportedly took steps forward last year with his preparation. With a good season this fall, he could potentially jump to the NFL. But if those questions persist and NFL general managers are concerned, he might have to spend another year in college in 2026. So this could be a giant swing year for Hill, and if he can lock down opposing receivers, he could be a hugely valuable asset for the Wolverines.
New Mexico is coached by Jason Eck, who comes to UNM from FCS Idaho. Eck is a former Wisconsin offensive lineman under Barry Alvarez. Eck went 23-16 in three seasons at Idaho and replaces former BYU and Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who took the head coaching job at Utah State.
RUSH OFFENSE vs. NEW MEXICO RUSH DEFENSE Last year's rushing offense wasn't great. But it's also not back. Kalel Mullings (948 yards, 12 TD) and Donovan Edwards (589 yards, 4 TD) are gone, and so are four offensive linemen who started games: Myles Hinton, Josh Priebe, Dominic Giudice, and Andrew Gentry. (Gentry will start at right tackle for BYU, former backup Jeff Persi will start at left tackle for Pitt, and Giudice will start at left guard for Missouri.) Meanwhile, 23 of Jordan Marshall's 31 carries came in the ReliaQuest Bowl, and Alabama transfer Justice Haynes ran for 448 total yards in 2024. Michigan's offensive line will be redshirt sophomore Evan Link, fifth year senior Giovanni El-Hadi, fifth year senior Greg Crippen, redshirt sophomore Brady Norton, and redshirt freshman Andrew Sprague from left to right. New Mexico has a new head coach in former Idaho head man Jason Eck, but the New Mexicans finished #126 in rushing yards allowed per game last year (212.9) and #129 in yards allowed per carry (5.42). Things got better down the stretch, but they let four teams average more than 6.7 yards per carry, including FCS Montana State in the 2024 season opener, who ran for 362 yards on 7.7 yards per attempt. They have 53 new players on the roster, including 16 new names in the defensive two-deep, so this is a new team. But still. They have 245 lb. defensive ends, a 265 lb. defensive tackle, and then a nose tackle who's 6'3", 325 lbs. but played for Texas Southern last year. The top returning tackler is weakside linebacker Randolph Kpai (6'3", 221), a fifth year senior. Fifth year senior edge Gabriel Lopez (6'3", 246) finished fourth on the team with 5 tackles for loss. Even with Michigan's revamped offense, this should be a major advantage for the Wolverines. Advantage: Michigan
Name: Zeke Berry Height: 5’11″ Weight: 196 lbs. High school: Concord (CA) De La Salle Position: Cornerback Class: Redshirt junior Jersey number: #10 Last year: I ranked Berry #22 and said he would be the starting nickel with 35 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 interceptions (LINK). He started twelve games (7 at nickel, 5 at cornerback) and made 37 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 9 pass breakups, 2 quarterback hurries, and 1 forced fumble. TTB Rating: 82
Berry went from not playing much at all in 2023 to being a guy Michigan felt they could plug in everywhere in 2024. He started off the season playing nickel and made an interception against Fresno State in his debut. But things in coverage were a little iffy during the first half of the season and he got lost at times.
Then star cornerback Will Johnson suffered an injury and missed the second half of the year. As coaches often say, "Get your best eleven on the field." So rather than putting in a backup cornerback who wasn't ready for prime time, Michigan reshuffled pieces in the defensive backfield and moved Berry to cornerback, moving safety Makari Paige to nickel. I wasn't sure if Berry would be able to pull it off because he can be a little bit stiff in the hips, but his speed and physicality paid off. Michigan's defense improved in the last third of the season as players got used to new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and his deployment of personnel.
Now Berry is a key part of the defense going into 2025. He's solidly in the starting lineup and expected to play corner all season. In fact, last year he was named the team's defensive player of the year, probably largely because of his versatility to play a variety of positions. (I don't think he was a better overall player than Mason Graham, for example.) I think Michigan has more depth at cornerback than some people think because there are talented players on the roster, but there is a general lack of experience outside of the two starters and backup transfer Caleb Anderson.
Name: Andrew Sprague Height: 6'8” Weight: 315 lbs. High school: Kansas City (MO) Rockhurst Position: Offensive tackle Class: Redshirt freshman Jersey number: #54 Last year: I ranked Sprague #79 and said he would be a backup offensive tackle (LINK). He played in four games, including one start. TTB Rating: 89
It's not often that any player, let alone a redshirt freshman, shoots up from #79 one year to #11 the next, but that's the case for Sprague.
And it was kind of the case for Sprague during the season last year, too.
In some ways, Michigan seemed super deep at offensive tackle in 2024 with upperclassman who just couldn't get on the field, like Jeff Persi (now at Pitt) and Andrew Gentry (now at BYU). Those two were boxed out by Myles Hinton and then redshirt freshman Evan Link. Unfortunately, most of Michigan's line played poorly in 2024. And by the time the bowl game rolled around, Hinton opted out to prepare for the draft and in stepped Sprague, then a true freshman.
Going into the 2025 season, there's been some chatter that Sprague might be Michigan's best lineman right now, and his right tackle starting spot seemed to have been solidified by the spring, if not before. Sprague hasn't been in a position battle like Link at left tackle or Brady Norton at right guard. He's been The Man, even though he's played fewer college snaps than any of the other projected starters.
It's still awkward to think of #54 starting at right tackle, because I'm used to the tackles at Michigan sporting numbers in the 70s. But unless he has a change of heart to want to be the next great #77 like Jake Long or Jon Jansen or Taylor Lewan, I'm going to have to get used to it. If Michigan's offense makes a big leap this season, we're probably going to see a lot of highlights of the 6'8" #54 caving down his side of the line.
