With just three games remaining in the regular season, the Michigan Wolverines are dealing with injuries to several key players. However, it appears the bye week did the team some good, as guys have been able to rest up and prepare for the final three-game stretch.
“Getting guys healthy was the number one goal (during the bye week),” head coach Sherrone Moore told the media on Monday. “We want to make sure we get healthy. We’ll see what their status is as we go throughout the week but I feel good
about where we’re at.”
Here are updates on specific players.
Jaishawn Barham, Jimmy Rolder, Cole Sullivan
“I feel good about where Cole is, and we’ll see where Jimmy and Jaishawn are, but we’re in a positive place with them,” Moore said. “Everybody’s got something — some bruise or nick — so getting those guys healthy is important for us.”
Barham suffered an upper-body injury and left the game in the first quarter of the win over Purdue on Nov. 1. Even though it didn’t appear to be a serious injury, his status for the matchup at Northwestern this Saturday remains up in the air.
Rolder and Sullivan were sidelined vs Purdue after getting injured in the win at Michigan State. It’s hard to decipher the severity of the injuries, but it sounds like all three of these guys are questionable to play this week.
The linebacker unit has been great — Ernest Hausmann and Rolder lead the Wolverines in total tackles and Sullivan has a team-high three interceptions — but the injuries are really piling up, so it’s important for at least one starter to return.
Justice Haynes
Haynes went down with an injury late in the win over Michigan State on Oct. 25 and reportedly underwent surgery on his foot last week. That opens the door for a possible return later in the season, but the likelihood of that is unknown.
Moore kept it short and sweet in regards to Haynes’ potential return: “That’s week-to-week, so we’ll see.”
Haybes leads the Power 4 with 122.4 rush yards per game. Despite missing more than two games with multiple injuries, he is still second in the Big Ten with 857 yards this season.
Evan Link
Link went down with a knee injury last month against Washington, but Moore later said it wasn’t as severe as initial concerns indicated and that he might be able to return this year.
“(Link’s recovery is) going well and we’ll see what he looks like this week,” Moore said. “I don’t know what the timetable is exactly but I do know he’s walking around and moving around so we’ll see how he does as we go through the weeks.”
Blake Frazier has played at a high level in place of Link at left tackle, so we’ll see if Link is able to earn his starting job back.
Rod Moore, Hogan Hansen
Rod Moore missed the last three games with a re-aggravated knee injury, and he could remain out for the foreseeable future. After missing the entire 2024 season with a torn ACL, he has played in three games this year before the recent setback.
Meanwhile, Hansen has been in-and-out of the lineup all season and is questionable to play against Northwestern. Marlin Klein and Zack Marshall will earn a bulk of the snaps at tight end, so Hansen’s return isn’t nearly as pivotal as others.
“Feels like (Hansen) could play this week or next, but we’ll take it day-by-day, and same thing for Rod,” Sherrone Moore said.
Michigan hits the road to face Northwestern and Maryland over the next two weeks before the annual rivalry against Ohio State on Nov. 29. With no room for error, the Wolverines need to get healthy as soon as possible.
