With the 2026 season quickly approaching, Michigan is beginning to get a much clearer picture of what it has across the roster. Perhaps most encouraging is where some of that progress is coming from. Several position groups viewed as legitimate question marks entering fall camp have made some of the biggest strides over the past few weeks.
Here are four position groups that have improved their stock the most so far during fall camp.
Safety
Two words: Rod Moore. There probably isn’t another player on Michigan’s
defense whose presence changes the outlook of a position group quite like Moore. After a long road back, the veteran safety is once again practicing, and the early returns have been encouraging.
A healthy Moore gives Michigan something it desperately lacked at the position entering the offseason: a proven player capable of anchoring the back end of the defense. He’s played in big games, understands what it takes to operate in a championship-level secondary and provides the type of experience that can’t easily be replaced.
But Moore isn’t the only reason confidence in the safety room is rising, as there continues to be plenty of buzz surrounding Chris Bracy as well. The noise surrounding him throughout camp has been consistently positive, and he increasingly looks like one of the more underrated pieces Michigan added through the portal.
Then there’s Mason Curtis, who entered the offseason as one of Michigan’s most intriguing young defensive backs and remains firmly in the picture. Jordan Young also flashed at times as a true freshman last year.
If Moore remains healthy, Bracy’s camp translates to Saturdays and the depth pieces continue to perform well, Michigan should be set at the safety position for the 2026 season.
Linebacker
Few position groups entered fall camp with more uncertainty than linebacker. That’s what made Nathaniel Staehling such an important portal addition and why his early performance in camp matters so much.
Staehling arrived from North Dakota State after recording 75 tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and three interceptions in 2025. Unfortunately for Michigan, an injury kept him from participating in the spring, meaning fall camp was his first opportunity to establish himself within the defense. So far, Whittingham likes what he has seen.
“Nathaniel Staehling is instinctive; he reminds me of some of the backers you’ve seen in the NFL,” Whittingham said. “He’s got that great body position, instincts, uses his hands, block destruction, outstanding tackler. He was a tackling machine at North Dakota State last year, and he’s a guy that’s going to figure prominently in the defense this year.”
Michigan also has Troy Bowles, Chase Taylor and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng competing for significant roles, giving the Wolverines several options alongside Staehling. There is still so much left to prove here, but If Staehling continues on his current trajectory and one or two of the younger options take another step, the floor of this group looks considerably higher than it did a few weeks ago.
Wide Receiver
There’s really no other way to slice it — Michigan needs more from its passing game in 2026. The encouraging news is Michigan appears to have multiple legitimate threats this season.
Andrew Marsh and J.J. Buchanan have done little to change the expectation they’ll enter the season as Michigan’s top two receivers, with Whittingham recently referring to the latter as “unguardable.” The more interesting development has been everything happening behind them.
Jaime Ffrench and Salesi Moa continue to generate positive buzz after flashing during fall practices, but perhaps the biggest riser has been freshman Travis Johnson. Johnson’s name keeps popping up from seemingly everyone who gets asked about the wide receivers. Cornerback Jyaire Hill identified Johnson and Moa as two of the more difficult young receivers he’s had to cover during camp. Ffrench has praised Johnson’s speed, while Marsh has also spoke highly of the freshman.
That’s starting to feel like more than typical preseason praise. Johnson arrived at Michigan as an intriguing young prospect. Now, there appears to be a legitimate possibility he could force his way into the two- or three-deep immediately.
Defensive End
Michigan already had reasons to be excited about this defensive end group entering camp. One of the biggest reasons was John Henry Daley receiving medical clearance.
Daley was one of Michigan’s most important offseason additions, but his recovery remained something to monitor throughout the spring and summer. Michigan’s staff is still being smart with his workload and limiting his snaps during camp, but having Daley cleared and participating is a major step forward.
The Wolverines know what Daley can provide when healthy. Perhaps the bigger surprise has been the overwhelming praise that Dom Nichols has received in recent weeks. He recorded only one sack last season, but his impact went beyond that stat. He finished with 5.5 tackles for loss in a rotational role and showed enough flashes to suggest there was considerably more production available with additional snaps.
Right tackle Andrew Sprague offered perhaps the strongest endorsement of Nichols yet when discussing Michigan’s defensive front.
“I’d say pass rush, Dom Nichols is, in my opinion, the best pass rusher,” Sprague said. “Not too many people talk about him, but he’s gonna be one of the best in the country, in my opinion.”
Nichols is in the mix with Cam Brandt for a starting role along with Daley, but Michigan’s depth certainly doesn’t end there. With guys like Nate Marshall, Carter Meadows, Tariq Boney, the Wolverines also have young talent waiting for their opportunity.
There is still a long way to go before any of this translates to Saturdays. Fall camp optimism doesn’t guarantee regular-season production. But compared to where things stood entering August, the safety, linebacker, wide receiver and defensive end position groups all look stronger today.
For a Michigan team attempting to make an immediate run under Whittingham, that’s exactly the type of development it needed from the first few weeks of camp.
