It’s been about four months since Kyle Whittingham took over the Michigan football program, and on Saturday, we finally got a look behind the curtain at this year’s team in the annual spring game.
We didn’t see many of the starters get extended run, but we did at least get a look at some of the freshmen and guys that weren’t exactly big contributors last year, with some of them making a rather good impression.
Here’s a look at the five players that stood out the most in this year’s spring game.
RBs Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter
Coming
into the spring, we expected Michigan’s running back group to be one of the team’s strongest positions, and its two leaders looked the part on Saturday.
Jordan Marshall and Savion Hiter both saw action for the blue team. Marshall got many of the snaps early, and while the teams were essentially playing two-hand touch in the first quarter, Marshall was still doing a nice job finding holes. If the Maize team were actually forced to tackle him, he might have had 150 yards himself in the early going.
As for Hiter, he got many of the carries after the first quarter (when the teams were allowed to tackle) and looked the part of someone that can make an impact right away. Following the game, Hiter said he’s added about 20 pounds to his frame, and it showed as defenders were struggling to bring him down. He might not possess the physicality of Marshall (which is a high bar to reach), but he’ll have no trouble adjusting to the hard-hitting defenses he’ll face this season.
DE Dominic Nichols
For both the Maize and Blue teams, the defensive lines looked to be ahead of the offensive lines. They were making life tough for the quarterbacks by collapsing the pocket quickly. One of the guys in the early-going that was adding that pressure was junior edge rusher Dominic Nichols.
With so many guys on the defensive front graduating this offseason, Nichols was one of the guys it was nice to see take a step forward. He’s someone that’s slowly developed over his first two years, but he could have a big impact this season with lots of playing time likely in his future.
Nichols stood out in particular, but don’t overlook Cam Brandt, Nate Marshall and Lugard Edokpayi, who all had nice days as well.
QB Tommy Carr
Starting quarterback Bryce Underwood only played in the first quarter, which meant we saw plenty of true freshman Tommy Carr the rest of the way. We’ve been hearing great things from the coaching staff throughout the spring on the Carr front, and he was definitely the most impressive quarterback we saw on Saturday.
What might surprise you the most is Carr was making his biggest impact on the ground. The defensive lines for both teams were swarming, not giving the quarterbacks much time to throw. As such, Carr was making do with the situation, showing really strong pocket awareness to both avoid sacks and pick up yards.
He didn’t look too shabby throwing the ball either, not looking fazed by the defenses coverages especially with the receiving groups from both teams struggling to get open. Still, he showed to be more mature than you might expect from someone his age, not trying to force plays and not making many off-target throws. Even though it’s unlikely he’ll play a role this year, his development will be something to monitor going forward.
WR Salesi Moa
On a day that didn’t feature too many bright spots for the wide receivers, true freshman Salesi Moa made a handful of nice plays.
Moa got open downfield on the first drive of the game for the Maize team, but Underwood’s pass drifted just a bit too far beyond him. Still, Moa showed some nice body control to at least get a hand on what was otherwise not a very catchable ball. He also showed some nice agility to pick up a first down on a screen pass in the second quarter.
His best play of the day came in the waning seconds of the first half when he made a one-handed grab for an 11-yard gain on a slightly off-target throw from Carr.
Following the game, head coach Kyle Whittingham said Andrew Marsh and J.J. Buchanan are the team’s two top receivers right now, but they will still be looking to finalize the rest of the depth in the coming months. Even though he might not be a starter right away, it’s not hard to see why the coaching staff is high on him and would make sense if he played a big role for the Wolverines in 2026.
