The 2026 season is fast approaching, with game week officially here. Michigan football is set to host Western Michigan on Saturday, but the big contest comes in Week 2, when the Wolverines host Oklahoma at The Big House.
The maize and blue have a lot of questions that now can only be answered by games. With fall camp having wound down and game week now here, we're looking at the things we want to know the most about every position group -- offense, defense, and special teams (though we're tackling the latter as a whole).
Here are the top questions we have going position-by-position, hoping that we'll get some answers in Week 1 before the big showdown with the Sooners.
Quarterback
Has Bryce Underwood really taken a step forward?
It had seemed like a foregone conclusion to many, especially in the media, that
Underwood's freshman year was emblematic of a finished product. And this, despite having little-to-no coaching last year, a scheme that didn't fully embrace his capabilities, and it also being his first real taste of college football.
Underwood has more raw talent than pretty much any other quarterback in the country, yet he's looked at in the same light as UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava in many ways. Iamaleava hasn't reached the potential coinciding with his recruiting ranking, but he's had multiple years and two schools in the process.
Reports out of Ann Arbor in the final week of fall camp indicate that the lights have turned on for Underwood. Given that the offense is tailored to him, that makes sense, but we still have to see it. If they have, then the Michigan offense could very well be formidable.
Running back
Is Savion Hiter the real deal?
For some reason, junior tailback Jordan Marshall, who will be starting, hasn't gotten nearly as much attention as his counterpart in the backfield. Hiter comes aboard as a former five-star and the No. 1 running back in the 2026 class. Though he hasn't yet taken a college down, his showing in the spring game gave a lot of hope to fans hoping to see a reprise of an elite run game.
It might take a few weeks for Hiter to find his footing, or he could show out in Week 1 but struggle a bit against Oklahoma, Iowa, or the other early contests featuring top-tier defenses. But having Marshall as the starter takes some pressure off him to be able to go out and perform at a high level without much backlash.
Wide receiver
Does Michigan have an above-average receiving corps?
Last year, freshman Andrew Marsh surpassed all of the elder statesmen on the team to lead the Wolverines in receiving. At Utah, then-freshman JJ Buchanan had surged from being a summer enrollee to being the third-best receiver on the Utes. Jaime Ffrench -- a high four-star -- transferred from Texas, and freshman Travis Johnson has gotten a lot of camp buzz, as has five-star Salesi Moa. Channing Goodwin, deemed 'Mr. Reliable' in fall camp last year, has reportedly turned a corner, and there are other names who are champing at the bit to potentially rise up (like Kendrick Bell, Jacob Washington, and Jamar Browder).
On paper, this unit has a lot more talent than it's had since 2017-19 -- a group that didn't quite live up to its potential. But could Marsh and Buchanan, at the very least, be similar to Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh in 2015-16? If so, that would be a major upgrade on what the Wolverines have trotted out there in recent years. Though Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson were solid, they still played second fiddle to the run game. This group may be able to stand on their own.
Offensive line
Has the pass protection improved?
Last year, the offensive line perhaps was the only position group that looked better in the final game than in the first. But it still hadn't made the full strides it needed to in pass protection. Bryce Underwood, rightly or wrongly, scrambled often, and Kyle Whittingham brought Jim Harding with him from Utah to cure the ills of last year's line.
And reportedly, it is making strides. The question of just how much will be answered more likely in Week 2 against Oklahoma.
A line can change and improve quickly. Such was the case going from 2020 to 2021, when a moribund outfit had transformed into the Joe Moore Award-winning unit. Harding's track record indicates that a similar trajectory could be made with this group.
Tight end
Are there any bona fide playmakers here?
Kyle Whittingham said that the tight ends have been the most consistently good unit on the offense, but there are questions about who is going to take the step forward to become the go-to players here. It's unclear who will start, but the staff seemed happy when Zack Marshall returned from spring injuries this fall. Hogan Hansen probably has the highest upside, and Deakon Tonielli could be right up there. Then there are the fullback types -- Jalen Hoffman and Eli Owens.
Those are a lot of names with potential, but very little in the way of scaring defenses at this juncture. Could that change? We'll know more in Week 1.
Edge rusher
Can John Henry Daley be as dominant as he was last year?
Daley burst onto the scene for the Utes last year after transferring from BYU, where he had very little time on task. He was on a trajectory to be the top sack leader in the country last season (he still finished seventh, with 11.5 sacks in 11 games) before he ruptured his Achilles. He appears to be healthy, but it's one thing to have a breakout year before an injury of that sort; it's another to return as the same player.
It appears that the Wolverines at least have some depth here, with Dom Nichols leading the charge as another potential breakout player -- Nate Marshall, Carter Meadows, and Tariq Boney have also gotten some mention this fall. But the whole thing will work best if Daley returns to form. We should have a good idea in Week 1 if that's true.
Defensive tackle
Is the staff hype here real?
Kyle Whittingham surprised in spring ball when he said the defensive line was the biggest strength on the whole team. The edge rusher unit didn't necessarily surprise on that front, but the interior didn't feel like a top strength. And yet, that's mostly where the attention has been focused.
Seniors Trey Pierce and Enow Etta both have been spoken of as dominant playmakers, but we haven't really quite seen that in their careers just yet. Utah transfer Jonah Lea'ea was solid in Salt Lake City, and Deyvid Palepale looked dominant in the spring game. Bobby Kanka has gotten some mention as the potential fifth in the rotation.
More so than the edge rushers, we'll believe it when we see it. Previous staffs had often spoken about defensive tackle dominance in camp for it not to show up in season. But we do have reason to believe that this group may be legit.
Linebacker
Can this group play, despite the inexperience?
The most experienced players on this team at the moment are either all backups at other, smaller programs, or a starter at the FCS level. The most promising players are two second-year linebackers. And then there's also Troy Bowles, a transfer from Georgia last year, who was a backup in 2025.
There are players who the staff likes a lot here, but with Chase Taylor and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, neither has had a lot of time on task. Nathaniel Staehling, the North Dakota State transfer, had 690 snaps last year; Bowles had 437, Taylor had 195, Owusu-Boateng had 136, while transfers Aisea Moa and Max Alford had 269 and 239, respectively.
This position group, itself, is the biggest question mark. The players waiting in the wings last year -- Cole Sullivan and Jimmy Rolder -- both left the program this offseason. Michigan is going to need some unexpected production here, and it's unclear just how good the group will be.
Safety
Is Rod Moore actually, fully healthy?
Moore is slated to start, it's true, but the question is whether he is now at full strength after missing the bulk of the past two seasons following a spring 2024 ACL tear. Like Daley, he's been on a pitch count in fall camp, though Daley appears to have had the training wheels taken off while Moore has still had some semblance of kid gloves.
If Moore can not only look the part as he had in 2022-23, but take a step forward as players tend to do as they mature, he could be among the best safeties in the entire country. But he has to be able to stay on the field for more than a few games -- he played in three last year. The defense suits his talents well, and after two years on the sideline, studying the game, a healthy Rod Moore could be a cheat code for the secondary.
Cornerback
Who are corners 5-7?
There's little question that the starting trio of Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, and Smith Snowden should be among the best in the Big Ten, with Shamari Earls having a solid camp and cementing himself as a player in the rotation. But who is behind Earls?
This is what we call a quality problem: not knowing too much about the depth behind several established (and one potential) playmakers. The hope would be that Jo'Ziah Edmond, now entering his third year, could get back on the field after a promising showing his freshman year. But he's being pushed by freshman Jamarion Vincent, who has earned rave reviews in spring ball and some in fall camp.
This group should be solid, but it will need depth, especially since there are so many solid passing offenses on the schedule.
Special teams
Is the Kerry Coombs effect real?
Michigan struggled mightily on special teams each of the past two years. And then, following the regular season last year, JB Brown was fired and Kerry Coombs was hired. And the turnaround in the bowl game was remarkable.
Special teams, across all facets, had often been a liability. But against Texas in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, it helped keep the Wolverines in striking distance. Now, there are a lot of new faces in terms of personnel: kicker Trey Butkowski and punter Cam Brown leading the charge. Some familiar and new faces will be involved in the return game. But it's Coombs' coaching that could help this unit be a strength this season, rather than a detriment.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football's biggest question at every position in 2026
