{"id":851245,"date":"2026-04-03T13:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T13:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851245\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T13:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T13:36:18","slug":"power-ranking-michigan-footballs-position-groups-spring-2026-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851245\/","title":{"rendered":"Power ranking Michigan Football\u2019s position groups, Spring 2026 edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spring ball always gives us a rough outline of what a roster could be. But if you zoom out and look at Michigan heading into 2026, some units feel a little more plug-and-play than others.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how Michigan\u2019s position groups are stacking up this spring, ranked in order of confidence.<\/p>\n

Justice Haynes may be gone, but the running back position is still in a great place. Jordan Marshall has proven he can handle a full workload and be a true Big Ten feature back. There was never a moment last season when the game felt too big for him.<\/p>\n

Factor in five-star freshman Savion Hiter, and suddenly this room has that familiar Michigan feel again. Physical, deep enough, and capable of taking over games in November. If Hiter proves he\u2019s that guy early, this group could once again make national noise. And even if he doesn\u2019t right away, a one-two punch of Marshall and Bryson Kuzdzal has already proven it\u2019s enough to carry the identity of the offense.<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly the biggest glow-up on the roster. Michigan is already slated to field more than 1,500 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns worth of production in 2026, and that\u2019s before you even factor in highly touted true freshmen Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson. SOphomore Andrew Marsh has already proven he\u2019s a star you can lean on, and everything out of spring suggests he\u2019s only getting better.<\/p>\n

Then come the additions: J.J. Buchanan, Jaime Ffrench and Moa \u2014 all bringing different skillsets that this offense desperately needed. Buchanan alone adds size and versatility that this team so desperately needed, and he\u2019s already talked openly<\/a> about how well this group complements each other and how much he believes in Bryce Underwood.<\/p>\n

So far, this group is looking less like a \u201chope someone steps up\u201d room and more like a \u201cpick your matchup\u201d room. A massive shift.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a safe bet on the roster, it\u2019s probably this group. The coaching change to Jim Harding alone is enough to skyrocket confidence here, but the real story is the returning production. Andrew Sprague, Jake Guarnera, Evan Link and Blake Frazier \u2014 these are guys who have played legitimate snaps and stuck together through a chaotic offseason.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also depth. Michigan could realistically rotate six, seven, even eight guys without a huge drop-off, especially with Andrew Babalola returning to the mix and guys with experience like Nathan Efobi and Brady Norton pushing for time. Harding has already praised their work ethic and cohesion, and if that translates once the pads come on, this group has the potential to quietly carry the offense.<\/p>\n

Likely one of the best units on the defense, and possibly the team as a whole, is the cornerbacks.<\/p>\n

The math here is simple enough. Take two multi-year starters in Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry, add in Utah transfer Smith Snowden, and suddenly you\u2019ve got one of the best, most experienced trios at the position in the Big Ten. This is a group that doesn\u2019t need a ton of projecting. These guys have played. They\u2019ve produced. And in Jay Hill\u2019s scheme \u2014 which is expected to free up the secondary to make more plays \u2014 that matters even more.<\/p>\n

If it weren\u2019t for a lack of proven depth behind those names, the confidence in this position could easily be higher, but there\u2019s still a real argument that this is Michigan\u2019s most dependable defensive unit right now.<\/p>\n

This is where things start to shift from confidence to cautious optimism. On paper, this group should be good. Trey Pierce is a returning starter who logged a ton of snaps last year. Enow Etta has already shown he can impact the game, and Jonah Lea\u2019ea comes in as a starter from Utah.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a solid interior trio rotation. But there\u2019s no ignoring the experience that was lost in Rayshaun Benny, Damon Payne Jr. and Tre Williams. That\u2019s a ton of production walking out the door, accounting for a significant chunk of last year\u2019s snaps. The pieces are still there, but it\u2019ll be nice to actually see it work.<\/p>\n

This one is entirely dependent on one thing: the leap.<\/p>\n

Year 2 of Bryce Underwood, paired with offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr., is enough to inspire confidence. The tools are obvious \u2014 arm talent, mobility, leadership\u2014 and Beck\u2019s system is designed to unlock more of it, especially his ability to create.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s already buzz from teammates that Underwood is poised for a huge leap, and if that happens, this ranking will look way too low in hindsight. But there\u2019s still a \u201cprove it\u201d element here. And behind him? Depth is a legitimate question mark, especially with transfer Colin Hurley<\/a> no longer being with the program.<\/p>\n

This group feels like a coin flip. The addition of Chris Bracy is a big one. He brings experience and stability to a room that needs it following multiple departures. Rod Moore\u2019s return could also be a game-changer if he\u2019s fully healthy, but that\u2019s nothing to hang your hat on.<\/p>\n

Then you\u2019ve got names like Mason Curtis and Jordan Young, who both contributed heavily in 2025 and could take on larger roles. There\u2019s upside here, but there are also a lot of \u201cifs.\u201d<\/p>\n

If John Henry Daley coming off a major injury doesn\u2019t turn out to be Aidan Hutchinson, then Michigan may be in some real trouble at defensive end.<\/p>\n

Before his injury, Daley was putting up monster numbers \u2014 11.5 sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss \u2014 and looked like one of the most disruptive edge rushers in the country. The expectation is he\u2019ll be fully cleared by June 1, and if that comes to fruition, he becomes the obvious centerpiece of this unit.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the problem \u2014 if he\u2019s not that guy right away or if he deals with further sidelining from injury in 2026, things get very shaky. Nate Marshall, Dominic Nichols and Cameron Brandt have potential, but there\u2019s also a heavy reliance on development and projection. That\u2019s a dangerous place to be at a premium position.<\/p>\n

For a unit that was already fairly underwhelming in 2025, Michigan didn\u2019t do much to change the outlook. In fact, losing Marlin Klein only adds to the concern. There are players like Zack Marshall, Deakon Tonielli and Hogan Hansen who can all step up, and you\u2019ll probably get a few moments where those guys make a play when called upon. But as a consistent, reliable threat? It\u2019s tough to see that as of today.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s some potential here\u2026but that\u2019s about it. And for a position this important, that\u2019s not exactly comforting.<\/p>\n

Michigan lost a ton of production \u2014 Ernest Hausmann, Jimmy Rolder, Jaishawn Barham, Cole Sullivan \u2014 and replacing that production doesn\u2019t happen overnight. Troy Bowles is the most proven piece returning, and he\u2019s going to be leaned on heavily.<\/p>\n

The addition of experienced players like North Dakota State transfer Nathaniel Staehling adds to the position battle, and there are younger guys with upside like sophomores Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Chase Taylor, but this group is very clearly in transition.<\/p>\n

This one is a big-time wait-and-see.<\/p>\n

What would your rankings look like? Throw them down in the comments section!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spring ball always gives us a rough outline of what a roster could be. But if you zoom…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,580,52438,52591,49,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-851245","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-michigan-football","10":"tag-michigan-football-analysis","11":"tag-michigan-football-opinion","12":"tag-ncaa","13":"tag-ncaa-football"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116341046541802291","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}