Welcome to the least interesting spring in memory. Position roll call:

• QB: is JJ.
• RB is Corum and Edwards.
• WR is Johnson, Wilson, Henning, and the next generation.
• TEs are Loveland, Barner, and Bredeson.
• IOL is Keegan/Nugent/Zinter. Outside has three guys who started last year and two transfers.
• DTs are Jenkins and Graham, Grant, Benny, and Goode.
• DEs are Stewart and some combination of McGregor, Moore, and Harrell.
• LBs are Colson and Barrett again, except this time with depth.
• Safeties are Moore and Paige, with a lot of options behind them.
• Nickel is Sainristil.
• Cornerback is Will Johnson and OPEN.
• Punter is Doman
• Kicker is OPEN.

That's it. We're choosing between four seemingly good options at tackle, trying to find a 2nd and third cornerback, and waiting to see if the kicker will be the freshman or a walk-on. With so many depth charts settled, instead of finding the drama at each position we're gonna have to go out and find it.

The Rule of Offseason is skepticism should be your natural stance. The program wants to sell hype. They know what the concerns are going in, and will seek to fill the information vacuum with whatever you most want to believe. This puts us in a weird position this year because what we want to believe about most of this team is also, you know, backed up by way more evidence than any spring talk can rig. There are so few spots not occupied by an obvious starter (or ten). So let's start with the group that lost everybody.

Specialists

Have I played the part well? Then applaud as I exit. [Paul Sherman]

What's the drama? Who's going to replace a mustached legend at punter, and the greatest kicker in program history?

What do we want to hear? Well, honestly, if Robbins wasn't so established and a 6th year senior and all that, he probably would have been passed by Tommy Doman last season, because Doman was outkicking him after Robbins got hurt. Also Moody was holding back some incredible kickers.

What are we hearing? He's a pinball wizard($).

Doman may have to handle all three major specialist duties. He’d be the first Michigan player to kick off, place kick and punt since Kenny Allen in 2016. “I plan to do that, for sure,” Doman told TheWolverine.com. “Just whatever the team needs me to be, I can do all three. That’s why I’ve been good at being a backup for them at those two positions, and I’m excited to compete at all three jobs.”

For On3 subscribers, that's a whole interview with Doman, including lots of bits about how Moody and Robbins prepared. Rhett Anderson was listed as one of the kicking competitors but wasn't on the spring roster, so the other kicking candidates are walk-on Charlie Mentzer and true freshman Adam Samaha, who will enroll this summer.

What it means: Doman did come in as a both-things guy. Punting-wise we've heard so much about him the last couple of years that I'm willing to buy he's at least a replacement for injured-Robbins last year, and probably closer to the Hangtime So Long You Can Read a Book version of Robbins from 2021. As a kicker, man, I can't predict #CollegeKickers when they're the reigning Groza winner; you want me to tell you what a new guy will do, sight unseen, when he spends half of his time punting? Is he our Commodus who grasped too much and in so doing ushered in a century of crisis that people who talk about history skip over way too often? Or is this just the bloodless ascension of Tiberius after the long reign of Augustus and Agrippa, with Rhett "Agrippa Postumus" Anderson exiled to ensure a smooth transition of power. Will Doman then find the challenges of handling all of these kicking jobs too stressful and elevate a younger Sejanus, or Adam Samaha as circumstances dictate, as his partner in labours? Could I exhaust this bit any further? Yes, of course. But let's get to the main story.

[After THE JUMP: A meter and a sloth gif.]

Cornerback

That's one; what about the other? [Barron]

What's the drama?: Who's going to play opposite Will Johnson?

What we want to hear: Will Johnson is about to give you Charles Woodson's 1996.

As for the other spot, they didn't try too hard in the portal because they really liked the options on campus. Ja'den McBurrows is another DJ Turner you would have seen on the field a ton already if he hadn't been injured his first two seasons. It was hard to keep Kody Jones and Myles Pollard off the field. The true freshman are awesome—Jyaire Hill is already drawing comparisons to Will Johnson in his focus and preparation, Cameron Calhoun is testing off the charts; the program thought he was a top priority and he's showing why. German Green and Keshaun Harris are providing a lot of leadership; Harris is a really good player who's been close to the field but there's just so much competition!

What we're hearing: Well PFF would take Will Johnson 10th overall if he was allowed in the draft. Multiple folks have spent the offseason praising Johnson's approach to studying film. All the right things.

As for the non-Will Johnson side, the talk of spring is the true sophomore athletic freak they stole from offense. Jim Harbaugh:

So right now, Will, Mike Sainristil, Amarion Walker is — I consider him a starter right now, based on the way he’s — just off the first few practices, and I think those other players I mentioned will all be right there in the hunt as well.

I have Walker for 8 snaps in UFR last year and one grade: a –1 against Hawai'i when he drew a penalty for using his receiver blocking technique on a guy trying to get downfield. He didn't look comfortable, but he looked athletic at it. I guess? Harbaugh:

You just don’t know for sure whether it’s receiver or corner but the length he has, the athletic ability that he has, speed that he has, and the change of direction, mainly, for a guy that’s 6-3, 6-4. It’s rare, it’s rare for a corner to be able to have that length and speed, but have that change the direction. So it could be — just want to find out, you want to find out. And that’s what I think that’s what Coach Clink thinks. But we’ll see if we’re right.

This was backed up by Walker running a record three-cone drill:

And some comments by Clinkscale made last September(!!!):

“We’re starting with him in a third down package — primarily man coverages and give him the opportunity to showcase his talents and get comfortable. When you play defensive back, if you’re not confident and comfortable, it’s a little hard to make plays, it’s hard to just want to be out there. We’re finding his role. He’s a very versatile athlete, and he’s very natural at corner when it comes to the athletic piece. We’ve done a lot of meetings and stuff, and he actually picks things up very fast. He knows the zone coverages and man now.”

Sam Webb's program sources are as high on Walker as they were on Sainristil last year($), but also admit he's "swimming right now" so this talk may be projective based on Walker's ability and habits, not a statement he's already the second-best option. Sam also thinks we'll be pleasantly surprised when the actual weights come out($).

When Walker reported to Ann Arbor last winter, I’m told he weighed in at a rail-thin 157 lbs. His listed weight of 180 lbs. on this spring’s roster is really encouraging, but I’m told the news is even better. I’m told he’s now up to 192 lbs. and still getting bigger and stronger.

Harbaugh admitted Herbert's still got work to do with Walker:

Right now he’s chasing strength and power. And that’ll all be put on much like you saw Will Johnson last year doing that nine months leading up to the season. But just really, really feel good. And we’re just gonna find out if that’s the right and best position for his career because it could be different. If we’re right, then yeah, he could be the type of corner that’s just — there are none like him — like a unicorn. That’s the best (comparison).

Sam sometimes takes on the role of program spokesperson. On the roundtale last week he suggested maybe Clinkscale wasn't so worried when they whiffed in the portal because he already knew he could nab Walker. He also reminded us that Nick Saban offered Walker as a defensive back.

As for the others—because you really need three outside guys—Harbaugh listed them in this order:

"Keshaun Harris, Myles Pollard, Kody Jones, Jaden McBurrows, and also Jyaire Hill and Cameron Calhoun. Just that group that hasn’t played a lot at corner in games, but we believe or are going to be really good players.

Sam intimated on the show that he likes Ja'den McBurrows a lot but there's a ways to go in his development. This is admittedly some extreme spring ball entrail-reading, but they also gave Walker the #1 that McBurrows has been wearing, which seems like a thing that wouldn't happen if McBurrows was the next guy in after Walker. Also in roster news, Jalen Perry is gone.

What it means: Extremely good news for Amorion Walker, probably bad news for Michigan and definitely bad news for all the other cornerbacks. The heuristic with position-switchers and the heuristic for new guys getting hype is the same: How much did they need him? If Harbaugh told you they tried Alex Orji at wide receiver and he's killing it right now, you'd be like "Whoa, we have some killer receivers!" If he told you they're moving Orji to Edge and he's starting it's a different story.

Cornerback is a lot more on the Edge end (ha!) of this analogy. Michigan tried without success to bring back at least one of DJ Turner and Gemon Green, did bring back German Green for a 6th year, then took two swings through the transfer portal, landing nobody. If we got some really excited talk followed by an intense position battle that spilled over into the season, okay, things are solid at corner and we just happen to have a gem. But six days into the position-switch and we're talking starter? Dude.

Long term, yeah, we might have something with this guy. Walker was a stick last year, but that kind of athleticism translates instantly to cornerback. Asking Minter—who is definitely a DBs guy—to dial it back all the way on the multiple coverages they ran last year is probably too much, but they can probably dial it back some given Walker and Johnson are both super tall freaks. The Saban bit there is interesting to me, because Michigan definitely ran some Sabanesque pattern-matching last year, and the long/tall/fast/agile types are exactly what you want for that system, which is weakest against quick slants and chucks down the sideline.

It might be time to take a look at Keshaun Harris though. He isn't a young guy; he's that walk-on I mentioned years ago that they plucked from the track team. We got a bit of data on Harris during the walkover part of last season, when he put up a +5 in the UConn game.

Caveat: competition. Breaking up a quick out from Cover 3 from drop coverage is very hard. Breaking it up when the ball hangs in the air for an extra half-second and the receiver is just some guy: not quite as hard.

If we're taking Harbaugh's list as a depth chart it puts Myles Pollard and Kody Jones in next, followed by McBurrows, and then the true freshmen still finding their way. There was no mention of German Green, who was the next guy in with Harris last season. He may be back with the safeties, or perhaps he's just here to play special teams and tell the young 'uns stories about life before The Pandemic. The rest of Harbaugh's tracks with last year's playing time, but not with what we wanted to hear, since McBurrows and Jones have the higher ceilings.

Regarding McBurrows, reading between those lines, it sounds like there's more than the old injury situation holding him back. Maybe being a lot closer to the field will change that? Another theory is that we're looking at the wrong position because he's really the #2 nickelback. After the 2021 Washington game we heard McBurrows was supposed to be the next guy in after Dax Hill, and it was Ja'den's injury that opened the door for Rod Moore.

There is a version of all of this where Pollard and Jones are recruiting hits who are exactly where they're supposed to be, and the only things we've learned is Walker is about to be a superstar and McBurrows is behind the curve. But then you factor in Harbaugh admitting Walker isn't there physically yet, and the first rule of spring hype emerges to tell you that Sainristils are rare, and guys who switch positions and start immediately are usually a bad sign for everyone he's starting over. Meter says:

They do still have Johnson, Sainristil, and the safeties, so we're not in Thomas Gordon mode yet, but it's clear the 2nd/3rd CB spots are going to be the focus of the offseason.

Everything Else

What's the drama? Who's got it better than us?

What do we want to hear? Nobody.

What are we hearing? Jim and Warde get on just fine.

What it means: A short article. Thanks Michigan!

Okay, fine, there are some bits on other spots.

Nickel

What's the drama? Did Mike Sainristil take a vacation during spring break or stay home to watch more film?

What do we want to hear? Film.

What are we hearing? Film($).

With Sainristil their assessments were based on his exceptional inline quickness and even better football IQ. Sainristil is a technician who pours over a copious amount of film. (As a matter fact, Sainristil didn’t leave campus for spring break like many of his teammates. I’m told he has been spotted in the building watching film).

What it means: Good.

Seth…

I told ya man.

Safety

What's the drama? So when are we gonna see those three guys we brought in last year?

What do we want to hear? Berry and Sabb and Dent are gonna have Roles. Kolesar is all the way back. Moten had a very good reason for last year.

What are we hearing? Praise for Moore and Paige($).

What it means: Sounds like we have to wait for this generation to move through before getting too excited about the really promising generation behind them. Welcome to Healthy Program Status.

Linebacker

Just you wait. Just you waaait! [Barron]

What's the drama? Do we have too much depth now?

What do we want to hear? Colson is ready to be a star. Partridge is supercoach. Nikhai Hill-Green is 100% back and battling Barrett for his old job back, while Rolder and Hausmann are focused on becoming the best LB tandem in school history someday.

What are we hearing? Harbaugh is bringing out all the 2016 Harbaughisms for Partridge. Emphasis mine.

Pretty obvious. We think he’s a great coach, and he was when he was here. A trusted agent, known friend. Just thought that was something that would really help our team.

The energy he brings. Tremendous people skills, great work ethic, football knowledge. He is somebody that is literally always trying to get better as a coach, as a teacher. He attacks everything with a high level of enthusiasm in every way.

The tenor of Anthony Broome's linebackers writeup for The Wolverine($) suggests they too see Hausmann as a long-term deal, and have him and Rolder waiting their turn while Hill-Green challenges Barrett for his old job back.

What it means: I mean, who's got it better than having Chris Partridge back? Not saying George Helow was 2% but Partridge is the whole milk, and still well under his legal limit for what-if's. Fits the program like a good pair of khakis and a sharpie around the neck. The Judge Judy of assistant coaches. Solves his problems with aggression. Leads like Truman; doesn't tapdance like Fred Astaire. Known to come through on occasion.

Broome isn't saying anything any non-insider could; it's more notable that he's not talking about Hausmann as a guy expected to be a top-three LB immediately, which is a thing program insiders would be pushing an outlet like The Wolverine to say if it was a necessary condition of Hausmann's transfer. I know that's thin, but I've been through a few of these and I'm willing to stand on it.

Edge

What's the drama? Is Josiah Stewart the real deal? Is Moore going to have a sophomore explosion? Is McGregor finally BACK not halfway back? Are they still going to play Jaylen Harrell a ton anyways?

What do we want to hear? Yes. Emphatically yes. Absolutely yes and how astute you were to notice, Seth. And no, but we're not gonna tell him until fall. Also Eyabi Okie transferred because he was getting passed by Moore and McGregor. Plus a shoutout for the progression of Bennett and Guy before they get to any walk-ons.

What are we hearing? Nothing on Stewart yet except praise for his get-off($). Balas put an "If the light truly goes on"($) in front of his pre-spring projection for Derrick Moore. Balas also said "there's a lot of respect for Harrell in that building." Harbaugh's presser just listed names except TJ Guy "is somebody who has the potential to do good." He also gave this bit of coach speak:

"If guys really work hard, do everything they can to maximize their potential, we'll be in good shape."

What it means: I don't doubt they like Jaylen Harrell, because he was a constant on the field last year; I just can't make my numbers make that look like a good thing. It sounds like they're really excited about the youth at DT, and really hoping for progress at edge.

I'm going to read way more into the last line, because it doesn't sound like Harbaugh's lines on the other positions. I think we just got a bout of honesty from a coach who's never been very good at using cliché for the bullshit nothing it's supposed to be, IE he really does think they're behind the growth curve right now, and is willing to keep playing Harrell over all of them until somebody steps up.

Defensive Tackle

Safe. [Barron]

What's the drama? Does Jenkins have another gear?

What do we want to hear? All the Jenkins hype. We know you want to. We want you to as well. Just wall to wall Jenkins hype.

What are we hearing? That they're hearing us.

Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, Kris Jenkins — potentially our best player on the defense. He’s going to be really good. Rayshaun Benny is really, really coming on. And then we’ve got Josaiah Stewart added, TJ Guy — somebody that has the potential to do good, so does Cam Goode. Alessandro Lorenzetti moved from from offensive line to defensive line. Ike Iwunnah. And then a whole bevy of incoming freshmen. Big guys that have played the nose, tackle and end position that we’re really excited about.

Jenkins is over 300 pounds and acting very captain-y($) via Balas. Via my guy and Balas's($), they're expecting Benny to have a much bigger role this year.

Grant is leaner($, info in title). My insider also said they love Grant, and that Elston spends a lot of time thinking of ways to bring out the beast. Not much to say about Mason Graham besides the obvious.

What it means: About the expectation.

Offensive Line

Don't count out Persi. [Barron]

What's the drama? Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks. Too many cooks, too many cooks.

What do we want to hear? Everyone is very cool about this and very patient.

What are we hearing? What transfers? Both Stanford guys are coming back from postseason surgeries. Meanwhile I really really hope that Arizona State is not using Michigan's uniquely pedantic admissions policy for some light pettiness.

Offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson is still in the process of completing courses and graduating from Arizona State University, delaying his enrollment at Michigan until the summer, team spokesman Dave Ablauf confirmed to MLive on Wednesday morning. … He is not on the team’s spring roster and will sit out the 15 practices currently underway.

I do wonder if Michigan/Henderson knew this was an issue, and if he chose Michigan anyways, because there's no way this would have been an issue at any other school he was considering. My guess is they thought he was able to graduate and this was a surprise.

As a result, the guys practicing right now are the guys from last year minus Hayes. Also once again Harbaugh is naming more than five starters, except this year he might go into double-digits.

That’s a good problem to have, right? How hard is it going to be to get the five starters? It will probably be pretty hard, like it was last year. We considered seven, eight guys, that were starters.

If you look at it now: Karsen Barnhart, Trevor Keegan, Greg Crippen, Gio, Trente, Zak Zinter, Jeff Persi. I consider them all starters. And LaDarius Henderson, Drake Nugent, Myles Hinton all capable. Andrew Gentry is going to be really good. Reece Atteberry is really good. Dom Giudice has come over, he’s really good—from the defensive side. And three really good freshmen coming in.

We’ll do what we do: Keep attacking and everybody paying the price. As long as we’re doing that — as long as everybody’s paying the price, and everybody is doing that, then each person can grow to their potential.

What it means: It was surprising to us that Oluwatimi and a lot of other offensive line transfers were such instant successes last year, but even then they got to be around for spring. It probably won't bother Nugent and Hinton as much—in Hinton's case I'm not really expecting him to be starting this year anyways—since they're at least around. With Henderson though it's a major bummer since part of the plan was to kick him outside.

It also may be a blessing in disguise. Crippen will get a full spring to run away with the job; Barnhart, Jones and Persi will get to fight it out for the tackle spots without two major competitors; and El-Hadi will get a lot of run inside. No matter how many starters Harbaugh names it would take a miracle to hold onto this many playable players through the offseason. Holding onto more of them is how they keep the Joe Moore Award streak going long enough to rename it the Sherrone.

Speaking of the future, notch Andrew Gentry into it. Connor Jones and Tristan Bounds were long-term projects a year away from plausibility, but it seems they're well behind the others at this point.

Tight End

What's the drama? Is it just Loveland or is Barner going to be a #2A like Schoonmaker was for All and Loveland was for Schoon?

What do we want to hear? Loveland is going to come in 2nd for the Mackey (everyone has Brock Bowers #1, duh).

What are we hearing? Nothing yet except the players get along with Barner.

What it means: Nothing.

Wide Receiver

What's the drama? Which kid should we be more excited about?

What do we want to hear? Andrel Anthony transferred and they could afford to give Walker to the defense Clemons and Morris are Braylon Edwards But Fast and Jason Avant But Fast. The true freshmen are already doing crazy stuff.

What are we hearing? Roman Wilson also had a crazy three-cone drill, though just the normal crazy.

By now you’ve heard that Amorion Walker blistered the three-cone drill in a ridiculous 6.10 seconds. Roman Wilson blazed it too, finishing in 6.20 seconds.

I’m told McCarthy clocked a 6.26.

What it means: I think it's evident they're deep. Hoping to see some hype for the kids in the next installment.

Running Back

What's the drama? Who's the 3rd back? How much can they play both together?

What do we want to hear? People naming best RB duos of all time.

What are we hearing? Corum's injury will take him through spring via Harbaugh:

Probably full, gull go somewhere around start of June for the full summer cycle. He’s out there every day. He’s not going through the drills. He had a surgery. Give it the time that’s needed to recover and build the strength back and make sure that he’s in a great place.

…so expect some Edwards and lots of the other guys. No word yet from the other guys except Ben Hall stepped on campus already 235 pounds according to the roster.

Quarterback

A wild Denegal appears. [Barron]

What's the drama? How big a step forward did JJ take? Do we have a successor, a backup, a plan?

What do we want to hear? JJ is ready for his Drew Henson 2000 season, except he's signed by the Michigan Wolverines through next year, not the fucking New York Yankees. Davis Warren is actually A Dude and wait'll you see—he is going to be a starter here when JJ leaves.

What are we hearing? Michigan is one Heisman candidate short of a 1945 Army backfield.

JJ McCarthy is considered a Heisman contender heading into next season, so it stands to reason that he will be among the standout performers during spring ball. There are only a few practices and pads have yet to be put on, but the junior signal caller appears well on his way to meeting that expectation.

One observer said no. 9 “picked up where he left off” and “is already in midseason form.” Another lent more substance to that take, highlighting a 19/23 showing in one of the practices, “and three of the incompletions were drops!”

Also: Three cone drill!

Harbaugh made no bones about it:

J.J. McCarthy is the starting quarterback. Tremendous physical ability and athletic ability and in every single way that you would want your quarterback. The rare thing is that he would sacrifice anything for any player on this team, personally. He’s just so willing to do whatever is best for the team. I would follow him anywhere, happily. I suggest that all players on our team do the same thing. He’s just really, really good.

As far as anything you tell him, any coaching point that you give, he just he absorbs it and will make the correction immediately. It’s tremendous.

Many, many insiders are talking about how well McCarthy gets along with new QB coach Kirk Campbell. To the point where you're like, "Uh, I get it!" As for backups, Harbaugh declined to single out Warren, instead going with a guy I kinda had a pencil down to write off:

Backup quarterback-wise: Davis Warren, Jack Tuttle, Alex Orji. Jayden Denegal is already off to a really hot start in the spring. So is Jack Tuttle. He’s been really good the first two days.

All four of those quarterbacks are really engaged and have had really good offseasons with Coach Herb and the staff in the six, seven weeks that they’ve been in the winter cycle. Really good. Can’t really call it right now after two days of practice who the backup quarterback is, but feel really good about the quarterback room.

What it means: Please read the shoulda-been 22/23 practice as 100% McCarthy is awesome and not reflective of the cornerback depth chart or the receivers' hands. I can't help but read the "JJ hearts Campbell" talk as in contrast to Matt Weiss.

Backups-wise, this is sort of the opposite of the cornerback situation, where instead of one guy standing out too much for where he ought to be you have no guys standing out where there ought to be at least one. The only thing worse than "we have no depth except this position-switcher" is "we have no depth, period." Good for Denegal, but I don't want the #5 guy tied with #2. First week of spring, fine, but let's have a standout please.