With the Michigan Spring Game coming up on Saturday at Noon on Big Ten Network, we decided to put together a list of things that Michigan fans should keep an eye on while watching the game.
1) Quarterback Battle
It’s highly likely that newly added grad transfer Jake Rudock will be the starting quarterback in the fall, but that’s a one year stop-gap. It’s going to be very interesting to see how Shane Morris, Wilton Speight and Alex Malzone look because when fall of 2016 comes around, one of them has a very good chance of being the starter. Hopefully there is some good progress being made.
2) Ty Isaac
This will be Michigan fans first look at Ty Isaac in the winged helmet and he is expected to be a big contributor this fall in a backfield that has struggle to produce on a consistent basis. He excels catching passes out of the backfield and there should be plenty of that on display on Saturday.
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3) The Offensive Line
Yes, this is a broad topic, but it is a major, major area of concern. There are position battles at almost every spot on the line and I am intrigued to see how Tim Drevno has started to develop the offensive line. It’s assumed that Graham Glasgow will start at center and that Mason Cole will start at left tackle, but other players will need to step up to fill the spots.
4) Jabrill Peppers
Injuries robbed Jabrill Peppers of his freshman year but now he is back to 100% health. Jabrill is must-see every time he’s on the field and it should be fun to watch him fly around and make some plays.
5) Special Teams Battles
The punter competition is wide-open and it is unclear if Matt Wile will kick field goals or punt with the addition of Andrew David. On top of that, no one knows who will return kicks or punts. Earlier this Spring there were 14 different players that had practiced returns – Jourdan Lewis, Delano Hill, Dennis Norfleet, Freddy Canteen, Jabrill Peppers, Blake Countess, Jehu Chesson, Amara Darboh, Brian Cole, Jeremy Clark, Antonio Whitfield, Wyatt Shallman, Jack Wangler and Brandon Watson.
Hopefully one of them steps up and takes the job.
