It will be a changing of the guard in Ann Arbor this fall; Lloyd Carr, Chad Henne, Mike Hart, and Mario Manningham - all gone, and the transition to Rich Rodriguez's spread offense won't be an easy one. The biggest challenge is on offense, where not only will there likely not be a senior starting, but nearly all of the offensive production has departed as well. Because of the absence of a true quarterback, the majority of the offense will have to rely on the running backs, presumably making Carlos Brown the potential star. Brown has great speed and can make big plays happen, but hasn't always shown the vision to hit the holes, and with an inexperienced O-line, he's going to need to get outside to make plays.
Perhaps the most exciting player on offense is Sam McGuffie: though he'll be a true freshman this fall, he's already a YouTube star thanks to his ridiculous leaps over various defenders in high school. He'll probably be the more of a slot guy, with more experienced runners Brown and Brandon Minor ahead of him in the depth chart, but it will surprise nobody when he’s making highlight reel plays.
The defense has a lot more experience and is the strength of this team. Seniors Terrance Taylor, Will Johnson, and Tim Jamison anchor the D-Line, and corners Morgan Trent and Donovan Warren will lend experience and a lot of a talent to the secondary. Even the special teams look alright; K.C. Lopata proved to be a reliable kicker, and Zoltan Mesko is the single greatest punter in the history of college football (or at least one of the most consistent in the Big Ten). There’s a lot of reason to hold out hope for a strong season, but it falls mostly on the defensive side of the ball. A strong showing from some of the young players give the Wolverines hope for a strong year in the Big Ten.
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