Michigan Football: 10 Things for the Wolverines to Work on over the Summer

The Michigan Wolverines have huge expectations this season after winning 11 games and a BCS bowl in Brady Hoke's first season as head coach. They return a lot of the key guys from last season and hope to compete for a Big Ten title and a possible BCS National Championship.

But before Michigan hits the field once again in September, it will have the opportunity to work on a few things in fall camp.

The spring was very successful for the Wolverines, but there are always things to work on and tweak before the season begins. These next couple of months will fly before you know it, and they'll be back on the gridiron.

Here are 10 things that Michigan must continue to work on.

Finding a Starting Center

David Molk was the starting center for the Wolverines the last few seasons, but he's now playing in the NFL.

That leaves things up to fifth-year senior Ricky Barnum and redshirt freshman Jack Miller to get the job done. In the past, any other center to snap the ball besides Molk has created an issue.

Despite that, the coaches are impressed from what they've seen so far, via The Detroit Free Press.

“Ricky’s come a long way for a position that he really hasn’t played very much,” offensive coordinator Al Borges said.

As for Miller, head coach Brady Hoke said he's improving and learning the ropes very quickly.

"Every day he's learning how to play center at the Division I level," Hoke said.

Who Starts at Left Guard?

Throughout the spring, we kept hearing that fifth-year senior Elliott Mealer was finally going to get his chance to start on the offensive line, particularly at left guard.

But once the spring game kicked off, we all noticed that a redshirt sophomore and former walk-on, Joey Burzynski, was the starter, and Mealer was on the sideline as he has been for the majority of his career.

Will things stay that way, or can Mealer seal the deal and lock up his position?

It's something the Wolverines will have to figure out soon.

Find Receivers

Last season, Michigan was ranked eighth in the Big Ten, averaging only 182 yards in the air.

Not having a true passing quarterback is some of the issue, but Denard Robinson must have some weapons at the receiver position to be successful.

Players like Junior Hemingway, Kelvin Grady, Kevin Koger, Steve Watson and Martavious Odoms have all left the team. That means that there are several players on this team that will need to step up and make plays.

Roy Roundtree and Jeremy Gallon will be the starters heading into Week 1, but neither one of them has ever been a true No. 1 option.

Other players need to emerge to provide much-needed depth at this position.

Discover a Starting Tight End

Much like the wide receiver position, tight end is also an area of concern, with Kevin Koger no longer on the roster.

Brandon Moore and Ricardo Miller were the ones competing for the position, but offensive coordinator Al Borges hasn't been impressed with either.

"We're looking at other kids, and the jury is still out," Borges said, via ESPN. "It's a position where, if a freshman came in and showed something, he could probably make a contribution." 

The Wolverines do have 4-star recruit Devin Funchess arriving in the fall. He's not much of a blocking tight end, but he can provide the offense with another receiving weapon due to his great hands and athletic ability.

True Freshmen

Seeing a true freshman start at the college level truly says something about that player.

Though you likely won't see one starting for Michigan this season, you're sure to see a few of them make a big impact in their first season on campus.

Some of them even enrolled early and have already turned some heads in the spring. Three key players that have made a name for themselves so far are linebackers Joe Bolden and Kaleb Ringer and safety Jarrod Wilson.

"(For Bolden), it was really probably a great indoctrination for a young guy," coach Brady Hoke said, via The Detroit Free Press. "But it's been good. Him and Kaleb and Jarrod, I'm real proud of how they made the transition."

Bolden was one of the top linebackers of this year's class and is a very aggressive player that has a lot of speed and athleticism. 

There are a bunch of other talented players that will arrive in the fall and compete for immediate playing time.

Name a Starting Punter

The position that nobody cares about is the punter, but when you have a lousy one, it becomes an issue.

Last season, Michigan was ranked 11th in the Big Ten, averaging only 38 yards per punt.

Junior Will Hagerup started last season, but obviously didn't do a good enough job to guarantee he'll once again be the starter this time around.

Sophomore Matt Wile, who averaged 41 yards a punt last season (six more yards than Hagerup) in limited action as a freshman is the one competing with Hagerup.

Punting was not included in the spring game, so this is something that will wait a few months to be decided.

Defensive Line Depth

Defensive line depth is an area of concern for the Wolverines.

Losing defensive tackle Mike Martin is really going to hurt, as well as Ryan Van Bergen, who led the team with 5.5 sacks last year.

They also lost lineman Will Heininger, who was a starter on the defensive line last season.

One of the players that seem to have made the most progress throughout the spring is Craig Roh. He's bulking up and looks to make a huge impact at defensive end this year.

"I think the move of Craig Roh was a very, very good move," defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said, via ESPN. "He had one of the best springs of any of our guys. I think the thing that would bother him was open spaces. We felt that moving him inside gives him a chance to show his ability."

Michigan was able to make such an improvement in one year because of its solid defense. Although, losing depth on the defensive line could create problems for a team that already struggled to rush the quarterback last year.

Discover Some Leadership

Last season, the Wolverines were led by several seniors to help them achieve a great deal of success. Those players include David Molk, Kevin Koger and Ryan Van Bergen on the defensive side of the ball.

But with those players no longer around, some of the players on the current roster must step up and fill those shoes.

Quarterback Denard Robinson has said that's something he's been working on during the spring.

"Being the quarterback, I had to take on that role," Robinson said, via the Detroit News.

Other players that may step up to the plate include wide receiver Roy Roundtree or even safety Jordan Kovacs. It really doesn't matter which players take on this role, but it is a must for a team that expects to win the Big Ten and possibly a national championship.

Leadership is something that every championship team needs to have.

Denard Robinson and His Decision-Making

This Michigan offense is only going to go as far as its senior quarterback takes it.

In the last two seasons that Robinson has been the full-time starter, he's lost a total of nine games. In those nine games, the Wolverines are 2-7 when he fails to top either 100 rushing yards or 100 passing yards.

That just goes to show how important the Heisman candidate is to this team.

The problem is that he isn't a true quarterback, and he still has issues with making terrible decisions with the football. He has worked on his mechanics throughout the spring and is trying to make better decisions on the field.

Robinson is the type of playmaker that can lead this Michigan team to a national championship, but 26 interceptions in two years isn't going to get it done.

Prepare for Alabama

Most Top 25 teams get a couple of weeks of playing cupcakes before the season starts, but that isn't the case for Michigan this year.

Instead, the Wolverines will head to Arlington, Tex. to take on the defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide.

That means there's truly no time to joke around in the fall, as this is a game that could either make or break the Wolverines' season. 

Oddsmakers clearly don't believe that Michigan can win this game.

The Wolverines will have about a month of practice to prepare for this big matchup, and they must use every minute of that time wisely.