Michigan Wolverines Five Issues To Be Settled Before Kickoff on Sept. 4

The Michigan football program has been in turmoil since Lloyd Carr stepped down and Rich Rodriguez took over. There are no more excuses not to produce for Rodriguez as this is his third season in charge of the team.

Rodriguez now has "his players" that he needs to run his spread offense. The roster is stacked with speed from top to bottom thanks to Rodriguez and strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis.

Rodriguez has struggled in his first two seasons with the program and has brought sanctions against the team for the first time in school history. The NCAA's all-time winningest program needs to get back to its winning ways. The Maize and Blue faithful have suffered long enough.

The team had an awful defense last season and the offense was inconsistent with freshman signal callers. This team has any questions. Let's take a look at the most pressing issues before the season kicks off. 

Who will be the starting quarterback?

RichRod is supposed to be an offensive guru and now has his type of quarterbacks in camp. Rodriguez needs to figure out who his guy is gong to be early in the season and go with him. Tate Forcier, last season's starter, and Denard Robinson return for their sophomore seasons and freshman Devin Gardner will all compete for the starting job.

Rodriguez should redshirt Gardner and save a year for the youngster unless he is far and away the best quarterback on this team. RichRod cannot afford to struggle at the quarterback spot again this season.

Forcier and Robinson should split time in the first two games of the year and then Rodriguez needs to pick the starter and ride him the rest of the way barring injury. Quarterbacks need to find a rhythm and cannot do that splitting time during games.

While this question won't likely be answered by the opener, it needs to be answered early in the season.

Who will replace Brandon Graham? 

It will be impossible to replace Graham but they need others to step up and contribute to offset his loss. It looks like Ryan Van Bergen will take over Graham's old position. He is a solid player who needs to take that next step. How will he react to having more attention on him? 

Craig Roh had a very productive freshman season, but he needs to break out this year and be a disruptive force in the backfield. He has all the physical tools to be special and is very athletic for a player his size. He has added 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason. Let's hope it makes a positive impact.

Mike Martin could be the key to the defensive line. When healthy he is an absolute beast who commands double and triple teams. A healthy Martin will give Van Bergen, Roh and others one-on-one matchups that they must take advantage of. 

Who will start in the secondary?

With Donovan Warren jumping early to the NFL, the Wolverines secondary returns one impact player in senior cornerback Troy Woolfork. After bouncing between corner and safety last season, Woolfork is settled at one corner spot. By all accounts, J.T. Floyd is the top candidate to start opposite Woolfork. The top recruit of 2009, Justin Turner, just left the program this week, so the weak secondary took a huge blow.

Converted receiver Cam Gordon has looked great in his switch to safety and should lock down one spot. Former walk-on Jordan Kovacs looks to have an early lead to start again but that could change. Thomas Gordon, Vladimir Emilien, and freshman Marvin Robinson will also push for playing time and that last starting spot in the secondary in the new 3-3-5 system.

How does Michigan repair its kicking game?

Ray Guy finalist and All-Big Ten Punter Zoltan Mesko is now with the New England Patriots. Punter is not as big of a problem, though, as one of the top incoming freshman punters, Will Hagerup, comes to Ann Arbor to replace Mesko. Hagerup will also compete to handle kickoffs.

Fifth-year senior Jason Olesnavage is gone at kicker. Redshirt freshman Brendan Gibbons, who was supposed to win the job last year, and walk-on Seth Broekhuizen will be fighting for the job. Gibbons has the early lead but he could not hold off Olesnavage last season. The Wolverines will need a solid kicking game if they hope to turn their fortunes around.

Who will step up at the skill positions?

With Brandon Minor, Carlos Brown, and Greg Matthews all gone, the Wolverines will need others to emerge as go-to players.

Roy Roundtree came on at the end of last season and looks like a good possession receiver. Martavius Odoms still does not look comfortable in the offense and needs to step his game up. Junior Hemingway and Darryl Stonum have shown flashes but have been injury prone.

Kelvin Grady looked decent in his return to football after being on the Wolverines basketball team for two years. Sophomore Je'Ron Stokes and freshman Jeremy Jackson and Ricardo Miller should see time as well at the receiver position.

The running back position is less defined with less returning experience. Michael Shaw has probably the most experience but has mental lapses. Vincent Smith looked impressive at the end of the year but tore his ACL against Ohio State. Fitzgerald Toussiant saw limited time last season as well. Freshman Austin White and Stephen Hopkins should be in the mix as well. Hopkins may assume Minor's role as the big back in the offense.

The Wolverines should be improved this season but improved may not save RichRod's job. He probably needs at least eight wins and a bowl victory to save his job. With the schedule they have, eight wins and a trip to a decent bowl is not too much to ask for.

The key to the season will be the opener against Connecticut. If the Wolverines lose to UConn, RichRod will enemy No. 1 in Michigan and should start packing his bags.