Show notes
2 hours and 26 minutes
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1. 2026 Season Vibes
Starts at 0:54
Well, that was an offseason! We win national championships and commit crimes, we are now an SEC program. Michigan has a good dude in Kyle Whittingham now, though! Everyone deserves a freshly showered Brian Cook. What's your excitement level going into this season? It's nice that there are adults in charge now. Some of the things that felt 'off' last season make more sense. There aren't many players on offense this year who you wouldn't project to come back next year, it's a big building year. We're in 2015 mode right now. They actually imported an entire wide receiver room. It feels like Bryce lost a year of development but at least he goes into this year knowing what to expect. The strength and conditioning should be greatly improved, it's telling when coaches leave somewhere and end up at a worse program.
2. Quarterback and Running Back
Starts at 25:15
It felt like last year was a lost cause. Pass protection wasn't good enough because the line was super young, the wide receivers were... not sufficient enough. Tyler Huntley in his second year at Utah ran probably three times as much as Bryce, he's still in the NFL with the Ravens. The potential is still there but it feels like he's still a freshman. They ran Bryce like you would run John Navarre, thinking nobody will expect this! This year it will be a team that runs the quarterback. This is the most talent Kyle Whittingham's staff has ever had, they come from a college background and should be excited to execute with it. Bryce struggled passing last year but he was thrown into a bad situation with his receivers. Do you think Bryce will have fewer pass attempts this season? Physically Bryce is everything you could ask for, he just needs to get there mentally. He hasn't been golfing this offseason. Progress is not linear, he might not look great early but hope for him to get slowly better over the course of the season and have a watershed moment by mid-season. Some QBs you can tell just aren't happening in the spring game, but Tommy Carr was happening. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi is here but did not enroll for spring, he's a multi-year starter at Colorado State but lost his job. Chase Herbstreit and Brady Smigiel... don't exist right now. Running back is similar to last year where the one-two punch is among the best in the country and Bryson Kuzdzal is the third guy. This is Jordan Marshall's year and just by the way he talks there's no way he's not going to try and be the best running back in the country. Savion Hiter already looks like the best running back prospect out of high school in many years. Is Kuzdzal the ceiling for an RB3? Any other program who looks at this running back room will look at us and say "shut up". You wouldn't expect meaningful playing time from anyone else.
3. Hot Takes, Wide Receivers, and Tight Ends
Starts at 1:14:40
Takes hotter than Ann Arbor during Art Fair. The wide receiver room... exists! Do you remember the last Michigan receiver to have a 1,000 yard season? Some guys just have it, Andrew Marsh has it. Who's the last Michigan receiver to live up to this hype? Nico Collins? They import JJ Buchanan in the way that Devin Funchess was a tight end, he's your jump ball guy. Salesi Moa and Travis Johnson are true freshmen but they're the next two guys being mentioned. Salesi Moa blew everyone away at the Polynesian Bowl, you hope for him to be Michigan's Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Travis Johnson seems to be WR4 but also one of the fastest guys on the team, how much play time can you expect? Jaime Ffrench comes in from Texas, Michigan barely had a receiver room when he committed, he's in a weird situation. Channing Goodwin is getting some chatter again. Who are the jet sweep guys, Moa and Marsh? This is the thinnest tight end room we can remember. There isn't a Colston Loveland type guy but Zack Marshall looked really good last year and has a captain mentality. They say Hogan Hansen is healthy and ready to go but he's been hampered by injury and is probably a bit behind physically. Jalen Hoffman is ready to step up and be that dude as a blocker. Also he can catch the ball! They're talking about freshman Mason Bonner in wide receiver-y ways. Eli Owens (Thump) wants to be Max Bredeson but it's only his 2nd year.
4. Offensive Line
Starts at 1:57:36
Brian was despondent when linemen hit the portal in the offseason but they all came back. Jake Guarnera is the center and there's no question about it - that being locked down is so important. Andrew Sprague should also be great, he's the locked in right tackle. It's a good thing when Texas comes for your linemen (as long as you keep them). How good of a pass protector can he be, though? They just imported Jim Harding from Utah, regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in the country. The offensive line has question marks but they're good question marks. Blake Frazier was the lightest guy on the line but he's put on 20 lbs, he should be improved at left tackle. Babalola's progress is the only reason he's not locked in. There's the "Rhino" role for a 6th offensive lineman so there are positions for everyone. They're hyping up Babalola a lot in practice. The incoming freshmen are great but they're freshmen. Evan Link looks to be your starting left guard, he massively improved at left tackle last year after a rough freshman year but this should be a better suited role for him. There's competition for right guard but not for left guard so he might be a pretty solid option. Right guard is a competition between Brady Norton and Nathan Efobi. People are very high on Ace Hamilton. The offense as a whole has a lot of talent but it's so young, they don't have a senior leader. This team will probably still feel like they're a year away.
MUSIC:
- "King of the Night"—Rubber Band Gum
- "Fools"—Drugdealer
- "Mobile Home"—Jesse Woods
- “Across 110th Street”—JJ Johnson and his Orchestra
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