Greg McElroy reveals good news for Michigan in attempting back-to-back 10 win seasons

Michigan football won 12 games in 2021, brought back a Big Ten championship trophy to Ann Arbor, and made the school’s first appearance in the College Football Playoff — a historic season by most any measure. But the 2021 season is history (albeit recent) and what matters now is where the ceiling is for the 2022 Wolverines. And according to ESPN’s Greg McElroy, despite losing a lot, Michigan has some solid pillars upon which to build another 10-win season.

Mainly, McElroy was excited about Michigan’s offensive weapons and the luxury of having two playable quarterbacks, along with keeping some continuity on the defensive side despite staff changes.

“So I think there’s a lot of good, right now, when it comes to the Michigan Wolverines,” McElroy said, “I’m bullish, I’m optimistic. I think people are writing them off way to soon and focusing way too much on what they lost and not focusing quite enough on what they bring back.”

Michigan’s plethora of returning offensive skill players was McElroy’s first point of emphasis for why the Wolverines can repeat the successes of 2021.

“You have weapons. That’s No. 1. Tons of weapons. Weapons that, last year, there were some question marks about ‘OK, what’s the pecking order at wide receiver? What are you going to do as far as the passing game is concerned? Who are going to be the explosive playmakers?’ Everyone said Michigan lacks athleticism. No,” McElroy said. “There were several guys that stepped up throughout the course of the season. Didn’t matter on the game. Guys that stepped up. I love Blake Corum. I think he’s legitimate Heisman trophy consideration. He’s in that conversation. Now, he’s got to stay healthy and he’s got to be at 100 percent and he’s got to be a workhorse. Hassan Haskins is not there. They still have really good pieces to spell Corum. I think that he’ll be in a little bit of a running-back-by-committee approach, but when the going gets tough, I want the best player on the field, the ball in his hand. More often than not, when Michigan’s on offense, Blake Corum is the best player. The good news is, in addition to Blake Corum, you get Ronnie Bell back. Hurt his knee in the first game of last year. Missed the season. You know it crushed him to not be out there as part of a very special unit, offensively. I think they’re in good shape with their weapons.”

Along with Corum and Bell, Michigan’s offense will also feature running back Donovan Edwards, receivers Cornelius Johnson, Roman Wilson, Andrel Anthony, A.J. Henning, and tight ends Luke Schoonmaker and Erick All — all players who saw action in 2021. Michigan’s offensive line should be among the best in the country, too. And there’s a group of freshmen who the Wolverines could show off on offense at some point this year.

Moreover, McElroy said, Michigan is stocked at the position to get all the aforementioned guys the football: Quarterback. Between returning starter Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy, the heralded sophomore, the Wolverines have two good choices.

“And right now, I know people would say ‘Well that’s not a good thing. I want one of those guys to emerge, I want there to be a situation where there’s a clear one, clear two, and that’s the way we’re going to operate,'” McElroy said. “But right now, when J.J. McCarthy’s on the field versus when Cade McNamara’s on the field, you have to prepare for almost two completely different offenses. J.J. McCarthy, he’s going to really lean into the quarterback run, he’s going to use his athleticism. He’s going to do all the different things as far as the run game is concerned that Cade McNamara is probably not going to be a big part of. Now Cade McNamara is an athlete, too. It’s not like he’s chopped liver back there standing stationary in the pocket. No, he can move around, he can create. But JJ McCarthy, when he’s on the field, every single defender is thinking ‘I’ve got to stop quarterback run. That dude’s scary with the ball in his hands. Let’s make sure the ball is not in his hands once the ball is snapped.’

“McNamara, he’s the one that came out and said at Big Ten media days, ‘Hey last time I checked, there’s only one returning Big Ten championship quarterback in the league.’ Give me that guy. I want that competitor. I love that he’s coming out swinging, he’s fired up for this opportunity to fend off what is a very worthy opponent in the quarterback competition. And I think Cade McNamara’s best football is in front of him.”

There is admittedly less to be optimistic about when considering Michigan’s defense. Was 2021 and aberration, led by a rising star coordinator and the No. 2 overall pick in the draft in Aidan Hutchinson? Or can the Wolverines hold on to the gains they made last season? McElroy thinks the latter will be true in part because of Jim Harbaugh’s decision to hire Jesse Minter to run, basically, the same defense.

“When you think about the D.C. situation like we just talked about,” McElroy said, “man, how much can it really change from Year 1 to Year 2? And I’m saying Year 1 to Year 2 because Jesse Minter’s been outspoken about the fact that, ‘Hey man, I want this to be Year 2 in Mike McDonald’s system. I might be the guy that’s pulling the trigger and making the calls on gameday, but everything we do in the days and weeks leading up to our specific matchups, it’s going to be just like Mike McDonald did. So there will be familiarity, there will be continuity, and as a result the guys can play fast.”