Five things we won't learn about Michigan football at 2025 Big Ten Media Days

LAS VEGAS — Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore and four players — graduate fullback/tight end Max Bredeson, senior EDGE Derrick Moore and senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann — will be some of the most high-profile individuals at Big Ten Media Days in Las Vegas, set to take the stage Thursday. The group will speak for a combined nearly three hours, but that doesn’t mean every question will be answered.

Here are five questions that will likely go unanswered.

RELATED
• Fifteen Michigan football storylines to watch at 2025 Big Ten Media Days

1. Who’s the starting quarterback?

At this point, every fan and media member expects freshman Bryce Underwood to start at quarterback for Michigan this season, but it’s not official. Moore has said the competition will carry into fall camp, just like last season. The Wolverines didn’t name a starter until mid-game week in August 2024, and that’s about as late as any program can drag it out.

The thought is that it won’t take that long this time around, partly because Underwood is that good, and partly due to injury to Mikey Keene, the Fresno State graduate transfer who’s “coming along just fine” but may not be 100 percent.

Speaking of Keene, don’t expect a full health update from Moore on the quarterback, though it’s expected that the coach will state that he’s improving.

2. How does Sherrone Moore feel about possibly being suspended?

Michigan’s head coach can’t comment on an ongoing NCAA case, and his potential suspension — which was reported in May to be self-imposed by the school for his deletion of text messages before handing them over to investigators — isn’t official yet, either. A ruling is reportedly set to come before the season begins.

Moore could be out two or more games if suspended, but we doubt he’ll name who the interim head coach would be during those weeks. Additionally, while he said last August he was looking forward to his text messages being released, implying that he feels good about how he stands in terms of lack of guilt, it would be surprising to see Moore lament the process since it’s not yet completed.

The same thing happened with former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh ahead of the 2023 season. Just before Big Ten Media Days — imagine this — it was leaked that he may be suspended for minor recruiting violations, and while he couldn’t comment on it, he hinted that he wishes he could make statements regarding the issue. Moore could do something similar.

3. What will Chip Lindsey’s offense look like?

There have been bits and pieces of what new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey‘s offense will look like, but it’s been pretty vague so far — and for good reason. Using the element of surprise for early-season games, like the opener against New Mexico or the week two clash at Oklahoma, can be valuable.

Players have talked about Lindsey’s attack being more up-tempo, “explosive” and “balanced.” But what offensive coordinator would come in and not aim for those things?

To a certain extent, nobody — not even Michigan coaches and players — know exactly what it’ll look like, especially when it comes to the personnel groupings, formations and plays that work the best. For example, counter and duo were staples in the gap-scheme run game in 2021 and 2022 but not as much the following season.

4. What is the biggest concern?

Every college football team has question marks and concerns heading into fall camp. For a big-time program like Michigan, most close followers of the program know what they are. From the outside looking in this year, those are believed to be the offensive line and wide receiver firepower, to name a couple.

But this is not the event where those are talked a lot about. Teammates back up their teammates, and coaches don’t usually talk down on position groups.

It’s very rare that anyone comes away from Big Ten Media Days feeling worse about a team than they did before. Optimism will rise for the perception of every program, but math is math — not every team can win every game, so some of the optimism will be unwarranted.

5. Who’s leading in position battles?

At Michigan, it’s a meritocracy. The best players will play. How do the coaches know who the best players are? They play the best. Simple as that.

In that sense, most positions are open, with players having the license and ability to earn starting spots, backup positions and contributing roles.

At the same time, there has been offseason training and spring practices, so players and coaches have a good idea of who is ultimately going to win a certain battle.

Moore will certainly talk about some cemented starters — there are plenty — but at the hotly-contested positions, he’ll likely name multiple players that are in the mix, as he should. Fall camp will tell us much more as to who’s performing the best and earning roles.

Position battles to watch are:
• Running back
• Left tackle
• Right guard
• Nose tackle
• Cornerback
• Nickel
• Safety