New Michigan offense will feature 'more explosive plays,' and 'be a little different than tradition'

Michigan Wolverines football is entering a new era under offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, who will look to make major improvements to his side of the ball under second-year head man Sherrone Moore.

Moore was Michigan’s offensive coordinator from 2022-23 and opted to stick with continuity last season, promoting quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell to run the offense. The Wolverines ran the same system as previous years but without many of the star players that led the program to their 12th-ever national championship in 2023.

The Maize and Blue started three different quarterbacks, didn’t have a passing play of 40-plus yards, struggled to find an offensive identity and finished 113th nationally by averaging 22 points per game.

Moore hit the reset button by bringing in Lindsey, and there are some big differences in the offense as they blend what Michigan has done in the past with his own system. Lindsey, the former head coach at Troy (2019-21), has prior offensive coordinator experience at Southern Miss (2014-15), Arizona State (2016), Auburn (2017-18), UCF (2022) and North Carolina (2023-24).

The offense being “more explosive” has been a common prediction by Michigan players this spring. Per the players, the offense will feature more screen passes, choice routes and, in sophomore tight end Hogan Hansen‘s words, “a lot of creative ways to get our playmakers the ball.”

“It’s been awesome, just seeing him install it and us go out, practice and execute, and seeing the results after he goes through that install for 30 minutes,” Hansen noted. “It just gives us faith, and it’s really special to see how the offense is taking off this spring.”

The Wolverines have enjoyed getting to know and learning from Lindsey.

“Coach Lindsey has a sense of humor, and I like that,” Michigan junior wide receiver Semaj Morgan said of the Madison, Ala., native. “He’s got a crazy southern accent. We laugh a lot about it. Coach Lindsey, man, I can already tell how smart he is. I can tell he’s a geek at football.

“The stuff he draws up, the plays he’s installing and giving to us, it’s a lot of next level stuff, and you gotta learn fast and gotta be able to do this. It’s different than what we’re used to, really.

“I can already tell he’s gonna be an explosive coach. I can’t wait to play for him.”

From all indications, the Wolverines will air the ball out more. Now, Michigan may have improved quarterback play this coming season, with freshman Bryce Underwood, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, appearing to be the favorite to win the starting job, and that certainly plays a part.

“Definitely more passing,” Morgan said of the offense. “Definitely more 11 personnel [1 running back, 1 tight end, 3 wide receivers].

“From a receiver position, it really just gives us a chance to showcase what we can do, and what we know we can do. And I’m happy for that, because we all work hard, and I feel like with Coach Lindsey here, he’s giving us a shot to really showcase our talent.”

Morgan believes fans will be “surprised” by what Michigan shows offensively in 2025.

“I think they will, and I think they should be, to be honest with you,” he admitted. “It might be a little different than tradition, but it’s gonna be great for us.”

Morgan elaborated on what will be so different.

“We always run a lot,” he pointed out. “This year, it’s not really a secret, Coach Lindsey, where he came from, his history, he passed a lot where he came from. He brought in a whole lot of new concepts and things that we like and that will fit us.”

Donaven McCulley standing out in Michigan WR room

Morgan — a 5-foot-10, 174-pound slot receiver — scored 4 crucial touchdowns as a freshman in 2023 but wasn’t as productive in a larger role as a sophomore, with quarterback play being one of the reasons why. He averaged just 5.1 yards per reception (27 catches for 139 yards) and scored only 1 touchdown.

Morgan has worked on his speed this offseason.

“I can’t wait to see how my speed and explosion has improved,” Morgan said. ‘I’ve been working during the offseason — I’ve been working really hard on my speed and explosion, so I can’t wait to see how that pays off.

“I just do certain drills like track drills. I work out with track coaches to get my speed right, because I really wasn’t running right. I never really ran the correct way. But I’m just learning how to get my mechanics right, get my feet together.”

The West Bloomfield (Mich.) High product is excited about Michigan’s wide receiving corps as a whole.

“I feel like it’s night and day, to be honest with you,” he said. “We’re very competitive, and just with this new offense that we have, new things we do, it just fits everybody in the room very well — very perfect.

“We got a lot of dawgs and route-runners and people who are really good with the ball in their hands, so I feel like the things that are coaches are doing to put us in the position to get the ball will be very good for everybody in our room.”

Graduate Donaven McCulley, an Indiana transfer, is the wide receiver who’s been talked about by Michigan coaches and teammates this spring.

“He’s just a freak, really,” Morgan said. “He’s really a dawg. He reminds me of a taller version of myself. He’s older than me, so I don’t really want to say that. But he’s got that mentality to him, so you’re that big, you’re that talented and you got all the confidence in the world … I don’t think anybody’s gonna be able to stop him this year, to be honest with you. I believe that wholeheartedly.”

Hansen also pointed to McCulley as someone standing out, along with some other Michigan wide receivers.

“Donaven McCulley, he’s special, a rangy guy,” Hansen said. “Then you got Semaj and [junior] Fred[rick Moore], who just kept getting better. And everyone’s stepping up in that room. You got Andrew Marsh and Jamar Browder, the freshmen, out there making plays. I think it’s just been cool overall to see how the wide receiver room has really been contributing and producing in practice.”