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Michigan football practices 'more intense' this spring, Wolverines carrying momentum over from 'whooping' Ohio State and Alabama

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•04/04/25•

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Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore is the second-youngest head man in the Big Ten. (Photo by Lon Horwedel / TheWolverine.com)
Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore is the second-youngest head man in the Big Ten. (Photo by Lon Horwedel / TheWolverine.com)

Michigan Wolverines football both is trying to right some wrongs from last season and also carry the momentum over from some great performances — particularly on defense — at the end of the season as the team prepares for the 2025 campaign.

Michigan beat Northwestern (50-6), Ohio State (13-10) and Alabama (19-13) to conclude the year with an 8-5 record. The Wolverines allowed 29 total points in the last three games, including holding the Buckeyes to their lowest point total in a regular-season game since 2011.

Sophomore EDGE Dominic Nichols got the chance to play a decent chunk of snaps, 7 on defense, in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama. That was a confidence boost for him, but the late-season performances have also given the entire defense some mojo.

“That game was honestly huge for me,” Nichols said of the tilt versus Alabama. “I redshirted — I decided not to play the rest of my games that season, and that game was a huge opportunity for me and especially [junior] Cam[eron Brandt]. Cam had a great game that game, and it was great to get out there with him, the dude I’m gonna be playing with this year, and just get comfortable with each other. Great experience.”

Nichols said it’s “easy” to carry over that momentum to this season.

“We went from whipping Ohio State’s ass to … alright, sorry … we went from whooping Ohio State to whooping Alabama, too. You just roll into spring ball with that, and you go in feeling confident about yourself. It’s easy to make plays when you’re confident; it’s hard to make plays when you’re not confident.”

Michigan’s spring practices have been physical and intense in its second iteration under head coach Sherrone Moore. The Wolverines started by focusing on fundamentals for the first five practices, according to defensive line coach Lou Esposito, but have expanded their drills as time has gone on.

Nichols recalled when he visited Michigan as a recruit in the spring of 2023 — months before the Wolverines won the national championship with a perfect 15-0 season — and what he saw compared to seeing a Georgia practice.

“I visited a lot of schools during my recruiting process,” he pointed out. “I remember comparing this spring ball, because I was here was a recruit for their spring ball, to Georgia’s. And obviously Georgia at the time was also one of the best programs in the country, and this place was just different. It’s just how they go about things. We’re trained soldiers, is what it feels like. We’re going at it every day as we should, and just building to win every game this season.”

Added Nichols, on the biggest difference: “Physicality. That was the biggest thing. It’s not normal to go somewhere and see the ‘Beat Ohio’ drill, the sirens going off and dudes just getting ready to hit for three hours.

“Most schools just don’t do that, trying to save guys. You could say we’re trying to save guys … we got time to get healthy. We can go ahead and bang in the spring. That’s how it should be.”

Nichols said Michigan has ramped it up even from last year, when Moore was a brand new head coach.

“I think this spring is a little more intense,” he said. “We were going through some coaching changes last spring. And obviously for me it’s gonna be a little more intense — I came in as an early enrollee last spring, getting used to the whole process. But yeah, this spring, we’re ready to go and ready to play football.”

“Everybody” is setting the tone on that front, Nichols noted.

“It just seems like everybody wants to be out there and compete,” he added.

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