Sherrone Moore's Michigan football team will report to camp at the end of July. Here's a look at players to watch at some positions.
The 2025 Michigan football team has its official camp start date.
The Wolverines will begin preseason practice July 30, just more than two weeks away, program spokesman Dave Ablauf told the Free Press. That start date is scheduled less than one week after U-M coach Sherrone Moore and three player representatives — edge Derrick Moore, fullback/tight end Max Bredeson and linebacker Ernest Hausmann — are set to descend upon Las Vegas for Big Ten Media Days, July 23-25.
It's also exactly one month prior to the 2025 opener at Michigan Stadium on Aug. 30 against New Mexico (7:30 p.m., NBC).
Michigan's starting quarterback competition is once again the most critical storyline, and this year fans certainly want freshman Bryce Underwood to win the job. The 17-year-old from Belleville was the No. 1 player in the nation for the 2025 class.
He'll be flanked by new pass catchers Donovan McCulley (Indiana transfer), Anthony Simpson (UMass transfer) and Andrew Marsh (Katy Jordan High School), returnees Semaj Morgan and Fred Moore and tight ends Marlin Kelin and Hogan Hansen.
The backfield should largely be a two-man job split between Justice Haynes (Alabama) and sophomore Jordan Marshall.
On defense, stars Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant and Will Johnson are gone, but U-M coaches have lauded the depth they've seen from the group in spring and summer.
The leaders of the defensive line seem to be Moore, TJ Guy and Rayshaun Benny, and newcomers Tre Williams (Clemson transfer) and Damon Payne (Alabama transfer) will also factor. Sophomore edge Dominic Nichols could be this year's breakout player.
The most proven group in defensive coordinator Wink Martindale's unit is linebacker, led by expected 2026 NFL Draft picks Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham with Jimmy Rolder serving as a "third starter" behind them.
In the secondary, the return of Rod Moore would be a major boon, while Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry and Mason Curtis are all expected to take the next steps in their development. In addition to them, U-M got the Metcalf brothers from Arkansas (TJ and Tevis), the hard-hitting Brandyn Hillman, former All-Big Ten standout Jaden Mangham from Michigan State and a promising young freshman in Shamari Earls to round out the secondary.
On special teams, Michigan brings back perhaps the best kicker in the nation in Dominic Zvada: He went 21-for-22 on field goals last year (the only miss was a block), which included a program-record seven makes from 50-plus yards. The punter battle will come down to Hudson Hollenbeck and Missouri transfer Luke Bauer.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football sets start date for 2025 preseason camp
Category: General Sports
