The Wolverine Digest Pod

Michigan is now 3-0 after its less-than daunting non-conference schedule, but the wins weren't as impressive as most thought they would be. Of course, Jim Harbaugh was absent for all three, which begs the question — how big of a difference will Harbaugh make now that he's back?

That question will be answered the weekend as the Wolverines host Rutgers in the Big Ten opener. Harbaugh is back, Michigan is relatively healthy and everyone else on staff can return to their normal duties. To me, this should be the best Michigan has looked all season, even though it's against easily the best opponent in a 3-0 Rutgers team that has been a thorn in U-M's side in recent years.

There's plenty to talk about when it comes to Michigan football. JJ McCarthy has been razor sharp, the running game is just a little behind schedule, Jesse Minter's defense has been lights out and Jim Harbaugh has just one game remaining on his suspension. The Wolverines are easily 2-0 and still No. 2 in the country.

With that said, most people in the world of Big Ten football are talking about Mel Tucker and Michigan State. Tucker really blew it....and now it looks like he'll be out of a job as soon as the law allows. Michigan won't travel to East Lansing until October 21, which would be a little over two weeks after Tucker is officially terminated per the current timeline. It's really going to be interesting to see how things play out for MSU, as Michigan continues to win week after week.

Michigan is sitting at 1-0 after beating ECU pretty easily in week one, but it wasn't perfect and didn't look how most people thought it would. The Wolverines only scored one rushing touchdown and weren't able to run the ball like they did just about every week last year. Blake Corum led the way with 73 yards rushing and the lone score, while Donovan Edwards mustered just 37 yards on 12 carries. Obviously Michigan wants to run the ball, but it just wasn't working.

What was working, was the passing attack with JJ McCarthy. The junior signal caller was SHARP on Saturday going 26-of-30 for 280 yards and three touchdowns. At one point, No. 9 completed 15 passes in a row and could not miss no matter where he threw the ball from. Roman Wilson was McCarthy's favorite target on the day catching all three touchdown passes, while Cornelius Johnson and Colston Loveland both proved productive as well. At the end of the day, Michigan wins the game 30-3 without trying all that hard.

Just a few days before kicking off the 2023 season, Michigan assistants Ron Bellamy and Chris Partridge spoke to the media for the first time this offseason. For Bellamy, it's about finding a reliable third and fourth receiver behind Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson. For much of camp, Tyler Morris was in the No. 3 spot, but he's apparently "working through something" as game No. 1 approaches. Bellamy talked about a trio of freshmen and also Darrius Clemons when explaining who might be asked to step up.

Partridge spoke about his linebacker room but it was what he said about Jim Harbaugh that seemed to draw the most attention. After being here three years ago, Partridge says that now, this is officially Jim's team. The players have all taken on Harbaugh's personality and that's the reason for the A+ culture and two straight seasons of success. With the 2023 campaign literally just around the corner, Partridge can't wait to be standing on the sidelines again now that the team is ready for another big step.

The season hasn't started yet, but there's already a lot going on when it comes to Michigan football. Jim Harbaugh is suspended for the first three games, while offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Sherrone Moore is suspended for just the opener. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will call the shots in game one, while Moore, who will be back after his one game hiatus, will be the head man for game No. 3. The second game will be a split — Jay Harbaugh will run the show during the first half, while Mike Hart will call the shots in the second half. It's weird, but it's very on brand for Harbaugh.

As for the opener, Minter is excited to be in charge and seemed supremely confident during his Monday afternoon press conference. His defensive players are obviously very excited for their guy and he's as sharp as they come, giving the players confidence as well. Eastern Carolina is no slouch, but the Wolverines are favored by 35.5 and should roll to 1-0 even without two of their most important coaches.

It's a lot of fun to be a Michigan football fan right now. The Wolverines are No. 2 in the country, loaded on both sides of the ball, possess one of the best overall coaching staffs in the entire country and get the hated Ohio State Buckeyes at home. It's hard to find a weakness on this team and there's depth like never before under Jim Harbaugh. All of that has the maize and blue looking like potential national champions in 2023.

In the virtual world, EA Sports' college football game is set to come back next summer, which really makes you think about U-M's roster now and in the future. Discussing JJ McCarthy's throw power, Jaylen Harrell's pass rushing abilities and comparing Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards is a lot of fun. It's going to be very entertaining to play that game next summer, but it's going to be even more fun to watch the Wolverines in real life this fall.

Michigan football is officially back. The Wolverines kicked off fall camp on August 2 and will obviously take the field a month later in the season opener against Eastern Carolina. Jim Harbaugh was chipper and confident while in Indianapolis for Big Ten Media Days because he knows he has a TEAM. He's got key guys in key place, fantastic leadership on the roster and arguably the best overall staff in the entire country. To say that Michigan is poised for a major run in 2023 is an understatement.

Yet for some reason, several major outlets and talking heads still have Ohio State at the top of the pile in the Big Ten. Michigan has dominated the Buckeyes for two straight years and appear to have the horses and the scheme to do it again in Ann Arbor. Ohio State, on the other hand, is breaking in a new quarterback and has a few question marks on the depth chart. It's going to be real interesting to see where the two teams are in November, but right now Michigan is the top dog and it's not close.

Whether it was new Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule talking about making the Huskers great again, Luke Fickell discussing what made Wisconsin an attractive job, Ryan Day looking a little less confident than he used to or Jim Harbaugh proudly taking the stage as the back-to-back defending Big Ten champ, media days in Indianapolis went off without a hitch. All 14 coaches took to the main stage and then broke out for their individual sessions, along with players from every program except Northwestern, in what has become the kickoff event for the football season.

Topics like the Michigan/Michigan State rivalry, potentially moving "The Game", the "Beat Georgia" drill and everything in between were discussed at length while everyone was gathered in Indianapolis and now, for Michigan, it's just about getting things going (on July 2), remaining healthy and taking care of business, with or without Jim Harbaugh.

Over the past couple of weeks, both Michigan basketball and football reeled in a player from the transfer portal that could help in a major way during the upcoming season. For Juwan Howard, it was Olivier Nkamhoua. The former Tennessee Volunteer is expected to contribute in a major way as a 6-9, 236-pound, high-energy, do-it-all kind of player. Last year, he was the lone Volunteer to play in all 36 games and had career-bests in scoring (10.8 ppg), assists (2.0 apg) and minutes played (25.3 mpg). On the gridiron, Michigan landed UMass transfer cornerback Josh Wallace, who has played more than 2,000 snaps of college football. He's expected to start opposite Will Johnson and might just shore up the one spot on U-M's defense that wasn't rock solid.

As for Michigan's offense, it might showcase JJ McCarthy and the pass catchers a bit more in 2023 than in 2022. Jim Harbaugh recently stated that last year's offense was a 50/50 run-pass split. This year, Harbaugh said things might be more like 60/40 in favor of the pass. If that happens, cool, if not, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards are certainly ready to carry the load.

Michigan basketball took another hit, this time a big one, as incoming transfer Caleb Love has decided not to come to Ann Arbor. Whether it's because of academics, admissions or because Love simply doesn't want to play for Juwan Howard doesn't really matter. What matters, is that he's not going to wear the maize and blue and the roster without him is quite unimpressive. Now, Howard has a small handful of scholarships to use before the upcoming season.

On the gridiron, Jim Harbaugh's program is humming along like a well-oiled machine. He has the No. 1 recruiting class in the entire country for the 2024 cycle, he just added Bo Schembechler's son to his staff (do with that what you want) and he's got one of the most complete and loaded rosters in the entire country.