10 Michigan football players poised for breakout season in 2024

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: Nobody in the state of Michigan is wishing away the summer that is just now beginning.

Yet as the warm months arrive, so too does the inevitability of fall and with that comes Michigan football. Much to the delight of those around Ann Arbor and throughout the country, the Wolverines are the defending national champions, and if U-M wants to repeat, a number of less-proven faces will need to make major contributions.

Of course, Team 145 consists of well-known All-Americans like Will Johnson and Mason Graham, as well as projected first-round selections like Colston Loveland and Kenneth Grant. But what about the less-known commodities who will make a huge impact by the time the season is all said and done?

In honor of the 10 Saturdays remaining before U-M kicks off against Fresno State under the lights in Ann Arbor on Aug. 31, here are Michigan’s 10 likeliest breakout candidates — those who weren’t among the top two or three performers in the position group last season — listed in alphabetical order.

LB Jaishawn Barham

Vitals: 6 feet 3, 248 pounds, junior.

Maryland linebacker Jaishawn Barham (1) signals for a fourth down after tackling Wisconsin running back Isaac Guerendo (20) on Saturday, November 5, 2022, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis.

Michigan only added two players in the early transfer portal window last winter, and the former Maryland linebacker is one who is expected to make an immediate impact. The linebacker from District Heights, Maryland (St. Frances) enters after starting the past two seasons at Maryland, where he played 23 games as an underclassman.

Barham was named a freshman All-American in 2022 by the College Football News and, last season took another step forward as an All-Big Ten honorable mention. Barham, a four-star prospect coming out of high school,…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/10-michigan-football-players-poised-100927711.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2024-06-19 10:09:27

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