Michigan Wolverines football had one of the worst offenses in the nation last season, ranking 129th with only 286.2 yards per game. The Maize and Blue especially struggled through the air, ending the year as the only team in the sport — including service academies — to not complete a 40-plus yards pass.
But Michigan has turned the page on that side of the ball, and the players are embracing new coordinator Chip Lindsey, who led dynamic offenses at North Carolina each of the past two seasons.
Michigan’s offense was well behind the defense at this time last year during fall camp, but the gap has closed, according to sophomore running back Jordan Marshall, who broke out with 100 yards in a 19-13 win over Alabama to cap off the 2024 campaign.
“The energy and the spot that Chip and [Michigan head] Coach [Sherrone] Moore have this offense in is scary — and it’s scary right now. It’s not scary in a few weeks. It wasn’t scary two weeks ago. It’s scary right now.
“The biggest thing with our offense that we’re trying to capture is keeping that long term, keeping this upward slope, never having a bad day, making sure that no matter if you’re getting the ball, if you’re not getting the ball, playing without the ball …”
Michigan’s offense was a slog last season, but the talk of both spring and fall camp practices is the group’s ability to make plays down the field. The physical nature of the run game isn’t going anywhere, either, since Lindsey has vowed to play the Wolverines’ style of ball while putting his own twist on the system.
“I said it the other day to [running backs] Coach [Tony] Alford that we have so many guys that can make plays — not just the first-string guys that go out there,” Marshall continued. “Young guys have the ability to make plays, and they’re all detailed about what they’re doing. They’re all locked in, in meetings.
“It’s a standard that we’ve set and Chip has set and Coach Moore has set. For Chip and Coach Moore to balance their offense out there on the field, it’s scary.”
Marshall — and the entire country, at this point — has seen Michigan’s defense on a yearly basis. The Wolverines are typically strong on that side of the ball, so there’s excitement about the offense potentially holding up its end of the bargain in 2025.
“We’ve been challenging our defense,” Marshall explained. “And to have that competitiveness with our defense, we play the best defense every single day. To go against those guys and have that competitive juice, this is gonna be one scary team.”
Marshall was asked to identify a couple playmakers are standing out to him besides himself and junior running back Justice Haynes, and he couldn’t just list one or two.
“[Michigan senior tight end] Marlin [Klein] is playing great,” Marshall began. “[Graduate wide receiver] Donaven McCulley is playing great. ‘Maj [junior Semaj Morgan] is balling; he’s playing well. [Graduate] Peyton [O’Leary] is Mr. Reliable. I mean, [junior] Fred[rick Moore], [junior] KB [Kendrick Bell]. It’s hard to just say one guy, because they’ve all made plays. [Graduate Anthony] Simp[son] has made plays. You put any guy out there.”
Michigan players were excited about the offense last fall camp, or at least they said so publicly. But with the benefit of having gone through that experience and looking back, Marshall insists it’s different.
“It’s just fun. It wasn’t like this last year,” he noted. “We weren’t slinging the ball. And to see the explosive plays that not only the running backs are having but also the receivers, how much energy we have when somebody else is making plays. That’s how you know you have a good team is when you’re unselfish.”
The Michigan offense has been bringing the energy every day.
“That’s my favorite part about this team is it’s an unselfish offense,” Marshall said. “No matter what’s going on, when we score, everybody is off the sideline running to celebrate. Coach Moore gets made because we’re all on the field and we’re running down there, like we just scored our first touchdown. But that energy is gonna really show when we go out to game one and we see somebody else score and everybody is down there. It’s just exciting.
“It’s a totally different team than I saw last year. It just makes me so happy to be here and be in this spot, because I really, truly think that we’re gonna compete for a national championship this year.”
Michigan players connecting well with Chip Lindsey
Lindsey is a native of Madison, Alabama, and has spent the majority of his coaching career in the South. His accent has been a frequent topic of conversations, and he’s had fun mixing it up with the Wolverines’ players, with the roster hailing from all across America.
“Everybody loves him,” Marshall said with a smile. “He has a little southern twang. When he talks, it’s funny. We’ve got guys that’ll say stuff. It’s just funny. Hearing him talk sometimes and the things he says, we’re like, ‘Is it that play or that play? What is he talking about?’
“He’ll play some country music and try to get everybody to sing along. It’s always a blast with him.”
The relationships have been built since Lindsey joined the Michigan staff in December.
“I think the players have really connected with him, and the relationships he’s had and connecting with players, they know that he came from UNC and he had a great quarterback, great receivers, great running backs, so they know what he can do and how he can make sure everybody’s tools and how they play is out there on the film,” Marshall said.
“He’s excited because he hasn’t been on a team that’s this physical, and this team is physical across the board. Just to have him, somebody that is about relationships, about getting to know the players — not just on the field, but you can go down to his office and just talk to him — ever since he’s been here, I’ve loved being around him, loved getting to know him. And again, he’s a funny dude.”
