Michigan spring game takeaways: Young talent shows up on offense, questions remain along defensive line

Michigan finished off spring ball with its annual Maize & Blue game, as the Blue team edged the Maize team 20-12 at Michigan Stadium in the first spring after winning the Big Ten Championship.

Running back Blake Corum rushed for 40 yards on just seven carries for the Blue Team, but redshirt freshman Tavierre Dunlap led the way with 73 yards rushing and a touchdown, followed by a memorable “keg stand” celebration afterwards. Maize Team quarterback Davis Warren added 175 passing yards.

Steak dinners were the reward for the winning team, while the losing Maize Team will eat hot dogs. However, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh noted after the game that while he technically didn’t coach either team, he was more than happy to eat hot dogs anyway.

Here are major takeaways from Michigan’s spring game.

1. Young playmakers showed up

Michigan struggled with having enough offensive skill talent during its Big Ten championship season, but there are some bright spots on the horizon.

At receiver, early enrollee Darrius Clemons looked like the total package. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound pass-catcher caught three balls for 52 yards, including a beautiful 35-yard touchdown that brought fellow wideout Ronnie Bell to his feet. Clemons was targeted 10 times and would have had even more production with some better passes.

At running back, the Blue Team leaned on Dunlap with strong results. Dunlap rushed 18 times in the victory and, combined with Corum, could quickly become one of Michigan’s top running backs.

2.QB3 battle

Wolverines starting quarterback Cade McNamara and backup JJ McCarthy didn’t play much, but it opened the cupboard to give the rest of the roster an opportunity to shine. Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman (Blue) and walk-on Davis Warren (Maize) took the majority of snaps.

While Bowman came to Ann Arbor with high marks, Warren was a revelation. He completed 12-of-23 passes for 175 yards in an impressive performance and made a few big-time throws. Bowman finished with good numbers – he went 9 of 19 for 100 yards and two touchdowns – but also dealt with multiple passes batted down and errant throws. Harbaugh has two good options, but Warren came out on top in the first battle.

3. Rotation on the defensive line

Harbaugh played his cards close to the vest on the defensive line, as numerous players got into the game and caused issues. Defensive linemen Kris Jenkins and linebacker Michael Barrett were credited with sacks on the Maize team. Linebacker Jaylen Harrell had one of the biggest plays of the spring game, forcing a strip-sack on the penultimate play of the game.

Replacing star defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo remains perhaps the biggest question facing Michigan heading into the 2022 season. The spring game did not bring them much closer to answering the question. However, the athletic linebacking corps could be up to the challenge of replacing some of those snaps in defensive coordinator Jesse Minter’s defense.

4.Halftime showcase

Michigan brought former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick to Ann Arbor as an honorary captain more than five years after he played his final NFL game. Kaepernick held a workout at halftime and threw to receivers as an opportunity to show NFL teams his skillset. Harbaugh has a long relationship with Kaepernick dating back to the quarterback leading Harbaugh’s 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2012.