The college football season is quickly approaching, as is evidenced by conferences all over the country hosting their media days. (Big Ten coaches, players and media will all gather in Indianapolis next week, if you were wondering.)

It's the time of year that always marks the unofficial start to a new campaign, and for defending champion Michigan football, there are more questions than at this time a year ago, when six seniors and graduate students set the tone by returning to Ann Arbor for "unfinished business."

The Wolverines finished that business with the program's first 15-0 season and first national championship since 1997, but there's no doubt U-M has to replace a lot of talent from that team, including 13 players selected in April's NFL draft, a program record.

That said, the Wolverines still return All-Americans in defensive lineman Mason Graham and cornerback Will Johnson, other projected first-round picks such as defensive lineman Kenneth Grant and tight end Colston Loveland and even a video game cover athlete (running back Donovan Edwards), so it's not as if new head coach Sherrone Moore is starting from the ground up.

But heading into the season, there are quite a few questions, including which position will be the strongest group for Michigan come this fall.

Here is the power ranking of Michigan football's various positions headed into the 2024 season.

No. 1: Defensive line

Projected starters: Derrick Moore, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Josiah Stewart.

Expected contributors: Rayshaun Benny, TJ Guy, Enow Etta, Cameron Brandt, Trey Pierce, Ike Iwunnah.

The buzz: There's a decent chance all four of these starters are selected in next year's NFL draft (depending on if Moore returns for a senior season) and an expectation that at least one, if not two, will go in the first round. Simply put, Graham is one of the best players in college football. As a sophomore, he was one of just two players in the nation to finish in the top 10 against the run and the pass in Pro Football Focus' grades, one of many reasons he's seen as a near-lock to go top-10 next spring. He's paired with Grant, a 340-pound behemoth who is a game-wrecker in his own right.

2. Defensive backs

Projected starters: Will Johnson, Aamir Hall, Makari Paige, Quinten Johnson, Jaden Mangham.

Expected contributors: Jyaire Hill, Wesley Welker, Ja’Den McBurrows, Zeke Berry, Ricky Johnson, Keshaun Harris, (Rod Moore).

The buzz: If Graham isn't the best player on Michigan, it's because Will Johnson is. A freshman All-American in 2022, then a second-team USA TODAY All-American last season, Johnson has received accolades all offseason long, whether that's ESPN projecting him as the No. 3 pick in next year's NFL Draft, or the recently released EA Sports College Football 25 video game ranking him as a 96 overall, the highest in the game. And Michigan's secondary is stacked well beyond that. New defensive backs coach Lamar Morgan beefed up his rotation when he added Jaden Mangham (Michigan State), Wesley Welker (Tennessee), Ricky Johnson (UNLV) and Aamir Hall (Albany) in a 72-hour stretch. With the return of Makari Paige and sixth-year safety Quinten Johnson — not to mention Rod Moore, who could put this unit over the top as the best in the nation if he were healthy — there is tremendous depth and talent in the room.

3. Tight ends

Projected starter: Colston Loveland.

Expected contributors: Max Bredeson, Marlin Klein, Zach Marshall, Brady Prieskorn, Hogan Hansen.

The buss: Another unit with a projected first-round pick, ho-hum. Colston Loveland has a chance to go down as the best tight end to come through Ann Arbor and figures to be a focal point of the offense, no matter who wins the starting quarterback job. He caught 45 passes for 649 yards and four touchdowns last season and is one of the favorites to win the Mackey Award this year as the nation's top tight end. He will be aided by Max Bredeson, who plays a hybrid role as a fullback, and there was a lot of talk in the spring about 6-foot-5 junior Marlin Klein, who new tight ends coach Steve Casula said he views as a starter.

4. Linebackers

Projected starters: Ernest Hausmann, Jaishawn Barham.

Expected contributors: Jimmy Rolder, Micah Pollard, Jaydon Hood, Christian Boivin.

The buzz: It's never easy to lose nine years of experience when two players (Junior Colson and Michael Barrett) leave, but U-M's linebacker room is still in solid shape. Former Nebraska transfer Ernest Hausmann was the understudy for both Colson and Barrett last season, and he will start at one of the spots while Maryland transfer Jaishawn Barham is projected to start at the other. Behind them, Jimmy Rolder, Micah Pollard and Jaydon Hood all have multiple years of experience in Ann Arbor, and Christian Boivin became a special teams standout last year.

5. Offensive line

Projected starters: Myles Hinton, Josh Priebe, Greg Crippen, Gio El-Hadi, Andrew Gentry.

Expected contributors: Jeff Persi, Tristan Bounds, Raheem Anderson, Evan Link, Nathan Efobi.

The buzz: For the first time in a long time, there are some questions for the offensive line. Over the past three years, Michigan has won the Joe Moore Award (as the nation's best offensive line) twice, and was a semifinalist last year. But all of the starters from those teams are gone, which leaves players who have experience in backup roles that will need to step up. The starting unit seems to be decent; Myles Hinton was seen as a potential NFL pick before opting to come back, Josh Priebe was All-Big Ten at Northwestern and Gio El-Hadi and Greg Crippen both have appeared in at least a dozen games. Still, there's not as much depth as recent years, and players such as Andrew Gentry, Jeff Persi and Raheem Anderson will all need to show that years in the system have paid off.

6. Running backs

Expected starters: Donovan Edwards.

Expected contributors: Kalel Mullings, Max Bredeson, Tavierre Dunlap, Benjamin Hall, Cole Cabana.

The buzz: There's no denying the running back room took a major hit this offseason — it lost Blake Corum, the most decorated ball carrier in the history of the program. Still, the room now led by former Ohio State RB coach Tony Alford is still in good hands, thanks in large part to Donovan Edwards. It was a down year last season for the West Bloomfield alumnus, who had just 393 yards on 113 entering the College Football Playoff. But his performance in the CFP final —six rushes for 119 yards and two scores — more than made up for it. A weapon in the passing game as well, Edwards is just 89 yards away from setting the Michigan record for receiving yards by a running back. He will be complemented by converted linebacker Kalel Mullings, who said this spring he's out to prove he's more than just a short-yardage back. Bredeson will figure into the running game as a bulldozer, while Tavierre Dunlap and Benjamin Hall will battle for the third running back position.

7. Wide receivers

Projected starters: Tyler Morris, Semaj Morgan.

Expected contributors: Fredrick Moore, Payton O’Leary, CJ Charleston, Amorion Walker, Kendrick Bell.

Unit thoughts: Both of last year's starters (Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson) were drafted, but even though this unit ranks toward the bottom, that doesn't mean there aren't capable pieces. Semaj Morgan excelled last year as a true freshman, cracking the playing rotation and catching 22 passes for 204 yards and two scores, rushing four times for 67 yards and a score and setting a Big Ten championship game record with an 87-yard punt return. Tyler Morris had a decent season with 13 grabs for 197 yards, but really flashed his potential when he caught a 33-yard touchdown pass in the Rose Bowl for the first score of his collegiate career. Beyond that, Morris told the Free Press that Fredrick Moore was going to have a special season, while U-M also added CJ Charleston (Youngstown State) from the portal and took Amorion Walker back from Ole Miss. There are decent athletes in Ron Bellamy's room, but no one has proven elite at this level.

8. Quarterbacks

Projected starter: Alex Orji.

Other options: Jack Tuttle, Davis Warren, Jayden Denegal, Jadyn Davis.

The buzz: Michigan lost the winningest quarterback in the history of the program when J.J. McCarthy was drafted 10th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in April, which leaves a major hole to fill. Currently, Alex Orji figures to be the favorite to win the starting job, but that will be determined when fall camp begins on July 31. Orji, the 6-3, 235-pound dual threat option provides a true running threat, while Jack Tuttle, a seventh-year senior, would bring experience to the huddle. Then there's Davis Warren, who without question threw the best ball of anybody in the spring game and was cited by Edwards earlier this month as someone who's truly stepped up as a leader. There's no bigger question for U-M than who will be quarterback and what will the offense look like with him under center.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Michigan football's position groups rank heading into 2024