Michigan football position battle at edge rusher could bleed into the season

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. — After losing many of the program’s top edge rushers from last year, including Mike Morris, the Wolverines need some younger talent to step up this fall. According to head coach Jim Harbaugh, who spoke at Big Ten Media Day this afternoon, the Wolverines are in good shape, but this notable Michigan football position battle may bleed into the first few weeks of the regular season.

Jim Harbaugh says Michigan football position battle may bleed into the regular season

Braiden McGregor and others are needed to step up for this year’s Michigan football defense to thrive as it has in years past. The edge rusher position has been an essential part of Michigan’s impressive turnaround this decade, going from 2-4 in 2020 to winning back-to-back Big Ten titles in 2021 and 2022.

According to Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football has a solid position battle going on right now at edge rusher, which may need a few weeks of the regular season to get worked out.

“The edge position — I see four really good edge players there, at least,” Jim Harbaugh said during his Big Ten Media Day press conference this afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium. “Probably going to witness the same situation (as the cornerbacks) there that may go into game one, game two. Very similar to what we saw last year at the quarterback position.”

Last year, Michigan football started Cade McNamara in Week 1 and JJ McCarthy in Week 2 before naming a full-time starter for the remainder of the year. As September approaches, keep an eye on the edge rushers, as there could be a lot of rotation going on, leading to many new faces seeing significant playing time during the early stages of the 2023 season.

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