Michigan a Top 10 team in Joel Klatt's post-spring rankings

Fox Sports' college football analyst Joel Klatt has the Wolverines in Top 10, just outside national title contenders heading into 2024...

Dec 4, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt interviews Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big Ten Conference championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

As the calendar turns to June, college football programs across the country are leaving spring practice in the rearview mirror and will soon charge head-first into summer conditioning.

It's as good a time as any to reevaluate the state of the national landscape ahead of the 2024 season, and that's what Fox Sports' analyst Joel Klatt recently did with his "post-spring Top 25 rankings".

At No. 8 in the country, Michigan is one of seven Big Ten programs that Klatt included in his Top 25, one spot ahead of No. 9 Penn State while trailing No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Oregon.

"They get the benefit of the doubt over Penn State because they have handled Penn State physically over the last couple years," Klatt said of the Wolverines, referencing Michigan's three consecutive victories over the Nittany Lions.

READ MORE: 247Sports' Josh Pate high on Michigan, doesn't think Wolverines will repeat as national champions

There's been a ton of change in Ann Arbor since the Wolverines hoisted the national championship trophy in Houston this past January. Head coach Jim Harbaugh is in Los Angeles coaching the Chargers, and took the majority of Michigan's defensive coaching staff with him, as well as strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert.

Michigan also saw 13 players from the national title-winning Team 144 get selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, and several others enter the professional ranks as undrafted free agents. Yet, despite all that newness, Klatt said things felt familiar around Ann Arbor when he was in town covering the Wolverines' spring game in mid-April.

"It doesn't feel all that different," Klatt said. "Everything is the same, and yet everybody is different. I get it — new head coach, new coordinator, new strength coach, new quarterback. And yet, it's just kind of business as usual because all those people are promoted from within, running the same systems."

Michigan promoted offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore to head coach, and Moore was able to retain several of U-M offensive coaches. Moore then hired defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, the mentor of previous DCs Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter, to take over the Wolverines' defense.

"If you're a player at Michigan, you're speaking the same language, you're doing the same things, your structure is the same and the standard is the same," Klatt said. "Nothing has changed for the players, and us on the outside look in and we say everything is different. So, it's a little bit of an interesting dichotomy."

Despite an almost entirely new defensive coaching staff, Klatt expects Michigan to once again have one of the top defenses in the country in 2024 with several star talents returning on that side of the ball.

"The defense is going to be incredibly good again," Klatt said. "They are so good up front. It's the best defensive tackle core in America — Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant. They've got good players on the outside. Will Johnson's probably the best corner in the country, arguably. That defense is going to be stout, there's no doubt."

There are more questions on offense, where the Wolverines have to settle on a new starting quarterback to replace J.J. McCarthy. Michigan returns Donovan Edwards to its backfield, and will likely be a run-dominant team again this fall, but there will be a ceiling on this team if a difference-maker doesn't emerge at QB.

"They've got to figure out what's going on at quarterback," Klatt said. "Is it going to be Alex Orji, Davis Warren, maybe Jack Tuttle at quarterback. They're going to have to figure that out as they move forward."

After going 15-0 a season ago, Michigan has a tall task ahead with their 2024 schedule. The Wolverines will face three of Klatt's preseason Top 5 teams, with No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Oregon coming to Ann Arbor in Week's 2 and 10, respectively, and Michigan traveling to No. 1 Ohio State in Week 14. The Wolverines also host USC (No. 15 in Klatt's rankings) in Week 4 and have to travel to Washington in Week 6.

"That schedule doesn't do them any favors, there's no doubt," Klatt said. "That's ridiculously difficult. The only one that's maybe more difficult is [Oklahoma]. So, Michigan has a lot to prove."

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