4 things to watch for during Michigan Football’s televised spring game

Unless you were lucky enough to watch the spring game in person, you haven’t watched the Michigan Wolverines on the football field since New Year’s Eve. Let’s be real, this game gets a lot of us through the offseason, right? Sure, the basketball team had a great season, and now I get to tell people the men’s gymnastics team won a National Championship, but it’s still not the same as talking about college football.

With the tape delay, I’ve had to rely on social media posts over the last few days to try and assess how this team will look in the fall. Here’s what I’m looking forward to seeing on Sunday morning based on my social media “sleuthing.”

QB Bryce Underwood’s TD pass to TE Jalen Hoffman

This game may be worth watching just to see the 88-yard trick play from Bryce Underwood to Jalen Hoffman. I’ve watched it from a few different angles online, but I am interested to see how the tape delay shows it unfold.

Outside of this pass, it’ll be nice to see how Underwood looks against the defense. While I don’t expect him to look polished, it’s going to be exciting to see how he throws and where he’s looking during a friendly scrimmage.

RB Micah Ka’apana’s touchdown

This goes beyond just seeing Micah Ka’apana in action, but looking at how the run game looked overall. While Chip Lindsey has experience with more of a spread offense, we know the Wolverines aren’t trying to shift their identity. It’s interesting that Ka’apana got into the end zone, and it’ll be nice to see how the offensive line played a role in his touchdown.

Obviously, we expect Jordan Marshall and Justice Haynes to get a lot of the snaps this season, but it’ll be good to see how the depth behind them looks, including Ka’apana.

Honorary coaches Blake Corum and Kris Jenkins

I’m not entirely sure what to expect from Michigan’s spring game coverage on Saturday. Last year’s game was a full broadcast with interviews with current and former players. But it is cool to see that Blake Corum and Kris Jenkins were honorary coaches.

These two always talk about how much Michigan means to them, but to see them return is really cool, and I’m hoping there are some interviews with them included on the broadcast.

What’s the story behind the score?

The final score of 17-0 doesn’t seem that encouraging on paper, but it’s hard to judge a spring game by the score alone. I can’t wait to see how the Blue team’s defense managed to shut out the Maize team.

I know the quarterbacks also had some turnovers — it’ll be frustrating, I’m sure, to watch those plays. But when you have a 17-year-old and a redshirt freshman under center, it’s unrealistic to expect too much from them. They’re still learning, and the expectation is that they both will improve.

What are you hoping to see out of this year’s spring game? Let us know in the comments!