Michigan Football: 5 breakout freshmen to watch in 2018

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 1: Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines looks on from the sidelines during the second quarter of the Outback Bowl NCAA college football game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on January 1, 2018 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

1 of 6

Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines are facing a critical season in 2018. Which freshmen might we see contributing for Michigan football this year?

It’s reasonable to suggest that Michigan’s 2018 recruiting class wasn’t quite up to the Wolverines’ usual standards. Jim Harbaugh’s 2016 class ranked eighth in the nation and his 2017 class landed at fifth in the nation; the 2018 class was ranked 21st.

Still, it’s not a bad class by any measure. The group of freshmen is littered with four-star prospects and a number of players who will be expected to make an instant impact in Ann Arbor. Now that the NCAA has passed the new redshirting rule (if you missed it, players can participate in up to four games and still be eligible for a redshirt year), we’ll likely see a good portion of this class in action in 2018.

Here are five of the most intriguing prospects in the class — incoming freshmen who have a shot not just at seeing marginal playing time, but seeing the field often enough to eclipse the four-game barrier.

Home/Michigan Wolverines