Several former Michigan Wolverines from Jim Harbaugh era off to hot starts in the 2024 NFL season

While the 2024 Michigan Wolverines have not got off to the best start this college football season, some former Wolverines have been making noise early this NFL season.

Harbaugh also brought several members of his staff with him to LA. Most notably defensive coordinator Jesse Minter headed out west and has the Bolts defense flying around early. 

Through 2 weeks Minter’s D ranks first in points given up per game with 6.5 points and second in yards per game with 227.5 yards. Minter formally served as a position coach in the NFL alongside Jim’s brother John in Baltimore. 

He seems to have things figured out early as a first time NFL coordinator, and yes, doing so without Connor Stalions. 

Another former defensive coordinator for the maize and blue has also gotten off to a hot start as a first time head coach in the NFL in Mike Macdonald who has gotten wins in his first two games. 

Macdonald also spent time with the Ravens as a position coach prior to spending only one season as DC at Michigan before getting brought back to Baltimore to lead their defense. 

While the former coaches have been stelar, there are also some former Wolverine players who have looked great in the first 2 weeks of the NFL season. 

Former Michigan defensive end, Heisman Trophy finalist, and current Detroit Lion Aidan Hutchinson currently leads the league in sacks with 5.5, including a huge Week 2 performance against Tampa Bay where he sacked Baker Mayfield three times in 1st quarter.

Hutchinson was part of the Michigan program from 2018-2021 and was one of the most important pieces of that 2021 Michigan team that got the program back on the right track. 

Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins is another former Wolverine who is currently at the top of the league in receiving yards with 252 yards. Collins was a guy who flew under the radar during his time at Michigan from 2017-2019. During those years he racked up 1,388 receiving yards, only 91 more than what he had during one season in Houston (2023). 

Collins broke onto the scene last year when former Ohio State Buckeye CJ Stroud became his quarterback. The two have put the rivalry aside to become one of the most lethal QB/WR duos in the NFL. 

With all the success that the Michigan program has had in recent years it makes sense to see their guys producing at the next level. The 2024 Wolverines will look to emulate that success and get their season trending in the right direction in a huge Week 4 matchup with USC at the Big House on Saturday.

Following the 2023 National Championship victory head coach Jim Harbaugh went back to the big leagues as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. To the surprise of many Harbaugh has gotten off to an impressive 2-0 start and has the organization trending in the right direction. 

While Harbaugh’s team has looked great on the field, I would argue the best part of him being back in the NFL is the incredible quotes we get from his weekly press conferences.