Sherrone Moore leaves the door open for key playmakers to return for Wolverines’ College Football Playoff push

The Michigan Wolverines are set to get some key players back on both sides of the ball as they push for the College Football Playoffs

AJ Schulte — College Football Trending News Writer
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Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore watches warm up at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday, October 25, 2025.
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Michigan Wolverines have been ravaged by injuries so far in the 2025 season. 25 different playmakers have missed time due to injury this year, and it’s taken a toll on the roster. Numerous younger players are being forced into starting roles, even if many aren’t ready, and it’s played a part in the Wolverines’ struggle in recent weeks.

However, the bye week arrived at the perfect time, as the Wolverines look to get some much-needed reinforcements ahead of their final three-game stretch to make a run for the College Football Playoff at the end of the season. On his “Inside Michigan Football” radio show, head coach Sherrone Moore seemed optimistic about a few key players returning to action sooner than later, even if he did stick with his typical frustrating attitude regarding injuries.

As the Wolverines gear up to take on Northwestern and Maryland before The Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team is hoping to have all of their starters back. As Moore said, they’ll “get more clarity” as the week goes on, but each of them at least participated in practice, opening the door for them to enter game action for the home stretch of the year.

Michigan Wolverines Injuries

  • 25 different Michigan Wolverines have missed at least one game this season
  • Starting linebackers Cole Sullivan and Jimmy Rolder missed last week, but at least one could return this week. Linebacker turned edge rusher Jaishawn Barham has also been hurt
  • Bryce Underwood could get a big boost this week, as receiver Donaven McCulley and tight end Marlin Klein could return to action this weekend against Northwestern

Michigan needs the reinforcements

The bye week was just what Michigan needed, as they limped into the bye week with numerous injuries after some truly dreadful performances against Michigan State and Purdue in recent weeks. Now as they look to travel for back-to-back road performances, the rest was much-needed. Michigan is hoping for a similar finish to last season, where they responded off a bye to a three-game win streak that started with Northwestern and finished with them taking down Ohio State and Alabama to finish 8-5.

Hearing some positive news on the injury front would go a long way in helping the Wolverines get to that point, and according to Moore, the news is hopeful inside Schembechler Hall.

“We’ll get further clarity as we go through the week. All three of them [linebackers] did stuff yesterday in practice. They all moved around. They all looked fairly healthy. We had a conditioning thing afterward — they all participated in that. Not everybody wanted to do it, but felt like it was needed coming off of a couple days off. So, we’ll see how they progress through the week.”

Additionally, with the return of McCulley and Klein, the offense should hopefully get a boost after back-to-back clunkers. Quarterback Bryce Underwood only passed for 86 yards on Michigan State and 145 on Purdue, but McCulley is the team’s leading receiver and Klein isn’t too far behind him in fourth place.

With running back Justice Haynes likely out for the season, the passing game will need to pick up the slack and deliver if the offense wants to amount to anything, especially against the elite defense of Ohio State.

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