Jordan Marshall calls Michigan's new offense ‘scary,' predicts national title contention

USA Today

2 days ago

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan football didn't have the worst possible year it could have last year (after all, it beat both rivals and won the bowl game against Alabama), but running back Jordan Marshall lamented after the ReliaQuest Bowl that the 8-5 record was not up to the team's standard. And now, much like in 2021, coming off the 2-4 season, you're hearing about culture changes and everyone coming together towards the common goal of winning.
The defense is expected to reload, and the offense has been the trouble area. But now Marshall appears to be much happier, noting on Thursday that what he's seen from his side of the ball is much, much improved, if not outright exceptional.
Fall camp hyperbole aside, there's at least some confidence brimming that the offense could see a big rebound with new personnel and a new offensive coordinator in Chip Lindsey.
"The energy and the spot that Chip and Coach Moore have this offense in is scary," Marshall said. "And it's scary right now. It's not scary in a few weeks. It wasn't scary two weeks ago. It's scary right now.
"So the biggest thing with our offense that we're trying to capture is keeping that long term. It's keeping this upward slope, never having a bad day, making sure that no matter if you're getting the ball, if you're not getting the ball, just playing without the ball.
"I said it the other day to Coach Alford, I was like, we have so many guys that can make plays. Not just the first-string guys that go out there. Young guys have the abilities to make plays. They're all detailed about what they're doing. They're all locked into meetings. It's a standard that we've set -- Chip has set, and Coach Moore has set. For Chip and Coach Moore to balance their offense and put it out there on the field, it's scary.
"We've been challenging our defense. To have that competitiveness with our defense, which again, I've said this before, we play the best defense every single day. To go against those guys and have that competitive juice, this is going to be one scary team."
Of course, the offensive optimism, at least outside of Schembechler Hall, comes with the running back tandem of Marshall and Justice Haynes, as well as quarterback Bryce Underwood. But the offensive line and receivers also have to come together.
When it comes to the pass game, Marshall is quite optimistic about the trajectory, noting several wideouts and pass catchers who have improved the status of the aerial attack. But it's more than that, it's the team camaraderie that Marshall believes will pay off most, and fans will get to see that sooner than later, he believes.
"I mean, Marlin's playing great. Donaven McCulley's playing great," Marshall said. "Semaj is balling. He's playing well. Peyton (O'Leary)'s Mr. Reliable. I mean, Fred (Moore), K.B. (Kendrick Bell) -- again, it's hard to just say one guy because they've all made plays, and you put any guy out there. Simp's (Andrew Simpson) made plays. It's just fun.
"I mean, it wasn't like this last year. We weren't slinging the ball. And to see the explosive plays that not only the running backs are having but the receivers, how much energy we have when somebody else is making plays, that's when you know you have a good team, is when you're unselfish. And that's my favorite part about this team is it's an unselfish offense. No matter what's going on, when we score, everybody's off the sideline running to celebrate. Coach Moore gets mad because we're all on the field and we're running down there like we just scored our first touchdown, but again, that energy is going to really show when we go out to game one and we see somebody else score and everybody's down there.
"It's just exciting, and it's a totally different team than I saw last year. It just makes me so happy to be here and be in this spot because I really truly think that we're going to compete for a national championship this year."
Fans will get the opportunity to see the new-look offense on August 30 when the Wolverines host New Mexico for the 2025 season opener at The Big House.