2025 Season Countdown: #36-40
40. TE Hogan Hansen (So.): Hansen certainly outplayed his countdown ranking last season, playing in ten games and making 7 catches for 78 yards and 1 touchdown. Assuming the pecking order remains the same, that should move Hansen up one spot since Colston Loveland went to the Bears in the 1st round of the NFL draft. With Marlin Klein as the starter, Hansen should be in the mix pretty regularly, along with H-backs Max Bredeson and Jalen Hoffman. Last year’s rank: #110.
39. LB Jimmy Rolder (RS Jr.): Rolder is one of those guys whose career has kind of slipped past. Now he’s in his fourth year, and though he has played quite a bit (31 games, including 24 on defense), he has yet to really make his mark. Over the past couple seasons, Michigan has brought in Ernest Hausmann from Nebraska and Jaishawn Barham from Maryland to play inside linebacker, and Rolder has patiently waited for his opportunity. This off-season saw the addition of Troy Bowles from Georgia, too. The 6’2″, 240 lb. Rolder would probably be starting by now in another era (26 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss in 2024), but it looks like he’ll be in the second group of inside linebackers, along with Cole Sullivan. Last year’s rank: #33.
38. OT Brady Norton (RS So.): Norton transferred to Michigan this off-season after spending two seasons at Cal Poly where he started eleven games in 2024, earning Freshman All-America status for FCS. Though the spring roster still listed him at 6’3″, 275 lbs., he insists that was his playing weight as a freshman and that he’s more like 315 lbs. now. I tend to think he’s a year away from playing at the Big Ten level, and he will probably end up playing guard before all is said and done. For now I think he’ll be one of the top eight or nine linemen who could sub in if there’s an injury or get some developmental time. With Giovanni El-Hadi, Lawrence Hattar, and Greg Crippen all out of eligibility after 2025, there will be three spots open on the interior.
37. C Jake Guarnera (RS Fr.): Guarnera played in five games on special teams in 2024, preserving his redshirt since one of those games was the bowl game against Alabama. The 6’4″, 317 lb. second-year player has received some quiet praise from the coaches and looks like he might be the backup center for 2025 behind Greg Crippen. Crippen is a fifth year senior and should have a stranglehold on the position, but he did face stiff competition from a converted defensive tackle last year in Dominick Giudice, so there might be some shakiness that Guarnera could help to stabilize. Last year’s rank: #102.
36. OT Blake Frazier (RS Fr.): Frazier was a well regarded recruit in the 2024 class who needed to add weight and also dealt with some injuries over the past couple years. The son of former Michigan center Steve Frazier, Blake is someone who has received praise from the coaches and could very well slide in at tackle this season. Sam Webb has been projecting Frazier to start. I’m not quite there yet because the injury/inexperience combination scares me a little bit, so I’m leaning toward Evan Link starting at left tackle. Meanwhile, true freshman Andrew Babalola is also fighting to play, so it seems like a three-way battle. Last year’s rank: #91.
