The Michigan Wolverines take on the Texas Longhorns on Wednesday in the Citrus Bowl to conclude their 2025 season, and new information has emerged on who will actually be playing in the contest.
Interim head coach Biff Poggi spoke to the media on Tuesday and announced that contrary to what was said last week, the Wolverines will be without 12-15 players, whether that be due to injury or opting out to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Poggi confirmed three opt-outs last week, Derrick Moore, Jaishawn Barham and Giovanni El-Hadi. Four days later, Poggi said on a Texas podcast that there could be an upward of 25 players not playing “post-Christmas.” Now, the day before the actual matchup, he has clarified that 12-15 players are not expected to suit up.
“We have some others that this week have decided not to play based on injuries,” Poggi said on Tuesday. “Our number (of players not playing) is probably more like 12 to 15 in actuality.
“But look, it’s the Citrus Bowl and you’re playing against Texas, who was the preseason No. 1 ranked team in the country who, in my opinion, should’ve gotten one of those (College Football Playoff) bids, so our kids are excited about competing against them. The only other SEC team we played this year, we got beat pretty good by Oklahoma, so our kids are excited to play. If you can’t get excited to play against Texas, you’re in the wrong sport.”
While it is a meaningless game at the end of the day, it is strange Poggi would change the narrative so much over the course of a week. Based on current trends, it is still uncertain how many starters will play in the game, and there is still no word on who those 12-15 players are other than the aforementioned opt-outs.
Based on injury reports from the Ohio State game a month ago, I’Marion Stewart, Donovan Johnson, Jaydon Hood, Andrew Babalola, Devon Baxter and CJ Charleston were listed as “out for the season.” Add in Moore, Barham and El-Hadi, plus Rod Moore, Justice Haynes, Max Bredeson and Ernest Hausmann, and you get to 13 already. If there are more opt-outs that have not been publicly reported, the number will surely be greater than the 12-15 Poggi mentioned on Tuesday.
