The Michigan football team will kick off the 2025 season and the Bryce Underwood era at 7:30 ET on Saturday night against New Mexico from the Big House in Ann Arbor. The game will be airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock. The Wolverines are currently favored by 34.5 points.

Watkins showed his four-star ability when he came up with 39 catches for 668 yards and rushed for 245 yards, contributing 17 touchdowns. He will play next fall at Kentucky, picking the Wildcats over Penn State, Oregon, Indiana, Miami, Missouri and Florida.

There are no conference games to kick off the 2025 season this week, but Week 1 results will provide a glimpse into what to expect from each program this year. Big Ten newcomer Oregon won the league in 2024 to snap Michigan’s three-year championship run,

Take Shehan Jeyarajah, for example. He's not high on Michigan football at all. He believes the Wolverines are one of the currently ranked teams that will be exposed and unranked by the season's end, while also doubting the defense and offensive changes, calling the Wolverines overrated at No. 14 entering the season.

Here are players 21-50 on The Detroit News' list of the top football players in Michigan for the 2025 season, plus 50 more to watch.

Michigan’s football program finished with a top-10 recruiting class last cycle and likely will be leaning on several players in the group to contribute early. Last year, only four freshmen played in more than four non-bowl games to lose their redshirt,

Similar to the offense, the defensive starters appear set. Now, its about filling out the depth for a long and grueling season.