Steve Breaston is one of the fastest wide receivers in the nation. He was troubled by nagging injuries throughout the 2004 season and was only able to flash his talent, but he should become Chad Henne's favorite receiver. With RB Mike Hart back for his sophomore season after running for 1,455 yards as a freshman, Michigan should be ready for a dominant offensive season.

However, Lloyd Carr is not necessarily worried about the offense this year. He knows the Wolverines were deficient on the defensive side of the ball in key games last year. The Wolverines had no clue when it came to stopping athletic quarterbacks Troy Smith of Ohio State and Vince Young of Texas. Michigan simply gave up too many big plays to be considered effective.

"To be an outstanding defense, you cannot give up big plays," Carr told the Detroit Free Press. "That's first and foremost. If you give up a lot of points, you'll end up in shootouts if you can score a lot of points. If you get into shoot-outs, the statistics tell you that you're going to win about half the time. So I'd rather not be in shootouts."

Carr's philosophical rants make sense. However, now he must come up with a game plan for limiting those big plays. If he can come find the personnel and defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann can come up with the right philosophy, it could be another memorable season for Michigan.

COACHING CAROUSEL: Head coach Lloyd Carr is one of the most established leaders in the country and the last thing the Wolverines have to worry about is Carr leaving for another job or the NFL. He brought in Steve Stripling to become the defensive line coach. Striplings coached at Indiana, Minnesota and Michigan State before coming to Michigan.

SCHEDULE SITUATION: After opening the season with home games against Northern Illinois and Notre Dame, the Wolverines get a breather with Eastern Michigan before delving into the Big Ten. They open with road games at Wisconsin and Michigan State and both of those could be potential bumps in the road. They also face Iowa and Northwestern away from home. The key game on the schedule - as always - is the season finale vs. Ohio State Nov. 19.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Matt Gutierrez, we're very happy for his progress, which has really been excellent. He's been throwing the football, and he'll take part in a lot of passing drills -- more work than we would have anticipated at the time of his surgery. But he will not take any contact." - Head coach Lloyd Carr on his backup quarterback, who underwent shoulder surgery last season.

LB LaMarr Woodley - He may be one of the most underrated players in the Big Ten. He is coming off a season in which he had 70 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and four sacks.

PK Garrett Rivas - He gave the Wolverines a competent kicking game for the first time in years. Rivas scored 94 points and made 19-of-24 FG attempts, including 4-of-6 from 40-49 yards.

TOP NEWCOMERS: OL David Moosman, Libertyville, Ill. - This All-State performer may be one of the keys to the Wolverine offense for the foreseeable future. A powerful offensive line has always been one of Michigan's benchmarks and Moosman is smart, tough and athletic.

DL James McKinney, Louisville - He has enough size at 6-3 and 265 to bull rush, but he also has a world of quickness and speed. McKinney had 70 tackles and nine sacks in 2004 and new defensive line coach Steve Stripling will try to untap his potential

ROSTER REPORT: Backup QB Matt Gutierrez will throw the ball but will not participate in contact drills as spring practice progresses. Offensive linemen Leo Henige Jr., Adam Kraus, Jake Long and Pat Sharrow, fullback Brian Thompson and defensive end Jeremy Van Alstyne will miss all of spring practice. Backup quarterback Clayton Richard is playing baseball and will also miss spring practice.