Athlon Sports has Michigan at No. 7 in its preseason top 25. Phil Steele's College Football Preview has the Wolverines at a modest No. 22 in its preseason top 40.
Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated ranked Michigan No. 13 in Andy Staples' 2012 Post-Spring Top 25.
ESPN's College Football Live has Michigan at No. 10.
Oh, yes, and the Sporting News ranked Michigan coach Brady Hoke as the 24th-best FBS coach in the nation.
All these rankings mean one thing - people are already getting antsy for college football. So all of this fodder, speculation and external posturing goes for something, right?
SI's Staples stated it best:
No matter what anyone says, preseason polls aren't going away. Why? Because you read them. Then you argue about them. Media companies aren't in the business of taking away things you want, and by your voracious gobbling of the preseason polls, my bosses know you love ordered lists of college football teams. So that's what you're going to get.
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The Rimington Award watch list was announced Thursday, and it doesn't include a Michigan center. Six Big Ten centers are among the initial 50 players on the list for the award, given annually to the top center in Division I football.
Former Michigan center David Molk won the 2011 Rimington Award, and was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Molk signed a four-year contract with the Chargers earlier this month.
Ricky Barnum, a redshirt senior at Michigan, is expected to step in for Molk, despite the fact that he moves from guard and has only played in nine games for the Wolverines. He'll be part of a shuffled - and maturing - offensive line for Michigan in front of quarterback Denard Robinson.
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