Shooting for the "most times a single GIF hits the front page" record.

Michigan lost one of the most genuinely enjoyable players to watch in recent memory with the graduation of Jeremy Gallon, and unfortunately, I don't think we'll be seeing a 5'8" dude with rocket boots and a cloaking device breaking school receiving records again anytime soon.

That said, the Wolverines don't lack players that can make your jaw drop. Inspired by this Matt Hinton piece on college football's most exciting players, here's my list of the Wolverines who should provide the most entertainment this season. Take note: this isn't a rundown of the best players, but a subjective list of who I think will be the most fun to watch—it's ordered by position, since what constitutes "fun to watch" varies wildly from person to person.

QB Devin Gardner

An obvious choice, especially since some of Gardner's bad habits—namely, reversing field when under pressure—can still produce spectacular results. He's an electric runner even when not at full health. He's got a heck of an arm; this throw against Notre Dame last year simply defies explanation. He continued the grand tradition of Michigan quarterbacks hilariously punking Tanner Miller. His ability to improvise has bailed out the offense on many occasions. Yes, this sometimes gets him into trouble—I know another throw from that otherwise amazing Notre Dame performance is going through your head right now—but it also poses a threat to opponents that is extremely difficult to defend, and it's sure fun to watch when everything clicks.

WR Devin Funchess

Again, an obvious choice is obvious, as evidenced by the GIF that graces the top of this post—and that wasn't the first time Funchess leaped over an oncoming defender:

The whole "hurdles defensive backs on the run" thing is pretty great, but that's just a small part of what makes Funchess so remarkable. He's a 6'5", 230-pound former tight end with legitimate top-end speed; his movements bear the grace of a much smaller player. Even when he slips, he seamlessly recovers, and the average defensive back is going to have a very difficult time contending with his ball skills or bringing him down once he makes the catch. Oh, and having oven-mitt-sized hands allows for him to make catches like this while on a dead sprint.

If Funchess isn't on the team in 2015, it'll be because he turned in a monster year and justifiably went pro, and I don't think anybody could begrudge him that move.

[Hit THE JUMP for eight exciting players not named Devin.]

SLOT/KR/PR Dennis Norfleet

This is MGoBlog, after all. Also, this shouldn't be humanly possible:

The flag mattered in the game; it doesn't for the purposes of this post.

If Norfleet is able to translate his remarkable short-area quickness and agility to the passing game—he's expected to start at slot receiver—while being utilized as more than just a designated jet sweep guy, we're going to see some Sportscenter moments this season. Meanwhile, one of these days, he's going to break a return for a touchdown; a man can be tackled by the back of his shoe only so many times.

TE Jake Butt

This is quite a way to get your first career touchdown:

Photo by Bryan Fuller. GIF'd here.

Yes, Butt is coming off a torn ACL that'll potentially hold him out until Big Ten play, though there's increasing optimism that he could be ready as soon as the Notre Dame game; he certainly moved well on that leg while going through drills before Saturday's scrimmage. When he returns, he gives Michigan something they've sorely lacked in recent years: a complete tight end. While Butt may not be an elite athlete—though he's no slouch in that regard—he's got great hands, he runs good routes, and he's a willing and capable blocker. That may not be overly exciting to every football fan, but around here that's not the case.

DT Willie Henry

This involves some projection, to be sure, but if we're talking about players that are fun to watch, Henry and his brute strength easily qualify. The biggest step forward he must take as a redshirt sophomore is to play with better technique; even when he did really bad things last year like stand straight up at the snap, however, he sometimes made eye-opening plays just by being a bull in a china shop. When he kept his technique sound, meanwhile, he could cover for mistakes by his teammates in spectacular fashion: 

When he stays low, he's capable of throwing 300-pound linemen like a point guard would a chest pass. If you don't think that's worth watching, I think you're on the wrong blog.

DE Frank Clark

I'll refrain from posting one of the GIFs of an unblocked Clark crushing Braxton Miller given recent developments. While Clark hasn't quite put together the elite numbers many hoped for, he improved quite a bit last year, and he continually flashes tremendous athleticism—just watch him jump over a cut block:

Clark also lays the wood when he gets a chance, and we'll watch this year to see if he's developed a pass-rushing arsenal that would take him from good to great Big Ten player.

LB Jake Ryan

This goes here:

Ryan the Barbarian is back at full speed after missing part of last season recovering from his own ACL injury, and now he'll be wreaking havoc from the middle of the defense as Michigan transitions to a 4-3 over. That means Jake Ryan pursuing backs sideline-to-sideline. That means Jake Ryan blitzing up the A gap. That means Jake Ryan won't be wasted as a 240-pound DE or a very oversized nickelback. 

Prepare for fireworks.

LB Joe Bolden

The talk of both spring and fall camp, Bolden is poised to snatch a starting job away from a very solid player in Desmond Morgan, though both should see plenty of time on the field. Thus far in his career, Bolden admittedly hasn't shown much on the field that merits inclusion on this list; his biggest hit at Michigan was equally damaging to his own team as it was to the other.

The coaches can't stop raving about him, however, and he looked excellent in the open scrimmage, making one of the defensive plays of the night when he destroyed a slip screen to Derrick Green—he managed to nail a 220-pound power back while running full speed despite being the only defender in the area with plenty of blockers around him. There should be plenty more big hits coming this fall.

CB Jourdan Lewis

[Fuller]

I could've easily gone with either Blake Countess or Raymon Taylor here, as both have displayed an excellent instinct for baiting quarterbacks into interceptions, especially Countess. Neither is the exceptional athlete required to be a true lockdown corner, however, and Lewis has that potential—he showed that in the spring, it's continued into the fall, and now it appears he's passed both upperclassmen to earn a starting spot.

There's something really great about watching a corner get up in a receiver's grill and battle him step-for-step down the field, and the ability to do just that led to Lewis' ascent to the top of the depth chart. He showed it last year, though he was victimized by enough NFL-level throws against great coverage that this blog has the tag "jourdan lewis should apologize to the gypsy." If Lewis is just a tiny bit better at playing the ball in the air this year, he could be a serious playmaker in addition to simply being tough to beat one-on-one.

CB/Nickel/PR Jabrill Peppers

I don't have to actually put words here, do I? No? Good.