During Big Ten Media Day in July, we asked Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore if his linebacker room was as deep as any he remembered in his years at U-M. He gave it some thought before comparing it to some of the better ones, including the national championship group in 2023. RELATED — INSIDE THE […]
During Big Ten Media Day in July, we asked Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore if his linebacker room was as deep as any he remembered in his years at U-M. He gave it some thought before comparing it to some of the better ones, including the national championship group in 2023.
RELATED — INSIDE THE FORT, Part I: Michigan O-line rumblings, post-scrimmage notes
Even that unit, though, didn’t have the depth this year’s appears to, and it’s one of the reasons defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is so high on his defense. The line has a chance to be outstanding — the depth there, too, is ridiculous — but the second year Michigan assistant said he was so high on the linebacker group that they were the strength he would play to in 2025.
“The system is still the system that we’ve been running the last four years,” Michigan linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said Monday when asked to explain how it might look. “With everybody that we have on this defense, it’s always multiple what they ask him to do.
“But with the linebackers that we have this year, especially with two, fourth-year guys that played a lot of football, we’re just going to ask them to do a little bit more, but within the framework of the defense, whether that’s blitzing or different things we’re going to do in coverage. Because of their knowledge and their experience, we’re just going to ask them to do a little bit more within the framework of the actual defense.”
Especially given the numbers. Behind starters Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham is a veteran they count as a third starter in Jimmy Rolder. Along with him, sophomore Cole Sullivan has turned heads as one of the fastest risers in camp.
Rolder, in fact, was the best linebacker on the field in Saturday’s scrimmage, Jean-Mary shared.
“Love them,” he said. “I think they’ve both had excellent camps. Like we said with the linebacker crew, I’ve been saying it since I got here — we want to have four guys that you’re comfortable starting and you can put in any situation, whether it’s fourth and one to win the game or it’s the first play of the game. You feel like you have four guys that can go out there and execute at a high level.”
Early returns are good on freshmen Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Chase Taylor, too.
But the veteran “ones” are going to be the ones leading the way, and they’ve both had outstanding camps. Hype couldn’t be higher for Barham, whose physique and athleticism have set him apart.
“Jaishawn has been a game-wrecker for most of camp. I think he’s taken his game to a high higher level, and Ern has been the same,” Jean-Mary said. “You can see the fourth-year maturity for those guys that played a lot of snaps, and they’re playing at very, very high levels.”
Exciting news for a defense that figures to be one of the best in the Big Ten this year.
Category: General Sports
