Michigan Football Preview 2015 – Defensive Backs

Projected starters: Jourdan Lewis, Wayne Lyons, Jabrill Peppers, Jarrod Wilson, Delano Hill, depending on the situation

Could make an impact: Brandon Watson, Channing Stribling, Dymonte Thomas, Jeremy Clark

Watch out for next year: Keith Washington, Tyree Kinnel

Junior Jourdan Lewis should be Michigan’s top cornerback this season. He should have no problem in the aggressive system D.J. Durkin plans to run. The question is: Who starts opposite Lewis? Redshirt freshman Jabrill Peppers has been moved to a safety/linebacker/corner/be awesome everywhere position I’m calling defensive weapon (DW). Peppers would have been Michigan’s #1 corner, but the staff realized he could be used much better in that DW position instead of being limited to corner. Blake Countess has transferred. Countess probably would have started, if for no other reason than seniority, though he showed last year that he’s a much, much better zone CB than press CB. Wayne Lyons comes in as a grad transfer from Stanford. He was solid at Stanford, and was originally recruited there by Harbaugh, so I’m going with him as the other projected starter.

Jabrill Peppers will play that DW position I mentioned earlier. Basically, he’ll be all over the field, but will usually line up on the line of scrimmage. When Michigan’s in the nickel, he’ll be the extra DB. Peppers came into Michigan with a ton of hype, and last year, looked like it was justified prior to missing most of the season with an ankle injury. He’s certainly a good enough athlete to play this DW position; it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

(Also, Google Jabrill Peppers. Google will tell you that people also search for Brady Hoke and Jim Harbaugh among others. This is the picture that comes up for Hoke:

 

 

This is the picture that comes up for Harbaugh:

 

 

Pretty much sums everything up.)

Senior Jarrod Wilson looks to be the starter at free safety. He’s a solid safety, but that’s all. He’ll prevent big plays, but won’t make them. When Michigan’s in the nickel, look for junior Delano Hill at strong safety, who has been pretty good when healthy.

Junior Channing Stribling got some real playing time as a true freshman and was okay by true freshman standards. He showed some potential, but hasn’t improved a great deal. My guess is redshirt freshman Brandon Watson, who, for some reason, was moved to safety last year before Harbaugh moved him back, ends up as the #3 CB on the depth chart. He looked pretty good in the spring game, picking off Shane Morris. The only way I can attempt to make sense of the move to safety is to tell you to take another look at the above picture of Brady Hoke.

Speaking of Brady Hoke decisions I can only make sense of by referring you to the above photo of him, true junior, who should be a redshirt sophomore Dymonte Thomas should be a factor this year. I have no idea why Thomas didn’t redshirt; the fact that he didn’t is infuriating to me, since last year, he started to show signs of becoming a very nice player, and now he’s already a junior, and is still behind a couple guys for playing time. Thomas is not Jabrill Peppers. He was not ready to play as a true freshman. Hoke attempted to play him, and he was a complete non-factor. Not redshirting Dymonte Thomas, among others (Ben Gedeon immediately comes to mind. I’d take the time to come up with a full list, but I don’t want to spend any more time thinking about this.), was utterly brainless, and still probably doesn’t crack the top 5 dumbest things the previous coaching staff did. Brady Hoke, ladies and gentlemen!

Anyway, getting back to this year’s team, redshirt junior Jeremy Clark should see some time at safety this year. Clark saw his first significant playing time at the position last year, starting six games and appearing in five others. He’s an okay player, but almost definitely behind a couple guys.

Freshman Keith Washington has told Jim Harbaugh he can run a 4.3 40-yard dash. Looking at highlight tapes of him, that doesn’t seem totally farfetched. While Washington did play CB in high school, he was primarily a QB, so he definitely redshirts this year, as he makes the transition to full time CB.

Freshman safety Tyree Kinnel committed to Michigan before we found out that Brady Hoke was an ignoramus and remained committed after that became clear. (Once again, look at the picture.) He likely redshirts this year, but could be a factor next year.

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com