2021 Season
Following a very successful 2021 season, Michigan loses a couple key DB’s from last year’s team. Daxton Hill was drafted to the Cincinnati Bengals in the First Round of the NFL Draft. Brad Hawkins started 31 games in his Wolverine career, so with his departure as well, there’s a lot of experience to replace in the Wolverine secondary, particularly at Safety. However at Cornerback; the Wolverines do bring back two starters in DJ Turner and Gemon Green who could help usher in the newest version of the Michigan secondary entering 2022.
2022 Cornerback Preview
At CB, DJ Turner came on mid-way last season and started the final 8 games of the season. He looked like one of the best CB’s in the Big Ten by the end of the year. Also back is 5th-year Senior Gemon Green, who’s made 12 starts at CB in his career to fill out the other starting spot. They also signed 5-Star CB Will Johnson in the 2021 Recruiting Class, and he’s expected to make an immediate impact this fall. He’s good enough that he could even surpass Gemon Green as a starting CB by the end of the season. Redshirt Freshman Ja’Den McBurrows is also an emerging player. The coaching staff was very complimentary of in his work behind the scenes in 2021, and he should crack the two-deep this fall if he can stay healthy.
With the two returning starters at CB in DJ Turner and Gemon Green, and the two younger players in Will Johnson and Ja’Den McBurrows seemingly ready to emerge as depth options, I feel good about Michigan’s CB room entering 2022.
2022 Safety Preview
At Safety, Brad Hawkins and Daxton Hill both leave for the NFL off last year’s squad. For 2022, back at Safety are both RJ Moten and Rod Moore who were part-time starters as underclassmen in 2021. They should both slot in as full-time starters in 2022. Back too is Makari Paige, who’s played in 16 games in his first two seasons in Ann Arbor. Switching over from the offensive side will be Mike Sainristil, who will play primarily nickel for the team in 2022. They also bring in a very talented incoming Freshman class including Keon Sabb, Zeke Berry, and Kody Jones. All three are capable of seeing the field in some fashion for the Wolverines as true Freshman in 2022.
With a solid trio of players with good experience returning at Safety, and some of the Freshman looking ready to contribute in year one, I also feel good about Michigan’s Safety room in 2022.
Youth Movement Can Be a Positive
While the Wolverines do indeed have a couple key players to replace off the 2021 secondary, there are a bunch of good young players ready to step up. While it may seem far fetched considering they lost a First Round Draft Pick in the secondary, all the pieces are there for the secondary to be better as a collective unit in the 2022 season. Each individual will need to improve, but when the pieces I’ve mentioned have both the ability and the experience to raise their games to the next level, it could in turn make Michigan’s secondary even better in 2022 than it was in 2021.