Michigan’s secondary is starting to take shape, and the clearest reason for optimism sits at cornerback. As fall camp rolls on, the Wolverines appear to have three players who fit neatly into defined roles, giving new defensive coordinator Jay Hill some flexibility to get creative elsewhere.
If the season started today, Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry and Utah transfer Smith Snowden would be the group lining up in Michigan’s nickel package. Hill and Berry are familiar faces at this point, each having started for two seasons, and they look positioned to handle the boundary again. Snowden is the newcomer, but he arrives with enough college experience to step in as the team’s primary nickel corner.
That setup is exactly the kind of versatility Jay Hill seems eager to work with. He said he believes this defense could feature three different players capable of handling the slot.
“Well, so this is the only school I've ever been at where I really believe we could have three great nickels,” Hill said. “And I can put different guys in there based on mismatch. So Smith Snowden, Zeke Berry, Suge (Hill) was taking reps in there today.”
For now, the picture sounds a little more fixed than fluid. Kyle Whittingham made it clear that Hill moving inside is more of a camp experiment than a plan the staff is ready to lean on in a real game. His read of the group still points to Snowden and Berry as the main options in the slot, with Hill staying outside.
"Smith Snowden would be, if we played tomorrow, would be a combination of Smith and Zeke and Sug,” Whittingham said. “Depending on the matchups, we can have either Smith inside at the slot corner or Zeke.
Obviously the other guy would be on the outside corner. Sug is just 100% on the outside.
He'd be our third nickel in emergency. But those three guys, Shamari Earls is really right up there, too, with those guys and really a guy that's played good football through five practices.
And then there's two or three other guys that are battling to try to get that fifth and sixth corner spot."
Earls’ name jumps off the page. The former five-star entered his second season needing a strong camp, and that appears to be exactly what he’s giving Michigan so far. The expectation when he signed was always that he could become a star, and he still has that kind of ceiling if he keeps building on this start.
That matters because injuries are part of the deal. Every team gets tested, and Michigan’s secondary is no exception. With a schedule that includes passing games like Oklahoma, led by John Mateer, and ends with the annual meeting with Ohio State, the Wolverines are going to need more than just a solid top three.
Right now, the depth behind them is still a question. But the early signs are encouraging, and Michigan has reason to feel better about the cornerback room than it did a short time ago.
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