The Michigan Wolverines return their entire defensive coaching staff and several talented pieces from a secondary that performed at its best at the end of the 2024 season.
LaMar Morgan, the defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach, spoke with reporters on Monday to preview his unit as it reloads. He went into detail on Shamari Earls, one of the most promising young players during the spring cycle, offered an injury update regarding Rod Moore, and broke down where several defensive backs could play this fall.
Here are the major takeaways:
The Shamari Earls hype continues
The former top-100 prospect has turned heads during his first practices at Michigan, and the praise continued from both offensive and defensive coaches as the spring cycle nears its conclusion.
Receivers coach Ron Bellamy says he approached Morgan to praise the Thomas Dale (Virginia) High School product, who flipped to Michigan from Georgia.
“He’s a long corner, 6-2 corner, moves, very skilled. Those type of body types, he’s built a little longer than Will Johnson. Those guys give receivers problems because if you beat them initially, they can recover with their length and athleticism,” Bellamy said.
“He’s a kid that I’m expecting big things from. Obviously, his recruitment, everybody in the nation wanted him, and you can see why. Think he’s going to be a really good player.”
LaMar Morgan offered his perspective on the confident newcomer, noting he’s “pushing through” the adjustment to college football after suffering an injury late in high school.
“The combination of being over 6-1, around 200 pounds, and also ran in the 10s in high school allows him to be a unique player,” Morgan said. “He’s kind of like Bambi sometimes because he’s so long and he has to figure it out. But I’m really excited about him.”
Rod Moore could be getting closer to a return
LaMar Morgan said the following about Rod Moore, who has missed more than a year after suffering a knee injury last spring:
“Rod is doing a good job. Rod is working. Does a lot of stuff downstairs in the training room, athletic room. Does a lot of stuff with our guys meeting extra. Rod is really close.
“We just try to be fair to Rod and his family and all that stuff. Just giving the guy time, and you don’t want to rush a guy back. He poured a lot in this program. … That dude made some big-time plays.
“He knows how important he is to our program, but we also don’t want to be the one that’s forcing him to do something before he’s ready to go. But we encourage him. I mean, he’s here all the time. He lives in this building. He’s about to graduate, which is a credit to him. So he’s all in. He’s going to have a big-time year.”
Everyone on the Michigan defense is playing nickel
Michigan’s staff is giving several players reps at nickel during spring practice. LaMar Morgan named TJ Metcalf, Zeke Berry, Jyaire Hill, Mason Curtis, Jacob Oden and Jeremiah Lowe among the regulars at the position right now.
“Each week, that position can change, right? Zeke played earlier in the year. Then at the last four or five games, Makari played it and probably had some of the best games he had at Michigan doing that,” Morgan said.
DC Wink Martindale has described his unit as “a positionless defense that has a lot of flexibility,” and it appears that remains an emphasis this offseason.
Caleb Anderson is on a path similar to Aamir Hall, Josh Wallace
The Wolverines added cornerback Caleb Anderson out of the Transfer Portal from Louisiana. He appeared in 36 games over five seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns, including multiple years under LaMar Morgan.
Morgan compared Anderson to Aamir Hall and Josh Wallace, two veteran defensive backs who joined the Wolverines for their final seasons and made significant contributions later in the year.
“He’s going to be tall and long. He can run. He was a high school quarterback. Could have went to Utah or Virginia out of high school when we signed him at UL,” Morgan said.
“… He’s not a finished product. He still needs to get better. I think he saw the way it happened with Aamir, right? He came here. It took him a little bit, but then at the end of the year for Aamir, he played. Without Aamir, we wouldn’t have finished the season the way we did. He played lights out the last three games, and I hope that gives him a great shot moving forward.
“I just think that’s what people know. Every year here, from Josh Wallace to now Aamir, it’d be cool if it was Caleb the next guy. You come here for the right reasons. You got your degree. You come here for the grad program. You get a chance to compete against the best week in and week out. That’s kind of what I see Caleb as, a guy that’s 6-2, 200 pounds, that can run, athletic. That’s what I think Caleb can help us with.”
Positional updates for Michigan’s secondary
Mason Curtis has been splitting his time 60/40 between high safety and nickel and will do some of both this fall. “I think in the first game you’ll probably see him playing nickel and safety — both safeties, left and right, in the back end and playing nickel.”
Brandyn Hillman is another player who is “going to play one of the high safeties for us, and then we’ll mix in some nickel for him as well.” Right now, he’s repping mainly at high safety “because his role has increased there.”
Jacob Oden was a “jack-of-all-trades” last year. This year, he’s focused on nickel and safety.
Jyaire Hill is playing some nickel in addition to his primary position at cornerback. “He’s moving in the right direction,” Morgan said. Defending double moves has been a focus this offseason. “If he can stay focused, he’ll be a really good high draft pick one day if he can stay focused.”
