Michigan football: Pre-Spring Preview, Part I, defensive backs
By Joel Greer
(Note: This is the first in a series concerning potential starters for this fall’s Michigan football team. Now, we’ll look at the defensive backs. Later we will examine the other position groups.).
At the onset of the 2014 season, Michigan football fans anticipated freshman defensive back Jabrill Peppers changing the look of the entire defense.
Before he stepped on the field for the first time, the nation’s No. 3 recruit was already being compared to Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, who led the Wolverines to a co-national title in 1997.
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Like Woodson, Peppers was expected to play either cornerback, nickel, or safety, in addition to returning punts, kickoffs and even lining up as a wide receiver.
Peppers out for 2014 season
But Peppers injured his ankle in the opening win over Appalachian State then suffered another injury against Utah. After several weeks of uncertainty, it was decided to sit him down for the season.
Assuming he’s 100% this fall, Peppers will get another chance to vault the defense to a level fans haven’t seen since 2011.
That 2011 team, which was then-coach Brady Hoke’s first, featured four fifth-year, one senior and four junior starters.
Moving to safety?
The 2015 defense also boasts several returning starters, but expect a few changes. Peppers, who played both nickel and corner in his few appearances last season, may be moving to free safety.
“First and foremost, Jabrill Peppers is a big time football player and you can line him up anywhere and I think he’ll have success,” former Michigan safety Marcus Ray told scout.com. “By nature, his natural position I think is safety. I spent a lot of time with Jabrill last season and we spoke about that and he told me that what he wanted to do was move to safety.
“Honestly, coming out of high school, he said he really wanted to play safety, but everybody projected him as corner,” Ray added. “Corner was the biggest need and so that is why he lined up. He’s a team player and he went with the program and played corner.”
Regardless of how and where Peppers lines up, rest assured he’ll be aware of the opponent’s most dangerous receiver.
Aggressiveness returns
Assembling the puzzle will be new defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, who had the same responsibility at Florida the last two seasons and worked with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh at Stanford from 2007-09.
“We want to be very aggressive defensively, we want to play with great technique and fundamentals and be multiple,” Durkin told mlive.com “We’ll mix up the fronts, we’ll mix up coverages, we’ll try to keep teams off balance with what we’re doing. But, ultimately, you want guys to just be aggressive and play with great technique.”
Replace Taylor
Should Peppers move to safety, Jourdan Lewis will man the field cornerback slot while Durkin must replace boundary corner Ramon Taylor.
Expect some competition there from Blake Countess, Channing Stribling and Terry Richardson.
Ray, who was part of Michigan’s 1997 championship teams, sees the possibility of Jeremy Clark moving from his safety slot to corner.
Another possible cornerback is 6-2, 170 lb. Keith Washington who was a late flip from Cal in Harbaugh’s recent recruiting class.
4.3 speed
While projected as either a cornerback or free safety, Washington exclusively played quarterback for Prattville, AL, this past season, tossing 17 TD passes and rushing for 20 more.
“I played it (defense) in practice, and I don’t feel rusty at all,” Washington said. “I feel like I could get on the field and play any position, whether that’s receiver, the safety, and play it just as well I play quarterback.”
With speed (4.30) similar to Peppers’, don’t be surprised if Washington gets some playing time as a true freshman—on either side of the ball.
Here’s a possible pre-spring defensive back depth chart: