Look Ahead: Will Michigan Be Better At Cornerback In 2020?

As we continue our bye-week way-too-early look at Michigan football in 2020, we analyze the cornerback position, which will lose senior Lavert Hill but once again is poised to reload with the return of Ambry Thomas.

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Perhaps no position under Jim Harbaugh has been more consistently successful than the cornerback spot, which has already included Jourdan Lewis, Channing Stribling, Jeremy Clark, Brandon Watson, David Long and Lavert Hill, and this season introduced junior Ambry Thomas and redshirt freshman Vincent Gray to the mix. 

So it took me by surprise that when we asked you, the fans, if you feel good about the future of the position, most of you said no: 48 percent of the polling audience thinks Michigan will be worse in 2020 than it is this year. 

Final peek ahead defensively for Michigan football 2020, will the Wolverines be better at cornerback?

— Michael Spath (@MichaelSpathITH) November 8, 2019

I get some of it. Hill graduates and has been the third of a golden era triumvirate that also included Lewis and Long, and it is reasonable to ask whether Michigan will be able to sustain such an elite level of coverage when he departs. 

At the same time, who would have expected Stribling or Clark to be above-average covermen? Who expected Thomas to be this good this fast, in his first season a starter after missing much of summer workouts battling illness? 

Who expected an undersized and raw Gray to blossom so quickly? 

Thomas is poised to take over for Hill as the top cornerback on the team, and his coverage skills this year would suggest he's more than capable of such a responsibility (he earned an 'A-' from us on our 3/4 report card). Gray has graded out in the B/B+ range this year and is ready to go from part-time player to full-time starter with another offseason of training and practice. 

Who will emerge as the third cornerback? And can someone challenge Thomas and Gray for their roles? 

Redshirt freshman brothers German and Gemon Green haven't seen the field much defensively this year (they have combined to appear in eight games on special teams but just one on defense), but with another 10 months, maybe they will rise. (though one or both could end up at safety too).  

Redshirting this season, Jalen Perry (four-star, No. 200 player nationally) and DJ Turner (offers from Florida, Notre Dame and Alabama) were both highly sought-after recruits while four-star Andre Seldon is set to sign a letter of intent in December. 

In other words, there is talent waiting in the wings, and the one thing position coach Mike Zordich has proven five years strong now, is with talent, he will produce some of the Big Ten's best cornerbacks.