Michigan Football Sleepers For 2023: Cornerback
Michigan has stacked up two incredible seasons in a row and is riding as high as ever under Jim Harbaugh. In fact, the Wolverines are returning 81% of its production from last year's team, which included a win over Ohio State, a Big Ten title and a second straight appearance in the College Football Playoff. That production mark is good for 5th in the entire country and 1st in the Big Ten. Because of that, there aren't many question marks on the roster.
In fact, most positions are completely solidified — quarterback and running back being two of them. Wide receiver is experienced and quite deep, although Michigan's offense has limited production there a bit, and tight end looks new yet solid with rising sophomore Colston Loveland and Indiana transfer AJ Barner holding things down. Along the offensive line, Michigan is as deep as any program in the country and is widely viewed as the best unit in college football. In fact, it doesn't really matter who Sherrone Moore decides to start; several very reliable and experienced offensive linemen are going to be watching from the sidelines this fall. Left guard, center and right guard are as solid as can be with Trevor Keegan, likely Stanford transfer Drake Nugent and Zak Zinter forming a formidable interior. There will be battles at both tackle spots but there are about six or seven players who could legitimately battle for two openings.
Along the defensive line, things feel pretty set with Braiden McGregor and Jaylen Harrell coming off the edge, while Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant hold down the interior, with perhaps the best player of the bunch, Kris Jenkins, moving all over the place. There are also going to be some key rotational players up front on defense including Derrick Moore and transfer Josaiah Stewart. Linebacker is also extremely solid and even better than last year after adding true sophomore tackling machine Ernest Hausmann via the transfer portal. Last year at Nebraska as a freshman, Hausmann racked up 54 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack and one fumble recovery in seven starts. Pair him up with Junior Colson and Mike Barrett, and you have one of the best linebacker trios in the nation. Even another young guy like Jimmy Rolder can be utilized if need be after playing some meaningful snaps last year.
At cornerback, one spot is completely locked down as sophomore Will Johnson looks to become one of the best overall covermen in the entire country. Last year DJ Turner led all Wolverines in snaps — it's likely that Johnson will be that guy in 2023. Across from him, UMass transfer Josh Wallace is probably the guy as he's played more than 2,000 college snaps and served as a team captain for the Minutemen. Still, Jim Harbaugh and his cornerback coaches have utilized a slight rotation in the past and we could see some of that this year with my CB sleeper, Amorion Walker.
At 6-3, 180 pounds, Walker is the most physically imposing cornerback on the roster. If he does end up playing a lot opposite Johnson, you'd have two of the more lengthy, athletic, quick and fast cover corners in the country on the field at the same time. We heard all about Walker's elite change of direction agility during winter workouts and spring ball but as a rising sophomore who played wide receiver as well as defensive back last year, we've barely seen him in live action.
The job opposite Johnson is probably Wallace's to lose, but there's so much intrigue surrounding Walker because of his length and overall athleticism. It's going to be really interesting to see how Steve Clinkscale and Harbaugh decide to use the talented trio at cornerback since they're all pretty different from one another.
