Where The Michigan Football Secondary Ranks According To PFF

The Wolverines return some star power in the secondary this season and Pro Football Focus agrees with that.

Continuing on with positional rankings, Pro Football Focus ranked the top 10 secondaries in the country. 

Michigan returns some serious firepower in the secondary heading into 2023 and the Wolverines have some stars back there. Even with the loss of RJ Moten to Florida, Michigan should have one of the top units in the country.

Pro Football Focus is also high on the Wolverines' secondary. The analytical site ranked Michigan as having the No. 2 secondary in the country. 

The Wolverines return four starters to what was already one of the best secondaries in college football.

The star of the unit is Will Johnson, who is already a top-25 player in college football after his true freshman season. The former five-star recruit’s 91.1 grade in man coverage led all Power Five cornerbacks last season. Rod Moore is a top-five safety and was one of only two Power Five safeties in 2022 who earned 80.0-plus grades both in coverage and as a run defender. Mike Sainristil thrives from the slot, earning an 82.3 grade in that role last season, second best in the Power Five.

Makari Paige is a returning starter at strong safety and posted a 45.5% forced incompletion rate last year, third among all safeties in college football. Like Georgia, the biggest question mark for the Wolverines is at the other outside cornerback spot. Massachusetts transfer Josh Wallace is the favorite to take over there, and he surrendered an open target on only 20% of his plays in 2022, second among all cornerbacks in the country.

The only question mark in the secondary is who starts across from Will Johnson? Mike Sainristil could slide over, but he is best utilized at Nickel -- like last season. Josh Wallace is the favorite to start since he brings over veteran leadership and a ton of playing experience. Amorion Walker and Ja'Den McBurrows both have a ton of talent but are both raw with little to no playing time. 

PFF's top five secondaries are:

1. Georgia

2. Michigan

3. Clemson

4. Texas

5. Iowa