Pro Football Focus grades Michigan's cornerback duo best in the country

The Wolverines have a bona fide star in cornerback Will Johnson, but his counterpart Jyaire Hill is growing more confident week-by-week...

Matt Lounsberry | Oct 3, 2024

Sep 14, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive back Will Johnson (2) pursues a play against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Michigan Stadium. / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

In this story:

Michigan Wolverines

After a highly-disappointing showing against No. 2 Texas, Michigan defense has steadily improved over the past three weeks.

That overall improvement has coincided with the development, maturity and growing confidence of redshirt freshman cornerback Jyaire Hill, who recorded his first interception in spectacular fashion last week against Minnesota. The improving Hill, alongside All-American Will Johnson, provides the Wolverines with the highest-graded coverage cornerback duo in the entire country, according to Pro Football Focus.

Michigan has an ELITE Cornerback Duo〽️ pic.twitter.com/iDQAd1fVLZ
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 2, 2024

PFF gives Johnson an 82.2 coverage grade, while Hill is right on the All-American's heels with an 82.1 grade. For those who have watched Michigan consistently this season, these numbers may come as a surprise. After all, the Wolverines rank 103rd nationally as a team in passing yards per game allowed (248.8). However, that number is somewhat deceiving.

Through five games, Michigan's opponents' pass-run split has been roughly 63% pass and 37% run. There's two reasons for this: the Wolverines' front seven and run defense have been excellent, and four of Michigan's opponents have trailed by double digits in the second halves of games (which leads to more pass attempts for those opponents). This is the primary reason why the Wolverines rank 103rd in passing yards allowed.

More in-depth statistics give a clearer picture of Michigan's pass defense. The Wolverines rank inside the nation's Top 25 in both pass yards allowed per attempt (5.95; T-24th) and pass yards allowed per completion (9.8; 20th).

Given the added context, and the obvious growth we've seen from Hill in the past two games, it's much easier to see why Pro Football Focus is so high on Michigan's cornerback duo. So far this season, Johnson has totaled 11 tackles, one tackle for loss, five pass breakups and two interceptions, each of which were returned for touchdowns. Hill, meanwhile, has recorded 16 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups and one interception.

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -