News and Views: On Michigan football defensive position battle updates, more

Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter shed some light on many of the Wolverines’ position battles Thursday. Playing time is available at cornerback, linebacker, and defensive end, and there are several viable candidates. We tackle Minter’s comments on those competitions and more in today’s News and Views segment.

NEWS: Coastal Carolina transfer Josaiah Stewart and Michigan senior Jaylen Harrell are battling at one edge position, and both bring a different skillset to the table. Minter acknowledged Stewart is smaller, but he’s an incredible pass rusher and plays bigger than he is.

MINTER: “I think he is [big enough to hold up against the run]. If you build an ideal roster, you start with parameters for that position: size, height, weight, length. But then there’s always an exception, and there has to be a quality that boosts the guy up to be able to fit that position.

“No. 1, I like the tenacity he plays with, the pad level that he can play with, the power that he has. He may be a power rusher, which sounds crazy, but he is a very, very powerful rusher and a powerful edge-setter because of his ability to play with leverage on people.”

VIEWS: But Minter gave a clue as to how they might be used later in his press conference. He talked about how good Harrell had been in camp, noting he’d “gotten better” as a pass rusher. But Stewart has a different set of skills in that area — together, they can combine their skills to work on certain downs.

“Do I expect him to play the run? Well, he’s got a great guy that’s really teaching him the nuances of playing the run on the edge in Jaylen,” Minter said of Stewart. “I expect the combination of those two guys to get the job done for us.”

NEWS: Michigan senior tackle Kris Jenkins has taken his game to another level, having added good weight and mobility in the offseason. He’s now up to 305 pounds, but he’s added more pass rush moves and is getting off the ball quicker.

MINTER: “He’s moving really well. He’s still the same player against the run, but with 20 extra pounds. Watching him battle with [Michigan guard] Zak Zinter and [Trevor Keegan] — like those are really fun, elite matchups. That’s really the best-on-best in college football, so it’s great every day to be able to go against those guys and for Kris to be able to iron his game against players like that. I expect big things from him this year.”

VIEWS: Jenkins didn’t get enough credit for his play late in the season a year ago, especially in a Michigan win over Ohio State. He disrupted plays, drew holding penalties, and got close enough to the quarterback on one pass to give Mike Sainristil a chance to break up what would have been a touchdown.

And now … he’s even better. Some we’ve spoken to believe he has the chance to have a “Maurice Hurst type” impact on the interior line as a pass rusher this year, especially since he’s flanked by so many other great Michigan linemen and probably can’t be double-teamed as much. Like Minter, we expect a huge year from him.

NEWS: Nebraska transfer and Michigan sophomore linebacker Ernest Hausmann has come out of the gate in fall practice with some impressive performances.

MINTER: “Ernest is doing a great job. He’s picked up our defense and he’s a film junkie, so he has raised the level of play in that room. Just by him coming in and his mentality, the way he approaches it, all of a sudden, Mike Barrett is playing at a really high level, Junior Colson is playing at a higher level. Competition is what breeds guys having to get better.”

VIEWS: Minter told Hausmann to “go take their job,” and he told the others to hold him off and keep their jobs. “I feel like he’s just raised the level of play in that whole room, and I’m very excited that he’s here,” Minter said. He added that Barrett was one of the ones who took him under his wing and helped him the most, indicating just how strong the culture is. Barrett wants to start, of course — they all do — but they’re sharing information and helping each other.

From what we’ve heard, the trio is so close that they’ll all play a lot. Sophomore Jimmy Rolder, too, has gotten bigger and improved, giving the Wolverines much more to work with than a year ago. This should be a position of strength.

NEWS: Michigan sophomore Amorion Walker had a good summer continuing to work at the corner position. He’s right in the mix to start the opener vs. ECU.

MINTER: “It’s going to be for him about playing in front of 110,000 people, handling that moment, handling the mental side of play after play after play after play. The ability to respond, the ability to come back from good things, the ability to come back from bad things. I’m very pleased with the progress I’ve seen from him so far.”

VIEWS: But UMass transfer Josh Wallace remains the favorite to start the opener against ECU. Walker has incredible upside, but he remains extremely raw. Wallace, meanwhile, was a three-year captain, and he has gotten even better working with Mike Sainristil every day. As Minter noted, this was a huge pickup for the Michigan defense.

The post News and Views: On Michigan football defensive position battle updates, more appeared first on On3.