One of the biggest concerns facing Michigan football this offseason has been the linebacker room. At this time last year, the Wolverines had at least four players who were expected to contribute, and contribute they did. Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham started out the season in the middle of the defense, but by the end of the year, Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan were the primary stars there, with Hausmann out for the season and Barham having mostly transitioned to an edge rusher role. Now all four are gone, with Rolder having declared early and having gone to the NFL, Sullivan having transferred to Oklahoma, and the other two out of eligibility, so there are big question marks at linebacker at the moment.
On Wednesday, Wolverines linebackers coach Alex Whittingham spoke with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast and detailed what he’s seen from some of his inherited players. Perhaps the one spoken of most generally is former four-star Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, and Whittingham likes what he’s seen from him thus far.
“Nate has done a great job of buying into what we’re trying to do,” Whittingham said. “And he dealt with some injuries this spring, just got a little minor things got dinged up here and there. But he showed his toughness by playing through it and doing the best that he could to get his body out, his body healthy to get out there and practice for us. And he’s getting more physical each and every day.”
While Owusu-Boateng may have the name cache, it’s his 2025 classmate, former three-star Chase Taylor, who has gotten perhaps the most hype behind the scenes.
There have been rumblings that the staff is ecstatic about what Taylor brings to the table and that he may be the one who has the star power, ultimately. And what Whittingham said about him certainly won’t dissuade anyone from that opinion.
“Chase Taylor, man, he’s going to be special,” Whittingham said. “I think we should be really excited about him. He’s filling out, putting on weight, maturing as a student, as a player, as a person. He makes things look easy out there and just has so many athletic gifts that he’s been blessed with, and he’s going to be fun to watch for sure.”
There are a lot of others who may contribute this year, from the two transfers who played under Jay Hill at BYU– Aisea Moa and Max Alford; transfer Nathaniel Staehling, who was also injured this spring; and the three true freshmen who have come in early.
Whittingham said that he anticipates that all will see the field, but there’s still a lot of wait-and-see due to injuries that prevailed through spring.
“So our young freshmen class that has come in — Aden Reeder, Markel Dabney, Kaden Catchings — they’ve done a fantastic job kind of getting up to speed, and they’re doing a good job picking up the system,” Whittingham said. “There’s some senior-type leadership that has transferred into the program with Aisea Moa, Max Alford, Nate Staehling. Two of those guys were not healthy this spring, so we haven’t seen what they can do on the field just quite yet. But having Aisea Moa in the room has been fantastic. His having been in the system before and kind of being that extra coach in the room has been crucial. But those young guys are really picking things up, and we expect them to contribute this fall.”
The team is currently in summer conditioning with fall camp set to begin on August 1 with eyes on the September 5 season opener.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football coach praises rising linebacker stars
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire | USA TODAY Network
