One of the areas where Michigan football should be solid this season is at cornerback, at least with the starters. The Wolverines return both of last year’s boundary corners in Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill, and though there have been coaching changes, the expectations for the duo remain the same.
And, unsurprisingly, they’ve emerged as two of the leaders among the group.
On Wednesday, new Michigan cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford met up with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast and shared which players are standing out to him. And, unsurprisingly, those are the first two names mentioned. But there are also two others who are right there working alongside them.
“Yeah, the two returners — first off, Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry,” Gilford said. “They both showed that they’re efficient in man and zone, and they have a high IQ for the game. That was one thing that really, really stood out for me. The way that they took the coaching and applied it to the field, especially with everything being so new.
“And then we have some young guys. Shamari Earls: a big, long guy who can run, had his ups and downs. But by the end of spring ball, he came around. And then everybody else is just kind of young, and we have to continue to develop those guys. A guy like Smith Snowden came over from Utah, didn’t get as much live as everybody else, but when he stepped on the field, you can tell like, ‘OK, he’s going to be a player.'”
Snowden is a particularly intriguing player as he has the tools to be a potential All-American, if not All-Big Ten. Having spent his first three seasons at Utah, he followed Kyle Whittingham to Ann Arbor, where he figures to likely be the starting nickel.
Gilford says that, despite him now playing under Jay Hill rather than Morgan Scalley, given the similarities in the defensive scheme, Snowden should thrive this season, and he has high expectations for him.
“Experience in this defense, I mean, a similar style defense,” Gilford said. “Coach Jay Hill was already with Coach Whitt, you know what I mean? So he knows everything that’s going on. He knows the calls. He knows all the adjustments from the shifts and motions and stuff like that. And then a guy who’s cat-quick, who has man coverage and ball skills.”
The issue now is that though there are three starters and one reserve (Earls being the reserve), there’s not much obvious depth behind them. The hope is that a player such as Jo’Ziah Edmond can emerge this fall, but with Elijah Dotson and Jayden Sanders both transferring out of the program to Missouri and Notre Dame, respectively, there isn’t a lot of returning talent at the position.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football coach names top cornerbacks for season
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
