The one position that remains a giant question mark for Michigan football after spring ball remains the linebacker position — a position that was the biggest question mark going in, as it were.
Despite mostly having just two linebackers on the field any given play, Michigan lost, essentially, four starters at the position this offseason. While Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham started the year last season as the starting duo, by the year’s end, Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan were the ones out there. Barham and Rolder went off to the NFL, Hausmann graduated, and Sullivan transferred to Oklahoma — easily the biggest loss for the maize and blue via the transfer portal this offseason.
But there could be some good news if some players rise to the occasion, as expected.
CBS Sports put together a list of promising sophomore players who could end up being stars this year, and among them, ranked 15th overall, is second-year linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng.
15. Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, LB, Michigan
One of six expected new starters defensively for the Wolverines, Owusu-Boateng co-anchors the linebacking core with Nathan Staehling, a transfer from North Dakota State. A former four-star recruit, Owusu-Boateng is the younger brother of NFL linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and shares similar athletic traits, including speed in space. Owusu-Boateng moves like a safety and will be a coveted piece for Kyle Whittingham and Michigan’s defensive staff in blitzing and pass-rush situations.
Owusu-Boateng does have a ton of potential, especially considering he didn’t get healthy enough to really start contributing until a month-plus into the season. He saw the field relatively often, which helped the former four-star come along. But, CBS Sports is missing who the actual second-year player might be, if not Owusu-Boateng.
The new coaching staff is reportedly enamored with fellow sophomore linebacker Chase Taylor, a former three-star from Georgia. Taylor got early play right away, getting onto the field early and often in Week 1. He, along with veteran reserve Troy Bowles, very well could be the starting duo — but the likely combination of Taylor, Owusu-Boateng, Bowles, and Staehling will be in the lineup throughout the season.
The position group might not be much of a proven commodity. But it does have a lot of unrealized talent. But we won’t really know who the stars will be until the season actually arrives.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football looks to young linebackers to fill gaps
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
