Among sophomores on the Michigan football team poised to rocket to stardom in the fall, receiver Andrew Marsh and — maybe — quarterback Bryce Underwood come to mind.
After all, Marsh is coming off a freshman season in which he led the Wolverines in receptions (45), receiving yards (651) and receiving touchdowns (four). Underwood, meanwhile, had a first season that was a little more uneven (60.3 completion percentage, 2,428 yards, 11 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and six more TDs on the ground), though his new position coach says the former five-star recruit from Belleville has made “big strides” this spring.
However, in identifying some potential “sophomore standouts” who “will define the 2026 playoff race,” CBS Sports college football writer Brad Crawford on Sunday singled out a linebacker who saw action in only a handful of games at the position as a freshman.
Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng is one of 17 rising sophomores to make Crawford’s list of players who are “capable of becoming household names before Halloween.”
“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,” Crawford writes. “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.”
The 6-foot-1, 217-pound Owusu-Boateng saw action in five games at linebacker last season for the Wolverines, and made seven appearances on special teams. He made four tackles.
That position group, however, saw plenty of changes following last season, with Jimmy Rolder, Ernest Hausmann, Cole Sullivan all among the departures. Rolder was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, Sullivan transferred to Oklahoma, and Hausmann medically retired.
A fourth, Jaishawn Barham, started as a linebacker before shifting to edge rusher early in the season, and was a third-round draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys.
Michigan, which finished 9-4 last season, opened Whittingham’s first season as head coach Sept. 5 at home against Western Michigan.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan’s Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng could be ‘2nd-year star,’ CBS Sports writes
Reporting by Daren Tomhave, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
