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Michigan

Charles Woodson did his homework on Shamari Earls before giving blessing on No. 2 jersey

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie07/22/25CSayf23
Donaven McCulley Shamari Earls
Michigan Wolverines football cornerback Shamari Earls helping bring down wide receiver Donaven McCulley during the 2025 spring game. (Photo by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Michigan Wolverines football is set to replace star cornerback Will Johnson in 2025, but that process began late last season. Johnson missed the end of the year with injury, meaning others — including returning players senior Zeke Berry and junior Jyaire Hill — had to step up into even more prominent roles.

Berry and Hill may be the projected starters heading into fall camp, but freshman Shamari Earls, who enrolled in January and went through spring practices, also has a chance to earn a role. The former four-star, top-100 recruit was highly touted out of high school and has come in with a college-ready frame at 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds.

“Him showing up, you can see the length he has — long arms, long legs,” Berry said of Earls. “Being able to move at that length and how tall he is, I feel like that’s something we’re gonna need at the corner spot.

“[If he] just keeps working, has a work ethic like nobody else has, I feel like he’ll be fine from there.”

There’s immediate pressure on Earls, too. He’ll wear the No. 2 jersey to start his career — the same one Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson turned into a legendary digit for that position at Michigan. Johnson also sported it — and lived up to expectations — the previous three seasons from 2022-24.

“At first, I didn’t really want the number, but Coach saw something in me, and talking to Will and Charles Woodson, they see something in me, so I just went ahead and took on the challenge,” Earls said.

Woodson did his homework on Earls before giving his blessing.

“He said he looked and kinda did some scouting on me, thinks I’m a really good player,” the Michigan cornerback said. “And I had met him a couple times during my recruitment, so we already had the relationship pre-built. They let me have the number, but if I mess up and don’t hold up to the standard of the number, then I guess … yeah.”

The Chester, Va., native has been impressive in the early going, to the point that wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy singled him out during a spring press conference when he was asked about the defensive backs. Bellamy wasn’t alone in his effusive praise.

“It’s been great,” Earls said of his acclimation to Michigan. “From the first day I stepped in, the older guys were already on me, mentoring me, leading me through it. That’s what they do every day.

“As a team, I feel like we’re trying to get the team all on one page. And to be a successful team, the older guys have to be able to push the younger guys. It can’t always be the coaches. At the end of the day, everybody does themselves.

“Transitioning has been pretty good. I’m glad I early enrolled. I definitely feel like I made the right choice. I’m just ready to play.”

The Michigan wide receiver who’s given him the biggest challenges is graduate Donaven McCulley, a transfer from Indiana who stands 6-foot-5 and 203 pounds. McCulley caught 48 passes for 644 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2023, before dealing with an injury in 2024.

“I mean, it’s just size and length,” Earls said of what makes McCulley a tough cover. “Me being long, too, helps me cover him, but going up against a guy that’s 6-5 and can also run pretty well — he has a really good stride — is a challenge.

“Every time we line up, me and him are talking trash in a teammate way, dapping up after every play, but he always gives 100 percent. He’s always pushing me, working me, everything like that. Overall, 100 percent, great teammate.”

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