Two Michigan football linebackers are pushing for bigger roles

ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines had an “all hands on deck” situation Saturday at Oklahoma with senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham sidelined in the first half due to a targeting penalty he received in Week 1.

The outing was not what anyone had hoped overall, but there was not a ton of drop-off at the position due to Michigan’s strong depth. Senior Jimmy Rolder and sophomore Cole Sullivan filled in and fared well in the outing until Barham returned in the second half.

While there are things to clean up, it was an affirmation of what the Michigan staff believed it had in its linebacker room.

“ I think Coach Moore has said it, and I know Coach Wink has said it, but we feel like we have four starters in that room,” linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said on Wednesday. “We have two other guys that we feel very, very confident that if we put them in the game, they could perform at a high level. We know what type of player Jaishawn is and what he brings to the table, but we were very, very confident and Jimmy [Rolder] and Cole [Sulivan] that they would be able to step in and, and play our level of defense and play winning defense.

Sullivan, who has become a staff favorite 15 games into his Michigan career, continues to make plays in the playing time he does get. He had a sack and an interception in the opener and followed it up in Week 2 with a fumble recovery on a muffed punt on special teams.

Those are the types of plays that could force the coaching staff’s hand in getting him on the field more frequently.

“ It’s very impressive,” Jean-Mary said. “And to me, it’s a long season, and he’s just building up his resume to gain more and more playing time. We have to find ways to get him on the field more. He’s shown the ability to be a game changer, and that’s what we want. We think very highly of Cole and what he’s put on the field in the first two games is exactly what he showed in preseason camp. So I expect his playing time to increase and if he keeps putting out what he’s been doing … the sky’s the limit for him, and we’re going to be better on defense for it.”

Another riser who could be in the mix for playing time is Georgia transfer Troy Bowles, who has made his mark in the first few weeks as a core piece on special teams. He and Jean-Mary have bonded due to a pre-existing relationship from his high school recruitment.

“He came in out of the portal and we had a relationship before from the previous place that I was at recruiting [at Tennessee],” Jean-Mary said. “Troy is just climbing. I think every week he’s gotten better and better. You see the trust that he’s built with the special teams staff and how he’s kind of taking over as being one of the core guys there. And he’s gotten healthy and gotten better. I think the playing time is going to continue to increase.

Making the jump from Georgia to Michigan was also a bit surprising given the Wolverines’ quality of depth, which is similar to what the powerhouse Bulldogs have had over the years.

“[Georgia plays] high-level defense with a really good room as far as linebackers go, and I’m joking, saying, ‘You didn’t know we had a pretty good linebacker room ourselves before you came here.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, it’s probably a little better than what I thought.’ But he’s fit in the room well and we think he’s got a chance to be a really good football player. 

“You can see his comfort level getting higher in what we do and his ability to run. He’s a really, really fast linebacker. You kind of see him go, and his aggressiveness is going to really pay dividends for us. I expect him to continue to keep getting on the field and making plays for us as the year goes on.”