'Unbelievable progress' from the Michigan linebackers this spring

The Michigan linebacker corps didn’t have much depth last year, to the point that those playing were sometimes at the point of exhaustion. That shouldn’t be an issue this year at a position defensive coordinator seems to indicate is one of the defense’s most improved.

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Chris Partridge returned for his second stint as a Michigan assistant and immediately made his mark on the group. Minter was extremely impressed.

“I’ve seen unbelievable progress from that group throughout spring. We also have a new position coach there in Chris Partridge, who I think has just done an unbelievable job with those guys,” the Michigan D.C. said on the In the Trenches podcast with Jon Jansen.

And it starts with a junior who is ready to take the next step. Though he was banged up at the end of spring, Junior Colson has all the tools to be one of the best to ever play the position at Michigan.

“Junior has as high of a ceiling of anybody on our defense, and we’ve had a lot of talks about that,” Minter continued. “I think it’s time for him to become not just like, ‘oh, he’s a good player, and he flies around and he makes some plays’ … he needs to become the guy that everybody knows who he is, where he is, that he can wreck the game. He’s capable of doing that. I’m confident that he’ll continue to progress to that standpoint.

“Michael Barrett is [also] a tremendous return for us of an experienced player that has made a lot of big plays. He’s played all over the field throughout his career, which I think has made him a better linebacker. So … very excited to have him back. Ernest Hausmann is a great pickup [from Nebraska]. The difference there, in our stadium … he’s made big plays. He’s played in a game there. He’s played in a lot of the Big Ten venues, played at a high level at Nebraska. So, I couldn’t be happier about his addition.”

Colson and Barrett might be the incumbent starters, but they feel him right behind them every day, Minter said.

“He’s not slowing down,” Minter said of the new Michigan addition. “So, it makes those guys have to play better, have to study more, have to do everything they have to do to keep their job. And it makes Ernest, who’s a really, really good addition just from a mentality — he’s chasing, and he’s not going to back down, either.”

And then there’s the X-factor — senior Nikhai Hill-Green. He seemed ready to emerge as an elite linebacker last year after receiving plenty of praise the year prior, but injuries limited him.

He’s still working to get back where he was after a self-described soft tissue injury, but he’s progressing and will add to the Michigan corps.

“The return of Nikhai is huge. I thought he progressed well this spring,” Minter continued. “Not necessarily like to get healthy, but just to regain all the way back to where he was and surpass where he was there … he knows he’s got a lot of work to do still.

“But the fact that he was able to make it through and get reps and kind of kind of provide the value that we know he provides — those four, we feel really good about.”

And then there’s the depth, he noted. Several guys have put themselves in position to make moves.

“Jimmy Rolder, Micah Pollard, Jaydon Hood … those guys are all developing, progressing, trying to get to that, ‘OK, who’s going to be the fifth guy? Who can we give some snaps to?'” Minter said of the younger Michigan ‘backers. “Tremendous competition.”

Overall, he said, last year’s weakness — lack of depth at the position — is now a strength.

“It probably came back to bite us late in the year. Those guys got a little bit banged up. I don’t think we were full strength when we needed to be,” Minter said of the Michigan defenders. “So I’m excited, really excited to be able to play and roll guys in there a little bit more. We’ll take a few snaps off the top couple and see if we can’t play really, really well at that position.”