The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 25 Unless the Wolverines hit the portal again this year or transfers Tevis Metcalf and Caleb Anderson surprise, the Wol- verines will have to rely on the guys on the roster or the freshmen. The good news — they have two who have done it at a high level in veterans Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill (at times), even if Berry was initially slated to play safety or nickel. "Let's wait until after we start prac- ticing, but there are some guys that are going to be fun to watch," Martin- dale said. "Some of the freshmen are just getting here with Shamari [Earls] and those guys, and some of our portal guys as well. You just don't have a good enough feel, and I'd just be straight ly- ing to you if I said, 'This, this, and this.' We've just got to wait and see it." But some of his teammates did get a good look at Earls during ReliaQuest Bowl practices, and one — departed safety Quinten Johnson — believes he'll be the "real deal." Look for Berry to stay at corner, and he proved more than capable when he got his chance. "Playing him at corner was out of necessity, and I thought he played and competed very well there," Martindale said. "The thing that's unique about Zeke is we can put him basically wher- ever we need him. He'll have some reps inside at nickel and reps outside at cor- ner. "In the end, if he's one of the top three corners, for example, and the other two are primarily outside guys, then we'll move him inside. If one of the guys is an inside guy, then we'll keep him on the outside. That's the value of Zeke Berry — he can play both inside and outside, and that's rare when you're talking about coaching corners." WILL THE DEFENSIVE LINE HAVE ENOUGH STRENGTH AND SIZE TO CONTINUE ITS DOMINATION? There was no question the last four years are when great defense began at Michigan. It was up front, led by out- standing edge and interior players. First, it was the pass rushers — Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo. Then, Kris Jenkins, Graham, Grant, et. al, made it nearly impossible for teams to run on them. Graduate senior Rayshaun Benny is this year's candidate to throw people around on the interior, and he was one of the standouts in the ReliaQuest Bowl, proving he might be up to the challenge. Whether it's the portal additions or young guys like Trey Pierce, others will have to emerge to complement him and provide depth. "We did a nice job in the portal with the two veteran tackles that we got in here. … But with how we played Alabama, I feel really confident in the depth that we have in that room," Martindale said. "I feel more confident now than I did last year at this time with the depth." On the edge, it's senior Derrick Moore's time to shine. He had a pair of sacks against Alabama and was domi- nant, and there should be more of that to come. "I'm expecting Derrick to jump out there," Martindale said. "He took off in the bowl game and had two sacks, but sacks aren't the only measuring stick. It's all the other things he does. "I'm expecting big things from D-Mo." ❑ Senior Zeke Berry (10) and junior Jyaire Hill (20) are two top returnees in a secondary that once again has been bolstered by transfer portal additions. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL ❱ Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale "I feel more confident now than I did last year at this time with the depth."