The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539777
❱ TONE-SETTING J AISHAWN BARHAM EXCELS IN A NEW ROLE U-M's 63-3 romp over Central Michigan came with a breakout performance from a familiar face, albeit in a new role. Senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham took all 27 of his snaps in the game lined up as an edge rusher and had a dominant showing with 6 total tackles, including 2 sacks. Barham came out of the Week 3 win as the star of the game on the defensive side of the ball. "I thought he set the tone early," associate head coach Biff Poggi said after serving as interim head coach for the first of two games while Sherrone Moore served a suspension. "[Defensive coordinator] Wink [Martindale] had a really good plan. We're going to move him around more, so you have to account for him. He is a very, very explosive player. I thought he set the tone early and kept going for us." "… He might be a superhero. We're doing a DNA swab right now." His teammates also weighed in on the superhuman performance from the athletic, 6-foot-3, 243-pounder. "That's Superman," sophomore running back Jordan Marshall said. "Going against him in practice every single day is not fun, especially in camp when we're pretty live and we're hitting each other. It's no fun. He's a problem. I'm glad he's on our team." Michigan's offensive line has seen that type of disruption from Barham plenty of times, and it seems it could be an area we continue to see with its depth at linebacker. "Jaishawn is obviously very hard to block, especially as an O-lineman," sopho- more tackle Andrew Sprague said. "But we've also got Cole Sullivan, Ernest Hausmann, Jimmy Rolder, Troy Bowles, Chase Taylor. We've got a lot of good linebackers, so everybody gives a good look." Off the field, Barham is a bit of an enigma, given he does not speak to the media. But Poggi, who previously coached Barham at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, sees a different side of him. "He is a beautiful kid," Poggi said. "He really is a beautiful kid. He doesn't say much. A quiet person, but a deep thinker and has a beautiful, wonderful heart." — Anthony Broome PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL THE BIG PICTURE 6 THE WOLVERINE ❱ OCTOBER 2025