The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 23 third linebacker, I would say," Rolder said on "The Team" podcast. "I was considered the 'third starter,' but I'm not out there the first snap, so I never really was a starter. "At the start of the season, Jaishawn was back there at inside linebacker, playing off the ball, and then once they moved him to outside, I just took that opportunity and ran with it. I didn't want to come off the field, so I was do- ing everything week in and week out preparation-wise to get myself the best opportunity and be the most prepared that I could be." Rolder sliding into the starting lineup wasn't only a result of putting Barham in a more natural position — it was a reason why coordinator Wink Martin- dale and the staff made the move in the first place. "The thing that people don't talk about, because [Barham has] done so well on the edge, the play of Jimmy Rolder," Martindale said. "That was an- other reason why we wanted to move him to the edge, to get Jimmy on the field more. I'm really happy for both of them." All told, Rolder, who had trouble stay- ing healthy earlier in his career, opened 10 of 12 games for Michigan, missing the win over Purdue with an injury suffered late against Michigan State. One of the top individual perfor- mances of the season was Rolder's play in East Lansing. In the 31-20 victory, the 6-foot-2, 240-pounder made big play after big play, recovering a fumble on the first drive, recording a sack later that quarter, breaking up a fourth-down pass and getting in to make first contact on a fourth-down run that was shut down. Rolder registered what was then a ca- reer-high 10 tackles, including 2 for loss with a sack, and 1 quarterback hurry. "Just elite," head coach Sherrone Moore said. "He played outstandingly." There have been several impact mo- ments for Rolder, including a fourth- quarter pick in a 24-7 win over Washing- ton. He's been a huge key to the defense and is seeing his patience and hard work pay off. Rolder has been asked over the years why he stuck it out in Ann Arbor, but it seemed like a no-brainer to him. "I mean, I stayed just because I love Michigan, and I always believed in my- self, knew I was going to be able to play here," he said. "It's a blessing to be out there, starting with my guys out there. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity to step up, finally ge t t h a t s ta r t i n g role. It's been great being out there. It's been a lot of fun, just more opportu- nity than I had in the past and just play- ing more consistent, playing more free, more confident. " Co n f i d e n ce i s huge in college foot- ball, and that just comes with play- ing more and getting the trust from your coaches and everything. I just feel like I've been able to do that, gain some trust to play more freely out there. When you're playing free, you're not thinking as much. You're able to make more plays, and I think that's what's been happening." Perhaps an unlikely candidate when perusing the preseason depth chart, Rolder is Michigan's leader with 69 tackles. He's added 7 stops for loss and 2 sacks, while also contributing 2 pass breakups, 2 quarterback hurries, a fum- ble recovery and an interception. Michigan's defense had a rough go of it in a 31-13 loss to USC Oct. 11, but played lights out during the five-game win streak that followed. The Wolverines fell to Ohio State, 27-9, to end the regular season, and while the defense didn't play well overall, Rolder was all over the field with a career-best 12 tackles. "When we're playing together, we're as good as anyone in the country," Rolder said of his unit's play in the back half of the year. ❏ A Shuffling Of The Deck In a surprising development, senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann missed the final two regular-season games, at Maryland and versus Ohio State, after a flurry of irregular social media activity regarding his Christian faith. A team captain and green-dot player for the defense, Hausmann was leading the team with 68 tackles before his absence. In a Facebook post after the regular season, Hausmann indicated that he had left America in late-November. His status for the bowl game is unknown. "He's just working through something," former head coach Sherrone Moore said. "That's all I can really speak on. We're just here to support him." When asked if he felt that Hausmann quit on the team, Moore responded, "No, not at all." Hausmann not being with the team at the end of the year led to bigger roles for sopho- more Cole Sullivan and junior Troy Bowles. Two freshmen, Chase Taylor and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, also stepped up. "They've been preparing all year as if they were going to play, and they've been getting a lot more opportunity out there and doing well," Jimmy Rolder said of the freshmen. "So, it's just great to see young guys out there performing, playing the game, and they're just going to continue doing what they have been all year, preparing like the starters and going out there and just playing hard." Against Maryland, Taylor registered 2 tackles and a pressure, while Owusu-Boateng posted 1 stop and 1 pressure. Bowles, meanwhile, saw his role increase throughout the season, with 23 total stops and 2 tackles for loss. Perhaps the Wolverines won't have Hausmann for the Dec. 31 Citrus Bowl against Texas, but depth has been building in the linebacker corps. — Clayton Sayfie Rolder earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and media in his first season as a starter. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL