The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542067
JANUARY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 27 A first-team All-Big Ten honoree by the coaches, senior edge Derrick Moore is the star of the group, tallying 30 total stops, 10.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks with 41 pressures (tied for 32nd nationally). Michigan's pass rush was a problem for opponents, some of which max pro- tected and others getting the ball out quickly and hitting on screens to com- bat it. Still, the numbers were strong, with a 41-percent pressure rate that checks in eighth in the country, includ- ing a mark of 38.5 percent when not blitzing (sixth). Those numbers feel empty, though, after the performance in the Ohio State game. Quarterback Julian Sayin wasn't sacked, and the Wolverines only pres- sured him on only 14.8 percent of his drop-backs, according to PFF. "We didn't get enough rush," Moore said. "There are things we could have done, and we didn't do well enough. They just picked up the pressures, and they did a good job." That held Michigan back and allowed Ohio State to throw for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns with a 73.1-percent com- pletion rate. Sayin had time to crow- hop into a 50-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate, a great example that he just wasn't disrupted enough. LINEBACKERS: B- (Midterm grade: B) Michigan's linebackers are one of the deepest po- sition groups on the team, and that fact allowed the Wolverines to move senior Jaishawn Barham to edge rusher back in Septem- ber. Senior Jimmy Rolder had a breakout season and finished the regular season as the team's lead- ing tackler with 69 stops, including 7 made behind the line of scrimmage. Sophomore Cole Sullivan added 37 tackles and 3 in- terceptions. The case of senior Er- nest Hausmann was a cu- rious one. A team captain, he appeared to leave the team ahead of the final two regular-season tilts but was productive prior to that, with 68 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack. U-M had six linebackers play 60 or more defensive snaps on the year, with junior Troy Bowles (199) and freshmen Chase Taylor (61) and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng (61) also chipping in and earning time. By year's end, Rolder became the star of the show with a pair of double-digit tackling games (Michigan State, 10; Ohio State, 12) and a big interception against Washington. Sullivan had the first of 3 second-half picks versus the Huskies and only two linebackers in the country — Northwestern's Mac Uihlein and Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez — had more interceptions than him. SECONDARY: B- (Midterm grade: B-) "Play pen" and "day care" … those are terms coordinator Wink Martindale used to describe his young and inexpe- rienced secondary. "I think they've left preschool, and now they're in elementary school," Martindale said in November. While it improved and had some high points, position coach LaMar Morgan's unit really missed graduate safety Rod Moore, who played in only three out- ings. Think of how different this defense could've been if he was fully healthy — he even made a big impact in his limited action, blowing up plays and notching a pick against Wisconsin, his first and only home game of the year. The Wolverines check in 52nd in the country with 210.6 passing yards allowed per game but tied 28th with 6.4 yards given up per pass attempt. Michigan was susceptible to allowing long gains through the air throughout the season, too, with 37 of 20-plus to rank tied 70th. The Maize and Blue are tied 21st with 13 interceptions, but only 8 came from defensive backs. There were a lack of difference-making plays on the back end, and a lot of the missed tackle is- sues were charged to that group. Ju- nior safety Brandyn Hillman (12), junior cornerback Jyaire Hill (10) and senior cornerback Zeke Berry (7) all had some issues in that regard. SPECIAL TEAMS: D (Midterm grade: D+) If there's any indication of how poor Michigan's special teams was in the reg- ular season, it's that days after it ended, coordinator J.B. Brown was let go. Col- lege football veteran Kerry Coombs was hired as his replacement, a week before Moore was ousted himself. The Wolverines' special teams unit ranked just 117th in ESPN's Football Power Index and 125th on SP+.Se- nior punter Hudson Hollen- beck averaged 43 yards per punt, with the team ranking 75th in average punt yards, and an 11-yard shank proved costly against Ohio State. He averaged 3.65 seconds of hang time per attempt, 16th in the Big Ten. Even senior kicker Dom- inic Zvada missed 7 field goals, though he made the ones that mattered, includ- ing a game-winner as time expired at Northwestern. The return game wasn't any better. The Wolver- ines were 126th in the na- tion in punt return yards per game (5.4), with junior Semaj Morgan posting 14 attempts for 29 yards. ❏ Senior edge rusher Derrick Moore, who had a team-high 10 sacks, was Michigan's lone first-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches this season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL