The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543845
APRIL 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 23 2026 LOOK AHEAD that are going to set the tone for the unit and then obviously the offense? "But … I'm really pleased with what I've seen so far." IS THERE ENOUGH DEPTH IN THE SECONDARY, AND WILL ROD MOORE FINALLY BE HEALTHY? The Wolverines lost a few players to the transfer portal, including safeties Brandyn Hillman (Virginia) and Jaden Mangham (Purdue), brothers TJ and Tevis Metcalf (Tennessee) and corner Jayden Sanders (Notre Dame). That's a lot of players to replace, whether some of them were going to see the field as much this year or not, and the Wolverines are going to have to rely on some newcomers to fill the void. In short — they're going to have to stay healthy here, first and foremost. They have some really good players coming back, including both starting corners, so that's a start and something to build upon. And if safety Rod Moore gets back to full health — and he's on his way — that would be a huge boost. He's one of the best in the country when he's able to get on the field. "I think we're going to be good in the secondary," defensive coordinator Jay Hill said. "We need to get some guys back — Rod Moore helps us drastically. We need 'Sug' [Jyaire Hill] to play. What I see in him in runs and conditioning right now makes me think that guy could be elite — elite. And Zeke Berry, obviously, is a plus. Having those two corners back is a big deal. "I think there are a lot of really good pieces. We need to build depth, and we need to continue to get our philosophies ingrained." Two big transfer portal additions should help here, starting with Utah corner Smith Snowden. The second- team All-Big 12 standout started 24 games for the Utes. They also have high hopes for redshirt junior Chris Bracy, a 6-1, 195-pound Memphis transfer with a knack for the ball. But the Wolverines are going to need some of their young guys to step up, too. Sophomore corner Shamari Earls was banged up last year, but he has great potential. Junior Jo'Ziah Edmond has shown promise, too. To meet Jay Hill's faith, new secondary coach Jernaro Gil- ford is going to have to put the work in. HOW BIG A LEAP WILL SPECIAL TEAMS MAKE? "Night and day" is how many have described the Wolverines' special teams since veteran coach Kerry Coombs took over for J.B. Brown, and it seemed ob- vious Whittingham was going to keep Coombs after he got the job. He did, of course, and the group seemed to take a leap in the bowl game. The return game was better, and they forced a turnover, positives that hadn't been seen in a few years. "They had struggled, and they knew they had struggled," Coombs said. "There were some things that were easy for me to see. The meetings were too long. The time on the field, relative to special teams, frankly, was too long. … "We revamped how meetings were being run and how we were doing things. We changed schemes, which was important to do. Doing the same things wasn't going to work. My philosophy has always been that the schemes need to be simple, and you need to rely on fundamentals, technique and effort. That's what we did for the bowl game. We made it very simple, and the kids latched onto it and played so hard." The punt game is guaranteed to be better with new addition Cam Brown coming over from UNLV. And the way Dominic Zvada struggled last year, Pitt kicker transfer Trey Butkowski should be just fine to replace him after making 20 of 23 field goals for the Panthers a year ago. ❏ Sophomore transfer Trey Butkowski had a stellar rookie season at Pittsburgh, making 20 of 23 field goal attempts and 43 of 44 PATs. PHOTO BY JEFFREY GAMZA/PITT ATHLETICS