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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Perhaps one of the first, if not the first, big shakeup to the starting lineup came on Thursday, when it was revealed that second-year linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green will start at the WILL linebacker spot, when it was believed that role had been won by former VIPER Michael Barrett.
The announcement came at a Thursday press conference in new linebackers coach George Helow’s first meeting with the media. He was quickly asked about what Hill-Green had done after his freshman campaign and revealed that he had earned his starting role.
“He’s had a really good offseason,” Helow said. “Nikhai had a plan this offseason, really got after it while in the weight room. Changed his body. Had a great camp. He’s our starting WILL linebacker right now. He’s earned the right to start. Does everything you ask him to do. And he’s very coachable. He’s playing with his hands downhill. Has a good understanding of the defense and what we’re trying to do. He’s unbelievable in meetings — big eyes, big chest. Takes great notes, wired the right way. Just very excited about how he’s done and hopefully what he’ll continue to do.”
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Going back to last year, Hill-Green wasn’t pigeonholed to one of the two regular linebacker positions. Like Josh Ross before him, he was working at both the WILL and the MIKE.
Helow explained that because Hill-Green is a student of the game, it’s made him something of a quick study as far as ensuring he’ll find a regular role on the field.
“What we did in the spring, he was getting a lot of cross-training in,” Helow said. “That’s what we like to do. I did that with the safeties — if you’re playing three-deep zone, I treat the four underneath players as Xs. So he got some cross-training at the MIKE and the WILL. I think when you do that, it makes you understand it on a higher level. Moving him to both spots has helped him understand it a little bit better.
“And he does — he’s very conscientious, as I was saying earlier. He takes notes, he writes it down. I was showing other guys an example of how he goes from special teams meetings and he flips the page over and he takes all of his defensive notes. And then you go over, you do bed-checking and he’s reviewing his notes every night. If he misses something, ‘Hey coach, can you please repeat that?’ So he’s a very conscientious young man and works real hard at it.”
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