When it came to sharing what each college football team’s biggest liability is entering the 2023 season, popular Twitter account Big Game Boomer said of Michigan football: ‘nothing.’
That’s in large part due to the Wolverines, coming off of their second-straight College Football Playoff appearance, returning the bulk of their players for the 2023 campaign.
On offense, Michigan returns: quarterback J.J. McCarthy; running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards; wide receivers Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson; tight end Colston Loveland; offensive linemen Zak Zinter, Trevor Keegan, Karsen Barnhart, and Trente Jones — along with transfers AJ Barner (tight end), Drake Nugent (center), LaDarius Henderson (offensive line), and Myles Hinton (offensive line).
The Wolverines lost more on defense, but still have: defensive tackles Kris Jenkins and Mason Graham, linebackers Junior Colson and Mike Barrett, safeties Rod Moore and Makari Paige, and cornerback Will Johnson. There are some up-and-comers at EDGE and linebacker, while Josaiah Stewart (EDGE), Ernest Hausmann (linebacker), and Josh Wallace (cornerback) arrive via transfer, as well.
When it comes to the secondary, before Wallace’s arrival, that was the potential question mark. But that was due to the corner position opposite Will Johnson — not due to safety. That’s because what the Wolverines have at safety is among the nation’s best, according to PFF.
On Friday, PFF released a graphic noting that Moore and Paige are the top two returning safeties in the entire Big Ten entering the 2023 season.
Highest graded returning Big Ten Safeties🔥 pic.twitter.com/LDBsrq0UhW
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 30, 2023
In fact, PFF’s Max Chadwick lists Moore as being the fifth-best returning safety nationally, regardless of conference.
The Wolverines expect to go far this year, and while they may not be tested much through the air until late in the season — the final three games are at Penn State, at Maryland, and then the final showdown at home against rival Ohio State — they know they’ll have the players in middle of the defensive backfield that can hold their own.
Given how paltry the Michigan football secondary was in the moribund 2020 campaign, mixed with the fact that Moore was an under-evaluated recruit as a three-star out of Ohio — and he committed with little fanfare — it’s impressive the type of turnaround the maize and blue have had in that regard.
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