Tag: Anthony Solomon

Don Brown on VIPER position: ‘I’ve seen enough out of Michael Barrett to be excited’

Why it seems to be the third-year former quarterback’s job to lose.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan has very few vacancies on the defensive side of the ball, despite having lost five starters this offseason. That’s because, while there’s a bevy of departed players, there’s many who have started games already — such as Daxton Hill at safety, Christopher Hinton at defensive tackle and Josh Ross at WILL linebacker.

But even for those who don’t have starting experience, that doesn’t mean they’re not already penciled in their respective position.

Such is seemingly the case for Michigan VIPER Michael Barrett. The former Valdosta (GA) Lowndes quarterback initially came to Ann Arbor as a prospective ‘offensive weapon.’ But he made a quick move to the defensive side of the ball, where he entrenched himself behind three-year starter Khaleke Hudson, who was drafted this spring by the Washington Redskins.

While he’s not the only name working at the position, Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown shared why Barrett already has the keys to the car and why there’s a first-year player that the team is excited to have coming in behind him.

“I’ve seen enough out of Michael Barrett to be excited,” Brown said. “Runs 4.51 – that’s fast! At 220-pounds. So that’s a good place to start. He’s had a tremendous role model in Khaleke Hudson that showed him the way. He’s worked extremely hard and has a very close relationship with Cam McGrone in particular and Josh Ross. That chemistry, that camaraderie that you search for that allows some groups to be exceptional I think is there. So that’s the place we’ll start.

“I don’t want to put undue pressure on William Mohan. I think he’ll be a very good player. We call him ‘Apache.’ But he’s a true freshman, has that type of ability. Obviously, we have a number of guys at the safety position that it would be smooth as silk to drop them into the VIPER position with one of those guys as need me. I think the VIPER may be, even though there’s a lot of jobs there, I think that might be a little bit easier for guys to grasp than the rover/free safety position that we utilize on the back end.”

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We’ve already seen Barrett’s playmaking ability in spurts. While he’s been mostly on special teams, he had an interception in the spring game last year, but also threw a pass to the aforementioned Hill to convert on a fourth down, and kept the ball for 14 yards to convert again vs. Maryland.

While VIPER is a hybrid linebacker position that essentially puts a safety up front most of the time, it isn’t a finesse position as some might think it to be. As Brown notes, Barrett is skilled enough while being physically capable of moving inside if need be.

In breaking that down, Brown further shared another candidate at the position, while keeping in mind that it’s Barrett’s job to lose.

“Here’s the thing — you’ve gotta understand this one a little bit: some guys can play inside linebacker but they can’t play VIPER,” Brown said. “Most guys can play VIPER can move to the inside linebacker position, and he’s one of those guys. But his ability to run, he’s been in the backup VIPER role for us, so it’s not like he’s alien to the position.

“And there’s another young man, Anthony Solomon who was light in his loafers a year ago, meaning he was 195-pounds. He’s now 215. And we know how fast he is and how quick he is. So he’s another guy that will give him competition.

“Right now, we’re trying to get our best players on the field. That’s always the initial thing: get your best 11-12 on the field. We think the best thing for our defense and for Michael Barrett – because they’re both important pieces for us – is for him to play VIPER.”

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Don Brown confident about Michigan 2020 linebacker depth

Before spring ball was canceled, Don Brown broke down where the Wolverines stand at LB with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast.

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Beyond the entire defense, Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown works specifically with the linebacker corps, a position group near to his heart, as what the LBs do makes his defense run.

Yes, the pass rush is arguably the most important aspect to Brown’s defense, as his packages are all about getting pressure, but without stellar linebacker play, his scheme wouldn’t work quite the same.

Michigan is retooling on that front, with starters Khaleke Hudson and Jordan Glasgow graduating. Devin Gil announced on Tuesday that he’s transferring for his fifth-year, so some new players will have to step up. However, given that Josh Ross is returning from injury, and Cam McGrone cemented himself in his stead last season at middle linebacker, it gives Brown’s unit some options.

Like, moving Ross back to WILL linebacker and keeping McGrone in the middle. But he’s excited about the prospects of the position group as a whole, as Brown told Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast this week.

“I do feel good,” Brown said. “Josh Ross is a worker. Even when he was down, whatever he could do mentally to work on his craft, he was doing. Obviously, if you get the rust on, it’s hard to get it back off after you’ve missed eight weeks. But he’s had a tremendous winter. He’s a tremendous leader for our guys. And, putting him next to Cam McGrone, I think that will be a strength of our program for sure.

“The nice thing is McGrone is kinda settled in at the MIKE position. Josh is one of those unique guys that can play MIKE or play WILL. He’s stout, strong, so he can play like an inside linebacker, he is mobile. Uses his strengths to his benefit in both run and pass. We feel really good about him.

“Nikhai Hill-Green is a young guy, but he’s here. So he’ll get coached every day. He’s a bright, bright guy. So he’ll benefit from those two guys (McGrone and Ross) as inside linebackers and utilizing them as role models.”

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With McGrone in particular, he’s come a long way since he arrived in Ann Arbor two years ago. But even more so, he’s gotten better and better since he started.

Brown notes how he’s improved as of late, and added another that should tantalize Michigan fans about his potential budding likeness to Devin Bush Jr.

“The biggest thing with Cam was the development of confidence in the utilization of his hands,” Brown said. “And you say, ‘Why is that important?’ Your ability to get off blocks and to strike people, strike the 300-pound offensive linemen is a big deal, it’s a big part of it. In high school, a lot of those guys are able to run through gaps or utilize their athleticism – which he does, to his benefit. But now he’s coupled that with playing with strength. He’s 233-pounds and ran a 4.4 40 the other day, so he’s an exciting guy.”

Beyond the known quantities, Michigan has to replace Khaleke Hudson at the VIPER position and Josh Uche at the SAM position with players who haven’t seen much game action in those roles.

Brown has a couple candidates in mind in those two spots, including a freshman early-enrollee who just got to campus in January.

“Michael Barrett and William Mohan – we call him ‘Apache’ – we feel really good about those two guys, along with Anthony Solomon – just gonna let them battle it out,” Brown said. “The nice thing with Michael, he can play SAM, he can play VIPER. He ran a 4.51 this winter. He’s in great shape. He’ll obviously get first dibs. But the nice thing is we have guys behind him that can give them jobs in different packages — that can help develop confidence as they’re going through the learning curve of the VIPER position.”