Michael Barrett – Page 5 – Syndication Server

In new year, Michigan loaded with options in return game

Special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh gave a long list of contenders for both positions, while noting one particular thing won’t change.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There are two positions that seem to constantly be in flux in Ann Arbor, and that’s at both kick and punt return.

Some years, you have obvious choices — like Jabrill Peppers, who handled the bulk of both in 2015-16 — but in others, one player may get the call one year but not the next.

Such was the case last year, with 2018 starting kick returner Ambry Thomas out for much of the offseason with a bout of colitis. Though he got the start right out of the gates at cornerback, given that he didn’t practice much and that it was an uphill battle just to get him on the field, he ceded his role to true freshman Giles Jackson.

The starting punt returner the past three years was Donovan Peoples-Jones, but he departed with a year of eligibility remaining on the table, getting drafted in the sixth-round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.

While he’s been one of two coaches working on special teams since 2016, Jay Harbaugh is now the bona fide special teams coordinator with Chris Partridge’s departure on Jan. 2 to Ole Miss. When he looks at the kick return situation, he doesn’t feel the need for change personnel-wise, considering what Jackson brought to the table last year. But, he certainly won’t be the only one back deep, Harbaugh explains, noting the need to have other capable returners to help Jackson’s job become easier, while giving different looks to the opposing team’s kickoff unit.

“It’s a really strong group,” Harbaugh said. “I would say overall, it might be the best that we’ve had just in terms of depth in terms of guys we feel like, ‘Hey, this guy could be an option.’ In the past, we kind of had older guys where we took it off their plate or guys were really young and inexperienced. So we have a nice balance now.

“For kickoff returns, we love Giles back there. I think everybody does. Crazy fast, super talented. And he even left some yards out there last year that I think this year he’s gonna be able to take advantage of. Just be able to continue to improve the way that he understands our system, seeing the blocking scheme develop. So expecting a huge year from him.

“And he’s got a great group of guys that are gonna be able to compete with him, make him better and be back there with him. Those guys are Ronnie Bell – he’s done it before – Mike Sainristil, Blake Corum, Andre Seldon, Mike Barrett’s been back there and does a great job as an off-returner, does a tremendous job blocking. So it’s a really deep group. Daxton Hill has been back there, Chris Evans.

“So we feel great about the quality of guys back there, which is really necessary, because as soon as a returner becomes a really big play threat, that’s when you see, all of a sudden, that guy doesn’t get the ball so much anymore, so it’s important to have somebody else back there that’s a legit big play threat.”

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As noted, with Peoples-Jones’ departure, Michigan will be looking for a fresh face to take over punt return duties.

Harbaugh sees pretty much all of the same faces on kick return having a shot to also return punts, with the caveat that there are two incoming freshmen who certainly could make the battle more interesting when they arrive in Ann Arbor.

“In the punt return scheme, obviously not having Donovan will be a new thing for us, and luckily we were able to get some live reps with Ronnie in the past,” Harbaugh said. “Mike Sainristil in the past. That’s something Giles can do, too, which is exciting. Mike Barrett catches the ball extremely well. Blake Corum is punt returner. I don’t know if I mentioned Seldon. And that’s not even excluding the Roman Wilsons and the A.J. Hennings of the world that are still kinda, we’re not sure yet. But those guys are electric. I’m confident they’ll at least be able to compete and push those guys. And if they’re able to get to the point where they can catch it with confidence at some point in the year, those guys can be legit dudes as well.”

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Power Ranking: Michigan football future NFL draft potential

Where we envision the current crop of Wolverines to be drafted as of today if not much changes between now and next year.

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The 2020 NFL Draft is firmly in the rearview, but that means we can start taking a look towards the 2021 draft for the potential of those currently on the Michigan team.

The Wolverines had a tied second-best haul this past April, sending 10 players to the league — behind only LSU, who had 14. Could 2021 see even more of the maize and blue hear their name called by Commissioner Roger Goodell?

It’s certainly possible, even though Michigan is reloading on both sides of the ball. But, one could argue, that Jim Harbaugh is building a program more adept at sending more players to the pros.

So, we took all of the starter-quality players — and a likely starter, hence we’re not prognosticating a quarterback or a player who’s not the obvious winner at his position — who are entering their third year or beyond to estimate as of right now where they could go in the 2021 NFL Draft.

It’s a feature we very well could update during the season as it progresses.

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Future NFL draft Power Rankings:

1. Jalen Mayfield

Unsurprisingly, the top guy we picked is the one that ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. foresees as a future first-round draft pick.

2019 was Mayfield’s first year as a starter, but he already has the body to be an NFL caliber tackle, and he’s shown his prowess on the offensive line, helping contain Ohio State’s No. 2 pick overall in Chase Young in The Game this past November.

Linemen from either side of the ball from Michigan are more likely to be early-round picks, as evidenced by some of the latest first-round picks in the Jim Harbaugh era: Cesar Ruiz, Rashan Gary and Taco Charlton. Yes, Jabrill Peppers and Devin Bush Jr. were also first-rounders, but when you also look at the other early rounds, that’s where we’ve seen players like Josh Uche, Chase Winovich and Chris Wormley picked.

Given his upside and the fact that he’s only played one year as a starter and is looked at so highly at this juncture, Mayfield has the ability to potentially capitalize on an early departure if predictions hold true.

Where we see him as of now?

We’re going with Kiper and slating him as a first-round pick if he does choose to leave early, assuming he continues his level of play in 2020.

NEXT: An early-round wide receiver off the board?

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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.”

Why Michael Barrett has been able to make an impact on special teams fakes

The second-year Wolverine has converted on two big fake punt plays this season.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Twice now, Michigan has lined up for a punt, the offense having stalled, and twice it’s managed to move the chains, thanks to second-year player Michael Barrett.

The Valdosta (GA) high school quarterback has now converted on fourth down using both his arm and his legs, with a 25-yard pass in Week Two against Army to freshman phenom Daxton Hill, and a 14-yard scamper in the last game at Maryland, to keep a drive going which ended in a Michigan touchdown.

So, why has he been so effective on that front?

His special teams coordinator Chris Partridge broke down Barrett’s skill set and ability on Wednesday, noting that when the Wolverines find themselves in a particular situation, they’re comfortable putting the ball in Barrett’s hands.

“He’s a former quarterback, Georgia state player of the year at quarterback,” Partridge said. “Recruited to be a P.P. (punter protector) here – I’m just kidding! I tell him that all the time!

“The bottom line, with fakes for us, they have to present it to us and we’ve gotta play complementary football, right? We’re not gonna get all carried away and doing crazy stuff. But if they present the opportunity and our team presents the opportunity, within playing complementary football on offense and defense, we want to be able take advantage of that opportunity. We’ve gotten two opportunities to do that, and Michael Barrett has executed them, because he’s comfortable with the ball in his hands.”

The Barrett-to-Hill play was decided when Army decided to not cover the flank, leaving Hill wide open for a potential pass and an easy first down and more. Two weeks ago, the situation presented itself for him to run up the middle and he took it.

Quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels doesn’t have a lot of experience working with Barrett, as his offensive presence lasted momentarily when he first arrived on campus in 2018, billed as an ‘offensive weapon.’ But, soon after, he was moved to defense, where he’s become a backup VIPER.

Still, he’s finding a way to make an impact where he can, and the coaching staff feels like he is a capable playmaker in that regard.

“It’s awesome – he’s a great kid,” McDaniels said. “He’s worn a lot of hats in our building. It’s really neat to see him be an integral part of what we’re doing. On special teams, on defense – spent some time on offense early in his career. He’s a great kid that represents us well.”

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