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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan will have a new face at the VIPER position this year, and while we haven’t yet seen him on defense, Michael Barrett made a handful of plays in 2019 on special teams.
Having come to Ann Arbor from Valdosta (GA) Lowndes as a three-star ‘offensive weapon’ having played quarterback at the high school-level, little is known about what Barrett brings to the table at the hybrid linebacker-safety position in Don Brown’s defense. He seems adept at it — he had an interception in the 2019 spring game at the position — but don’t let his inexperience fool you, as he wasn’t solely a quarterback or specifically on offense in high school.
“I played linebacker in high school, so I’ve had experience on the defensive side,” Barrett said. “When I came over, Coach Brown called me up my freshman year. I came and he had me do some drills, defensive drills, and he saw that I could do all of those drills good, I could cover, I could do all of those things. He just told me I could play VIPER, that’s just how it was.
“I started learning from Khaleke and it just went from there.”
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So what did he learn from Hudson, the three-year starter who preceded him? Was it something of a mentorship, a hands-on experience? Or was it strictly from example?
Barrett says it was more of the latter than the former, but there was a little bit of both.
“I would just say, other than his work ethic – just being out there watching him every day in practice and the weight room,” Barrett said. “I just really learned from watching. I watched his feet, I watched his hands, I watched him cover. He just led by example mostly. He wasn’t really talkative until his senior year, when he stepped up as a defensive leader. But I definitely learned from more of his work ethic than anything.”
All that said, is Barrett happy at the position? Regardless if he played defense while in high school, it’s still a big mentality switch going from touching the ball every play to trying to get it back for your team’s offense.
Barrett shared what he loves about playing VIPER and why it ended up being so appealing.
“I would say the versatility of it,” Barrett said. “You get the best of both worlds, you could say. You could play a little DB, I get to play a little linebacker, I get to blitz, I get to cover. It’s just being able to be all over the field, make plays and just always being around the ball.”
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