DETROIT — It’s been quiet outside of Ann Arbor, but inside Schembechler Hall, the coaching staff is ecstatic about having a Big Ten standout having joined the Wolverines this offseason.
Jaishawn Barham was a freshman All-American and two-time All-Big Ten player before leaving Maryland for Michigan football, and there has been buzz in Ann Arbor that the maize and blue may have quietly gotten a first-round caliber linebacker. Barham didn’t register many stats in the spring game, but you could see the impact he has and how instinctual of a player he is.
On Thursday, WolverinesWire asked Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore what he’s seen from Barham and just how good he could be and he waxed ecstatic about what he brings to the table.
“He’s really good,” Moore said. “He was the guy that when we played Maryland every year, we’re like, ‘We got to deal with No. 1.’ To have him on our team now is super awesome.
“Talk about a phenomenal human being, kid doesn’t say anything. He just puts his head down and works. And when he’s on the field, you feel him, so we are super stoked.”
Barham, and his middle-of-the-field compatriot Ernest Hausmann, are somewhat known commodities, but the question this offseason is who will spell them since Michigan has been known to go deep into their rotation.
Moore says that two are standing out and should be in the mix, but he leaves the door open for others to also earn some playing time down the road.
“Yeah, Jaydon Hood’s one, Jimmy Rolder as well,” Moore said. “And then you have a bunch of the young guys that played and you got to see. So those are the main two right now behind them. But we’ll see what happens.”
Michigan’s freshmen have recently reported and are now starting the process of getting acclimated. Summer conditioning will take place for the entire team before fall camp kicks off in either late July or early August.