22 IN '22: Wolverines to Watch: #17 - EDGE Jaylen Harrell

Every Tuesday until the season begins TMBR will be counting down the "22 in '22 Wolverines to Watch". These are the twenty-two players with the best chance to make an impact ranked by their potential impact.

THE LIST: #22 DB Will Johnson | #21 OL Zak Zinter | #20 DL Kris Jenkins | #19 DB/WR Mike Sainristil | #18 WR Darrius Clemons | #17 EDGE Jaylen Harrell

Jaylen Harrell was an OLB prospect out of the state of Florida. Getting him to Michigan was viewed as a recruiting coup for the Wolverines as he seemed a lock for FSU or Miami early on. He also had a very impressive offer list including powerhouses like Alabama. Arguably what hurt Harrell in terms of recruit rankings is actually a good thing for Michigan.

Harrell had been viewed as an undersized DE or not fast enough to play OLB in a 4-3. He was the perfect SAM in Don Brown's defense and is the ideal player as the tweener SAM in Minter's multiple-front defensive scheme. Harrell may have gained more weight and been able to play as an Anchor in a 4-3, but as things stand heading into 2022 it looks like he made the right choice coming to Ann Arbor.

Harrell spent his freshman year as one of the better scout team contributors. He did see the field in 4 games on special teams and as a linebacker in some mop-up duty.

In 2021 Harrell was looking for a way to breakthrough in the two-deep. With the switch to Mike Macdonald's defense, Harrell found a fit right away as the backup behind David Ojabo. As the season wore on, each player began to cut out a role with Ojabo being a better pass rusher, while Harrell was better in the run game.

What is exciting with Harrell is his two best games are likely his last, against Iowa and Georgia.

Read: Michigan has its next superstar in Darrius Clemons
Read: Michigan Football: Post-spring defense depth chart
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Harrell seems to have the OLB/EDGE/SAM role locked up heading into 2022. His usage will be different than what we saw from Ojabo because they are different players. Time will tell how Harrell is used as Michigan is likely to use more of a committee-type approach in 2022 with Mike Morris, Kris Jenkins, Taylor Upshaw, and even freshman Derrick Moore looking to contribute on the edge with Harrell.

There is no doubt Harrell will have a role and a crucial one. His ability to set the edge and stall an opponent's run game will be essential. As good as Michigan's defense was last year, the elite running backs Michigan faced did enough damage to control the ball or even win the game in the case of Michigan State. Harrell has not registered a sack yet in his career and he likely won't be called on to be the pass rush expert. Michigan has guys for that, but not with the big-game experience Harrell has. It is going to take the best from each player's strengths to match what Michigan was able to do in 2021, and Harrell has strength in areas Michigan is hoping to take huge strides in 2022.

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