Michigan has two mainstays at linebacker this season with Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham seeing the majority of the snaps.
The program is consistently trying to find depth across the board on defense and the linebackers is no different.
For Brian Jean-Mary, trying to find the right depth is a constant work in progress as he hopes his group can play more freely with the experience they're getting on the field.
"It's always a thing that you want to improve on," Jean-Mary said on Inside Michigan Football this week. "I think you're only as good, especially when you're trying to play at a high level, you're only as good as your depth. If you ask most coaches, if you want your guys to play physical and play fast and kind of play with reckless abandon, you know there's going to be plays that they're going to have to come off the field. And you don't want your level of play to dip because of the guys that you're putting in. I think that's the challenge for most high-level programs. So we're always trying to improve our depth."
Jean-Mary went into the depth he has available, starting with Jimmy Rolder.
"Jimmy Rolder, we saw almost in the Ernest Hausman role from last year as a guy we trusted to be that kind of third starter that you could plug and play and feel like there wasn't going to be any drop-off. He's been battling some injuries over the last couple of weeks. We're hoping and praying to get him back as soon as possible. But we've been very, very happy with him.
Next was Jaydon Hood.
"Jaydon Hood was able to get in the game this past week, his first extensive plays that he's been able to put together. And we were happy that he played double-digit plays and was productive. You know, some things that he can always improve on, but for his first time, you know, playing for a bunch of plays, I thought he did a good job. And hopefully we can expand on that. And hopefully he can carve a bigger role in the defense."
He then went into younger players like Cole Sullivan and Jason Hewlett.
"And then Cole Sullivan is another young guy we've been very, very excited about. We've been anticipating trying to get in the game, just haven't found the right time to get him in, but he's a kid we're very excited about. I think he has a bright future. Same with Jason Hewlett, same thing. He's still figuring out how to play linebacker a little bit coming from playing in the secondary in high school, but tremendous upside, you know, really good athlete, you know, guy that kind of matches what linebackers are nowadays. They can play in space and, you know, feel comfortable on slot receivers and tight ends."
Finally, he discusses Christian Boivin:
"And then there's old reliable CB, Christian Boivin, who is a steady hand, especially on special teams, but a guy we know we can go to if we needed to throw him in in a critical situation."
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