Michigan linebacker Jaydon Hood is considered to be one of the most surprising fall camp risers on either side of the ball heading into the season-opener against East Carolina.

Whether a lightbulb moment went off for Hood or it simply came down to waiting his turn, linebackers coach Chris Partridge has been pleased with the meteoric rise Hood has seen on the depth chart throughout camp.

Sometimes, it simply comes down to young players feeling lost and needing others to help realign his sights.

"Jaydon, sometimes when guys don't play early they kind of get into this abyss," Partridge said. "Especially when guys that are in front of them are coming back. Mike Barrett has been here forever and Jaydon gets here and it's like, oh, Mike is in front of me. Oh, Mike is front of me again. They kind of get into this little lost area and I think that's where Jaydon was. Maybe the change revived him."

For Hood, it appears that he is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and the light is coming quicker than some expected it to be.

He didn't stumble into this opportunity by luck, though. It took plenty of hard work that Partridge has seen take place firsthand in order to get where he wants to be.

"Jaydon works really hard, he wants to be good, he wants to contribute," Partridge said. "He just wants to be valued on the team, whether it's special teams, whatever it is. He's worked for it and he's done a really good job. He's improved since the day I started working with him until now, he's just improved, improved and improved. He keeps working and he keeps improving.

"Really excited about him. He knows, he's still got room to grow but he had a heckuva camp. He's put together a heckuva camp. He's seeing light right now, I think that's the best way to describe it."