Michigan exiting spring still figuring out second cornerback position
Michigan has plenty of time to decide who will be the cornerback to play opposite of Will Johnson. While there are plenty of options, the spring gave some further clarification of what the Wolverines have on the roster and what needs to happen to head into the season.
Sophomore Amorion Walker was the big name of the spring, as he is still learning the cornerback position but has received plenty of praise from the coaches and players alike.
His big debut in front of a crowd had plenty of opportunities to learn from and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter believes it was the best thing that could happen to him right now.
"Truth be told, the other spot, that's the big question mark right now," Minter said. "We had a lot of guys battle for that spot throughout spring. Amorion certainly has—What I say, he has the traits, the skills to be able to play the position. He hasn't played the position enough to be really comfortable yet. He might not like me saying this but I think one of the best things to happen to him was the spring game and going through a little bit of adversity, having guys make plays.
"The toughest part, and I've always been a DB guy, the toughest part about being an elite corner is really the mental side of it. The down-after-down, locked-in, mindset that it takes to be an elite corner. In a game, there's 70 plays, they might throw the ball at your guy six times. If you're relaxed on one of those, it could lead to a bad play. If you can't handle the bad play, it leads to another bad play and that's where the snowball effect occurs. Good that it happened now. We've got a lot of time between now and September to continue to work with him. He's really got a chance to get a lot better between now and then.
Elsewhere on the depth chart, Minter has a number of cornerbacks in mind that will push for playing time this season.
The biggest takeaway he had from the spring is the competition is still very much wide open and the coaching staff have work to do in order to figure out the right combination of players.
"I thought Ja'Den McBurrows had a good spring, I thought Keshaun Harris really stepped up and had a good spring," Minter said. "I thought Myles Pollard made some plays in spring. I thought Jyaire Hill is going to be a guy. I don't know if I'd put him on Will's track but I think he's going to be capable of helping us this year. Just a really, really good competitive mindset that it takes to be successful at the position. I'm excited to see that battle continue.
"I wouldn't say that there is anyone written in stone right now. It will be our jobs as coaches to put the best combination of five players on the field when we have five DBs on the field and that can be, really, any combination of those guys. The safeties we spoke of, Mikey we spoke of, give us the versatility to maneuver the best guys on the field for us."
---
Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards
Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer
Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @lucasreimink, @JaredHalus
Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify
Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube
Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram