Michigan football safety depth chart without RJ Moten

Michigan's safety room took a hit today with RJ Moten entering the transfer portal.

Michigan safety R.J. Moten enters transfer portal - Maize&BlueReview (rivals.com)

Moten lost the starting strong safety role to Makari Paige last season after starting 5 games in 2021. Still, Moten played in all of Michigan's games in its Big Ten Championship seasons. Moten's snap share continued to drop at the back half of the season, but his departure means the third safety role is now up for grabs.

Michigan's Amoeba defense relies on three safeties often. We saw this in 2021 with Daxton Hill, Rod Moore, and Moten and in 2022 with Moore, Paige, and Moten.

A player who doesn't get a lot of attention but played well with limited opportunities last season was Quinten Johnson. Johnson played in 8 games at safety along with being a solid special teams contributor in all 14 games. According to Pro Football Focus, he graded out as Michigan's third best safety in his 163 snaps.

Last season Caden Kolesar was looking like the potential third safety before an injury cut his season short. The former walk-on and Michigan legacy has always been a solid special teams' player, and solid when put in the secondary. With him coming back at full health he will competing with Johnson for rotation reps.

The players who benefit the most from Moten's departure are two young players who are considered the future of Michigan's secondary, Zeke Berry and Keon Sabb.

Both players played in limited action last year and enter this season as redshirt freshmen. Each was a top recruit in the 2022 class with their versatility a big factor in Michigan's pursuit.

At 6'1" 208 Sabb is the bigger player and more of a safety/linebacker hybrid. Sabb has gotten snaps at linebacker at different times during Michigan camps since arriving, and he could see a big jump this year. Sabb can play a role similar to Moten, a safety that can drop back or step into the box and impact the run game or creating pressure in the pass rush.

Berry comes in at 5'11" 197lbs and his versatility is more as a safety who can also play corner. Berry was one of the stars of the spring game, with an interception and physical play in coverage. Michigan's scheme and lack of a true CB2 could lend to more playing time for Berry.

Michigan's top three in the secondary, Will Johnson, Rod Moore, and Mike Sainristil each possess a unique skillset that allows them to play outside, in the slot, and at safety. Zeke Berry has that same skillset. Michigan tends to have 5 defensive backs on the field, adding Paige to those 4 gives Michigan arguably it's best combination of coverage, physicality, and versatility in passing situations. A 5 DB set that features Sabb instead of Berry would give Michigan a versatile group that could be a force in sideline-to-sideline coverage in the run game.

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