With Michigan's spring practices now having wrapped up, we have a vivid idea of what the defensive depth chart will look like heading into the 2019 season.
Defensive coordinator Don Brown has vowed redemption after his unit was embarrassed (62 points allowed to Ohio State and 41 to Florida) in the final two games of 2018, though he'll be dealing with a revamped group after losing five starters from 2018.
We take our best guess at what Michigan's depth chart will look like heading into the 2019 season, as well as the biggest strength and most significant question marks at every position:
Defensive Line — DE Kwity Paye (junior), DT Michael Dwumfour (redshirt junior), DT Carlo Kemp (senior) and DE Aidan Hutchinson (sophomore)
Top Backups: DE Mike Danna (fifth-year senior), DT Donovan Jeter (redshirt sophomore), DT Ben Mason (junior) and DE Luiji Vilain (redshirt sophomore)
Biggest Strength: The veteran presence among the group. Paye, Kemp and Dwumfour are all bonafide veterans who have played a lot of football at Michigan (18 combined career starts), and their performance will be crucial to the line's success in 2019.
It's imperative they each take their game to the next level, especially when considering the amount of talent Michigan lost from its 2018 defensive line, most notably in the forms ends Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich, and tackles Bryan Mone and Lawrence Marshall.
Kemp, Dwumfour and Paye were all adequate last year, but none of them were stars (nor were they expected to be) on what was a star-studded line, with Paye being the only one who had more than four tackles for loss (he had five 5.5, while Dwumfour had four and Kemp 2.5).
The defensive end duo of Paye and Hutchinson also has a chance to be outstanding, with much of that notion depending on whether or not the latter emerges (the way many are expecting him to) as a sophomore.
Hutchinson quickly worked his way up the depth chart and played in all 13 games last season as a freshman, recording 15 tackles and 1.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Assuming the sophomore wins a starting job in 2019, he and Paye — who started the entire month of October last year when Gary was out with injury — have the potential to form one of the better defensive end tandems in the Big Ten.
Biggest Question Mark: How productive the players stepping into first-time large roles will be. Defensive line is arguably the biggest question mark on Michigan's entire team heading into 2019 (along with running back), and it's easy to see why.
With the aforementioned quartet departing, several new faces will be asked to produce at a high level for the first time in their careers.
The depth and the backups have a lot more question marks surrounding them than the starters do, however, with almost all of them being inexperienced.
Three of the four top projected backups — Danna, Mason and Vilain — have never played snaps on the defensive line at Michigan, while the lone other (Jeter) has only seen minimal action in a backup role.
Unproven youngsters such as freshmen tackles Mazi Smith and Christopher Hinton and redshirt freshman end Julius Welschof may be expected to produce in 2019, simply out of necessity.
If some of the new faces aren't at least adequate in 2019, the defensive line could develop into the weak spot of the entire defense and hinder the group as a whole.
When Michigan failed to get any consistent pressure — with the likes of Gary and Winovich, etc. — last season in Columbus against an Ohio State offensive line that underachieved all year (4.21 yards per carry, 76th nationally), it's easy to understand why fans are so worried about the new-look defensive line heading into 2019.
Linebacker — Khaleke Hudson (senior), Josh Ross (junior) and Devin Gil (redshirt junior)
Top Backups: Josh Uche (senior), Jordan Anthony (redshirt sophomore) and Cameron McGrone (redshirt freshman)
Biggest Strength: The experience and past production of the unit. The linebacking group returns almost entirely intact in 2019, with the exception of one key player — Devin Bush.
His absence was felt severely when he sat out the Peach Bowl loss to Florida, though the returning trio of Hudson, Ross and Gil will do their best to help fill his void in 2019.
Uche also returns after leading the team in sacks in 2018 (seven), and is expected to once again serve as the club's hybrid defensive end/linebacker, a role he flourished in last season.
All four of the returning veteran linebackers — Uche, Hudson, Gil and Ross (and even fifth-year senior viper Jordan Glasgow, to a lesser degree) — are all proven commodities and should once again make up a very solid unit.
Don Brown also raved about Anthony and McGrone this spring, who were each reportedly pushing Gil and Ross for the starting jobs.
Anthony was a five-star out of high school and McGrone was a four-star inside the Rivals250, so the fact that both are emerging is obviously a good sign for depth alone.
Biggest Question Mark: How well the unit makes up for the loss of Bush. The linebacking crew struggled mightily without him in the Peach Bowl, which is a problem Brown has undoubtedly spent all offseason trying to fix.
Still, a potential lack of speed could be an issue among the group, especially when considering Gil is 231 pounds and Ross is 225.
Whether or not Hudson bounces back from a disappointing 2018 campaign is also a fair concern.
He led the Big Ten with 18.5 tackles for loss in 2017, but then seemingly regressed last year when he only racked up 3.5.
Returning to his 2017 form when he was wreaking havoc in opposing backfields would help the unit tremendously, and would take the pressure to consistently make plays off of Gil and Ross, at least a little bit.
The group as a whole is still in outstanding shape, but it's fair to wonder how they'll perform without Bush manning the middle for the first time since 2016.
Cornerback — Lavert Hill (senior) and Ambry Thomas (junior)
Top Backups: Vincent Gray (redshirt freshman) and Jaylen Kelly-Powell (junior)
Biggest Strength: Lavert Hill. Listing Hill as the "biggest strength" is a no-brainer, and though he isn't necessarily the only strength at the position, he's the lone proven commodity.
Along with David Long and Brandon Watson, Hill has helped locked down one side of the field each of the last two years, and has been a large reason the Wolverine pass defense ranked No. 1 in 2017 and No. 2 in 2018.
He has proven to be one of the best cornerbacks in the country, and actually surprised some people when he chose to come back to Ann Arbor for his senior season.
In a position filled with mostly inexperience and youth, Hill should once again be a lockdown force that opponents stay away from, and should also serve as a mentor to both Thomas and the younger corners at the position.
Biggest Question Mark: How everyone not named Lavert Hill performs. Though Thomas has seen plenty of action during his first two years at Michigan, it has almost entirely come on special teams and very little on defense.
The junior only played 104 snaps on the defensive side of the ball all of last year, and is still a relative unknown in that regard.
It actually wouldn't be a complete surprise if Gray winds up beating him out for the starting job, even though the former only played in two games last year as a freshman while redshirting.
Depth is also a major concern at the position, as there are no proven bodies whatsoever behind Hill and Thomas.
Redshirt freshman Gemon Green and junior Jaylen Kelly-Powell are likely the next two corners in line, but both are unknowns.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh actually revealed at the start of spring that junior safety Brad Hawkins was serving as the team's starting nickel back, which likely speaks to the lack of depth and experience at the position.
An encouraging aspect is that all of position coach Mike Zordich's cornerbacks have performed at an extremely high level during each of his four years at Michigan, though he could have the biggest challenge he's had on his hands yet.
Safety — Josh Metellus (senior) and J'Marick Woods (junior)
Top Backups: Brad Hawkins (junior) and Daxton Hill (freshman)
Biggest Strength: Metellus' presence and the depth U-M is building at the spot. Brown revealed in the spring that the senior had stepped into a major leadership role, and that his play on the field was reflecting it.
Metellus was prone to some boneheaded mistakes as a sophomore in 2017, but cleaned those up in a big way last year en route to turning into one of the best defensive players on the team.
The Florida native also intercepted the first three passes of his career in 2018 and finally showed a knack for being around the football.
His play and veteran presence will help the secondary tremendously, especially with freshman Daxton Hill, who is strongly expected to see playing time this fall (and perhaps even start).
Hill will also be a strong addition to the group, and could potentially give the defense a spark if he shows glimpses of what he's capable of in 2018.
Biggest Question Mark: The starting spot opposite Metellus. This is a bit nitpicky, but there really isn't a whole lot to complain about at the position.
Hawkins and Woods have both seen crucial playing time throughout their careers, but neither has played the kind of role they'll be expected to take on in 2019.
How well they handle their added responsibilities (especially Hawkins, who could see time at both nickel and safety) will be crucial, and will go a long way in determining how successful the defensive backfield is as a whole.
There could be a problem if a player or two goes down with injury (though that can usually be said at almost any position), seeing as how there is no experience behind Metellus, Hawkins and Woods.
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