Published Mar 13, 2019
Spring Preview: Cornerbacks — Who Will Emerge Opposite Lavert Hill?
Austin Fox  •  Maize&BlueReview
Staff Writer
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Senior Lavert Hill seemingly has one of Michigan's cornerback spots locked up, but the other job opposite him remains a bit of a mystery.

What's an even bigger mystery is the depth chart behind the two starters, with it being comprised of almost nothing but youth and inexperience.

We take a closer look at who you can expect to see man the starting roles, while also analyzing the depth behind them.

Projected Starters: Lavert Hill (senior) and Ambry Thomas (junior)

Hill has been viewed as one of the best cornerbacks in the nation over the past two years, and will likely hold that title once again heading into 2019.

He — along with the now departed David Long — played a huge role in the Wolverines holding the No. 1 pass defense nationally in 2017 and the No. 2 unit this past year.

Hill is a proven veteran, and his 2018 third-team AP All-American status and first-team All-Big Ten accolades speak to just how highly the nation views him.

There aren't any concerns with him, but a few question marks reside at the other spot.

Junior Ambry Thomas is the frontrunner to win the job, but he has made a living on special teams during his two years in Ann Arbor, and actually hasn't played a whole lot on defense (just 104 snaps last year).

Still, he and Hill are the only two cornerbacks on the entire roster who have played meaningful snaps before, making it difficult not to peg those two as the projected starters.

It wouldn't be a complete shock, however, if a youngster — such as redshirt freshman Vincent Gray — won the starting job over Thomas, but we're certainly not going to predict it.

Either way, a third corner will have to emerge behind Hill and Thomas, seeing as how it's nearly impossible nowadays to get by by only playing two cornerbacks on a regular basis.

Key Reserves: Benjamin St-Juste (redshirt sophomore) and Vincent Gray (redshirt freshman)

We listed redshirt sophomore Benjamin St-Juste and redshirt freshman Vincent Gray for this category, but in reality, several other youngsters could have been tabbed as well.

St-Juste has been banged up his entire career at Michigan, and missed all of last season with injury.

He missed last spring ball as well, and position coach Mike Zordich had no problem voicing his displeasure at St-Juste's inability to play through ailments.

"It's very unfortunate for him," Zordich said last spring. "He's a very gifted athlete, but has missed all of bowl prep and now the whole spring. He needs to find a way to get out there if he wants to compete for a job."

With that being said, St-Juste is the third oldest cornerback on the entire roster (believe it or not), and it may be now or never if he hopes to contribute.

We went with Gray in this category as well, simply because he was the first corner in last year (behind the regular contributors) when Michigan sent in the backups against Rutgers in November.

In fact, Gray was the only freshman of last year's bunch who saw snaps during the season, likely meaning he was ahead of Myles Sims, Gemon Green and Sammy Faustin on the depth chart.

Whether or not this year's crop of freshmen — D.J. Turner and Jalen Perry — push for playing time remains to be seen.

Regardless, one of the aforementioned players will be seeing game action this fall as a third corner, but who that winds up being remains unclear.

Final Verdict

Michigan will have absolutely no concerns at one corner spot with Hill manning things, as he should have the ability to take away one side of the field for opponents.

The other spot is a bit more concerning, but perhaps shouldn't be when considering Zordich's track record.

Cornerback was also a worrisome position heading into the 2017 season (Zordich admitted as much), but the spot wound up turning into one of the best in the country when Hill and Long excelled as first-year starters.

Zordich has solidified himself as one of the best cornerbacks coaches in the country (he's helped mentor Jourdan Lewis, Channing Stribling, Hill, Long, etc.), and if Thomas is able to turn into an above average defender, it would only solidify that status.

If injury befalls either Hill or Thomas though, then things could get dicey.

Who emerges as the third and fourth contributors at the position is up in the air, but there seems to be seven candidates who all have a legitimate shots of doing so — St-Juste, Gray, Sims, Green, Faustin, Turner and Perry.

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