If you've missed any of The Wolverine's spring coverage, get caught up on everything at our Spring Ball Headquarters.
Michigan junior cornerback Lavert Hill had a breakout season a year ago and became an excellent cover corner. He’s falling behind in his quest to take the next step.
Hill has only practiced twice this spring due to injury … either hips or a groin, something cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich said they’re still trying to figure out.
“He hasn’t practiced, so he’s losing valuable time unfortunately for him, but that allows Brandon Watson and Ambry Thomas to get better, David Long to get better, Hunter Reynolds and Myles Sims,” Zordich said. “It’s great for those guys. They’re just growing by leaps and bounds.
“We’d like to have him out there for sure, but we’re not waiting for him, I’ll say that. As I keep saying, Brandon and Ambry have stepped up and are filling that spot very nicely.”
He looks fine running, Zordich continued, but has pain at the end of long plays. The coach believes it’s something he could try to play through, but added, ‘he’s got to feel right.’
Zordich voiced the same concern last fall in calling it a toughness issue with Hill and others.
“If you want to go back to that, in my opinion, yes it is,” Zordich said. “You’ve got an opportunity to get better or just to find out what really is wrong. You’re not going to find out by not participating. It’s frustrating for us as coaches, but at the same time those other guys, we’re getting to see them blossom. That's good for us. We’re creating depth.
“There’s a concern. Certainly we’d like to get him healthy. As I said, I’m just confused by how do we know what the injury is if he doesn’t come out? I think practicing is the way to find out what that injury is. I’ve always said this game is not a comfortable game, so you’ve got to learn to play with some nicks.”
Sophomore Ben St. Juste is another who has missed a lot of time.
“It’s very unfortunate for him. He’s a very gifted athlete, but missed all of the bowl prep and now all of spring,” Zordich said. “He’s got to find a way to get out there if he wants to compete for a job.”
Thomas, meanwhile, has taken advantage of an opportunity and has played extremely well.
“He is very comfortable now. We were just talking over there about the maturity level,” Zordich said. “Last year we were so young, and now all of a a sudden these guys had some playing experience and it’s helped them.
“He’s walking into a new year much more confident. Things are slower for him. He’s been really improved, actually been working with the ones quite a bit, so he’s been showing up a bunch.”
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @AndrewVcourt, @Balas_Wolverine and @EvanPetzold.
• Like us on Facebook
