Young, developing defensive backs room draws Steve Clinkscale's praise

Michigan‘s defense is set to undergo a facelift this offseason, but not like the one it went through in 2021. The defensive coordinator is different, but the scheme is staying mostly intact. The biggest change comes from the youth and inexperience moving into key roles.

Steve Clinkscale’s defensive backs room has been hit as hard as any position group with attrition. Vincent Gray, Daxton Hill and Brad Hawkins are gone, leaving the young guys to pick up the pieces and step into the spotlight.

The good news for Michigan is that its 2022 recruiting was headlined by its youth and athleticism in the defensive backfield. Five-star early cornerback enrollee Will Johnson was the crown jewel of the class and is already earning his keep.

Johnson is the No. 18 overall prospect in the 2022 cycle and the top player in the state of Michigan, per the On3 Consensus recruiting rankings. The On3 NIL Valuation puts him at $53,000, which ranks 42nd among incoming freshmen and 2023 recruits.

“Will Johnson is a very talented player,” Clinkscale told the media on Wednesday. “These guys are young and going through the grind right now. It’s tough on them, but he’s learning how to fight through it. I can see him in the games this fall, for sure. I think he will play his way on the field. He’s a very talented young man and I want to keep pushing him. I want to keep him humble, but also hungry and give him the opportunity to get on the field. But he has got to earn it, which he has no problem doing.”

The rest of the class

Michigan has four of its 2022 defensive back signees on campus right now going through spring football. Clinkscale was asked Wednesday about his thoughts on Zeke Berry, a four-star signee who will not join the team until fall camp. He turned the answer into an overview of the Wolverines’ freshman class overall.

“Zeke is going to be a great player,” Clinkscale said. “Right now he’s still in high school running track. He’s a very intellectual guy and he understands the game. In my opinion, he’s more of a safety and Will is more of a corner. He’s just natural with it. I’m looking forward to having him here. He and Damani Dent aren’t with us right now, but they will be great additions.

“The young men that are here right now – Myles Pollard, Keon Sabb, Kody Jones – those guys are doing a great job too. When they walk on the field, they look the part. Keon is doing a great job at safety. This week he is starting to really get the hand of it. Kody is playing the nickel spot and corner. He is a very versatile player and is doing a good job not making the same mistakes over again. That’s what I like about Kody. He’s very competitive. Myles is coming into his own, too. He’s starting to use that body and cover better. They are all very physical players, which I love. I love physical, violent football players. I get a call every night [asking questions], they’re hungry. Love that about that group.”

Michigan’s young veterans step into bigger roles

Michigan has some veteran talent left on the roster. Gemon Green has appeared in 29 games with 12 starts at cornerback in his career. The leadership has to come from somewhere on defense with the veterans that the Wolverines lost after the season.

“Gemon Green has stepped up,” Clinkscale said. “His play, his attitude, just his intelligence on the field and anticipating issues has been amazing. He is making calls that the safeties have been making. It’s really good to see him playing confident and loose and looking for the ball. Doing the things we know he’s capable of doing.

“Our two safeties back there – Makari Paige and RJ Moten – have also stepped up as leaders. Mikey Sainristil does a good job of bringing that competitive nature. Our guys have done a good job of taking advantage of that void. We are going to continue to pick it up in the secondary.”

DJ Turner gets a push from Clink

Michigan feels good about the cornerbacks on the roster with the emergence of redshirt sophomore DJ Turner last season. Clinkscale makes it sound like he got off to a bit of a slow start this spring, but picked it up recently. Learning to bring it every day is part of his development.

“DJ made the biggest stride during the season because he’s competitive,” Clinkscale said. “After you have some success like that, the hardest thing for a player is to continue to be hungry. That is easy for me to see. As a coach that is easy for me to see and when I felt like he was lacking or not on his A-game, I addressed it. I made him improve it. I could tell in the last three practices he snapped back to it. It’s a maturity to understand that he has all these accolades now and there’s responsibility with that.

“A leader is not just showing up and doing your job. It’s about you showing up and helping carry that legacy in the defensive back room. He has really tried to own that and I have enjoyed coaching him this spring.”