Michigan has another ‘pro' at corner to go with Will Johnson ... the latest on the competition
Last year, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh went into the season with two starting quarterbacks and let his players determine who would win the job by playing both in early games. The cornerbacks could be getting that treatment this year, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said Thursday, while they search for the other to go with sophomore Will Johnson.
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Sophomore Amorion Walker has great athleticism and potential, but he’s raw. Ja’Den McBurrows needs to play more football, and the young guys are just getting started. That leaves UMass transfer Josh Wallace, who has gotten off to a great start at Michigan.
“He’s a pro, No. 1,” Minter said. “He’s a pro. You can tell he’s played a lot of football. He’s played against really good competition. Everyone was like, ‘oh, coming from UMass … but they’re an independent team, so every year playing 2, 3, 4 way up there, money type games for them. So, he’s played against good competition.
“He came in and I think probably the smartest thing he did was jumped in Mikey [Sainristil’s] hip pocket since the day he got here. Those guys have been like twin brothers in the building all the time. The learning curve has been pretty smooth for him and how he’s picked things up. He’s added a great value to that competition so far.”
And it’s been a legit competition, Minter noted, despite Wallace’s great start. Everyone is “working hard,” and they’re putting them in different positions on the daily. They’re looking for five guys, Minter said, and they’re well on their way.
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“We’re trying to use a method where it’s a different guy every day,” Minter said of the Michigan secondary. “Nobody’s really taken it and run with it, and that’s really just because of the opportunities so far. We’ve gotten some practices without pads on; now we’ve had a few with pads on.
“I think as you go through more and more situational things, more and more scrimmage type opportunities, I think somebody will eventually separate themselves. Right now, it’s a whole host of guys we’re playing. We’re trying to find the best combination of 5 DBs in a lot of our nickel type stuff.”
They’ve tried a lot of different combinations, he added. He brought up Walker’s unique skill set again, and there’s hope he’ll follow the Will Johnson trajectory. As of now, though, they’re mixing and matching.
“That can be a combo of old school positions, corners, safeties, nickels. We’re trying to find the best five combination,” Minter said. “I think early on that battle will continue I would imagine into the season. Maybe one guy one game, one guy the next, similar to how coach did the quarterback competition last year. Really, how you play in games and how you play, the best players will show themselves as the season goes on.”
