Michigan pro prospects weigh in on next wave of breakout players

Michigan football’s NFL Draft prospects were in Ann Arbor on Thursday for pro day workouts in front of front offices from across the league. While they all have their own storylines to tend to, the future of the Wolverines was also a topic of conversation.

Michigan brings back a bunch of players who easily could have been going through the NFL Draft process right now that are household names. But with departing talent also comes players stepping into larger roles.

The conversation begins with Michigan cornerback Amorion Walker, who is working through a transition from wide receiver to cornerback. Nobody is surprised that he has been one of the emerging stars out of spring football.

“I’m most excited for Amorion Walker,” wide receiver Ronnie Bell said. “I’ve always felt like he was an alien walking around with us. So I feel like, especially being older, the more opportunity he gets, he’s gonna do nothing to show that. Definitely.”

Punter Brad Robbins also thinks Walker will eventually be a household name. Even with a focus on special teams, the former Michigan specialist saw a special talent brewing last year.

“Amorion Walker, pretty good,” Robbins said. “I mean, he’s getting a lot of hype right now, though. So I guess everybody’s starting to know who he is. But every time I come in here, whether it’s like a week, you know, two weeks, couple of weeks, he looks like huge, like just bigger, stronger, faster. My man, what the heck’s going on? This guy’s gonna be unreal. He’s obviously transitioning to defense and all that kind of stuff.”

Walker is not the only corner that former teammates see with a bright future. Third-year cornerback Ja’Den McBurrows is also one that has a lot of hype behind him. He needs to get healthy, but his former defensive back mates see a future fixture.

“He’s fast and he’s physical,” cornerback Gemon Green said. “I feel like he’s one of the best hitters on the team — out of the linebackers and everything. He can hit because I think like — what was it two years ago? He messed up somebody’s arm in the Wisconsin game or something like that off a hit? Ja’Den McBurrows is gonna be probably one of my favorites — outside of my brother and stuff like that.

Cornerback DJ Turner agreed: “Yeah, definitely Ja’Den McBurrows, I can say that. Freshman year he got injured, but now he’s back. He [was in] rehab last year, but he’s back this year. He’s definitely gonna make some noise.

“He can do it all. He can play a corner and nickel, has really good ball skills, aggressive and can tackle. So he’s definitely somebody I feel is gonna make some noise going into this year.”

Other Michigan standouts

Tight end Joel Honigford pondered the question about Michigan’s breakout candidates but did not have to look far outside his position group. He sees a leap coming for second-year tight end Colston Loveland, who has a chance to be an all-time great.

“[His potential] is higher than anybody I’ve seen here before in my days of being at Michigan, watching it prior, too,” Honigford said. “I think he has the potential to be one of the greatest that’s gone through here just as far as whether it’s his skill on the field, his mentality — a multitude of things. He is that guy when it comes down to it. And it didn’t take us long to figure that out. And I don’t think it took the public that long to figure it out too once he started playing in games. But he’s an exceptional player and an even better person.

“He is a hard-nosed kid who doesn’t get too emotionally involved in things. So say he does make no mistake, he’s gonna bounce right back. It’s not gonna affect his gameplay. That was probably the most impressive thing that I noticed this year for a freshman to have that kind of a mentality — is it gives you a step ahead for sure.”

Center Olu Oluwatimi picked a player on each side of the football in defensive tackle Kenneth Grant and wide receiver Darrius Clemons, both entering their sophomore years.

“Kenneth, he’s a big athlete,” Oluwatimi said. “Anytime we did stuff over the summer, he was always at the top in either times or output or whatever. I mean, he’s like 350. So, from that standpoint, he just has all the physical traits. Obviously, he just has to put it together, but even going against him last year, I saw growth, constant growth. So if he keeps his head down, I know that I’m confident he’ll be good. A good player for Michigan next year.

“Darrius is another thing. He’s big. When you look at him, he’s one of our biggest receivers and he’s a great athlete. And I mean, I thought he’s a good receiver last year, I mean, just didn’t really get the opportunity to show that but hopefully this year, he’s gonna be in that fold. Being able to catch balls, make critical blocks and things of that nature.”