Michigan coordinator Wink Martindale: 'Definitely an expansion' of Jaishawn Barham's role, no surprise if Derrick Moore breaks out

Michigan Wolverines football senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham is one of the most physically imposing and athletic players on the roster heading into 2025. Barham improved as the 2024 campaign went on, posting 66 tackles, including 3.5 for loss and 1 sack along with 5 quarterback hurries. As spring ball starts, he’s exploring a new role.

The 6-foot-3, 248-pounder is primarily an inside linebacker, but he’s versatile, having played on the edge at Maryland in 2022 and 2023 and last season with the Wolverines. In 2024, theDistrict Heights, Md., native lined up for 76 defensive snaps off the edge. He registered 20 pressures, the most on the team for a non-defensive lineman and the same amount as graduate tackle Rayshaun Benny, who rushed the passer 107 more times than Barham. That figure also ranked fourth in the Big Ten among inside linebackers.

Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale doesn’t quite know what the new role will look like, but he’s excited to see it take shape.

“I think there’s definitely gonna be an expansion of his role,” Martindale said. “But I think it goes game to game of how we want to use him. Do we want to use him as a rusher off the ball, for example? Because that is a trait the NFL looks for. Can he rush off the edge? Sure he can. We rushed him off the edge last year.”

Michigan will rep him more on the line of scrimmage to see exactly what an increase of EDGE snaps would do for the defense.

“I think we need to give him more work of rushing off the edge to fully prepare him for the next step that he’s taking,” Martindale continued. “And how that fits into our game plans, we’ll wait and see how that does.

“We played him on the edge quite a bit last year, as well, but when you have the guys we had as edge players for us last year, it’s hard to always get those reps, too. It’s an exciting time.”

Michigan lost EDGE Josaiah Stewart, who ran out of eligibility and is a projected day two NFL Draft pick. But U-M returns senior Derrick Moore — a starter last season — and primary backup and graduate student TJ Guy.

The Wolverines have experience beyond Barham at inside linebacker, with senior Ernest Hausmann being a returning starter and senior Jimmy Rolder having played a significant role off the bench. Those two, plus some others who could step up, may allow Barham moving to EDGE to become more of a viable option.

“I feel really good about our depth overall as a defense,” Martindale said. “I said this today in a staff meeting — do we have any bona fide first-round picks? I’m not sure; we’ll wait and see how the season goes. But I know we’ve got some next day draft picks in there ready to go. I can say that right now confidently with the guys that we have, and we have more depth in every group.”

Moore might be one of those picks next spring. He chose to return for another season, after putting up a lot of pressures (37) but registering only 4 sacks. Two of the sacks came in the 19-13 win over Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl, though, when Michigan was without Stewart and other defensive stars.

Outgoing Michigan players at the NFL Combine pointed to Moore as someone who will surprise, but Martindale said him breaking out is the expectation, not something that would shock anybody.

“I don’t think that’s gonna be any surprise at all,” the Michigan coach said. “I’m expecting Derrick to jump out there. 

“You saw how he took off in just the bowl game. He had 2 sacks. Not that sacks is the measuring sticks, and he does some of the other things. But I’m expecting big things from D-Mo.”

Martindale and the staff worked much better with the players as the season went on, no surprise considering it was an entirely new group of coaches. Now, other than support staffer Kevin Wilkins — who worked with the edge rushers last season before moving on to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars — the entire defensive staff is back for another season. That level of continuity is significant.

“I think that it’s a factor. I do,” Martindale said. ‘These kids are more resilient than anybody realizes, with the way this thing goes with people going into the portal and coming out of the portal and all the other movement that you see in college football and in the NFL. Every year is a new year, and I’m very excited and ready to go.

“I think there is the comfort that I was here last year, and the whole staff is back, besides Kevin with the outside guys. I think it’ll help.”