Will Michigan LB Michael Barrett head to the NFL or return for a sixth season?

Michigan Wolverines graduate linebacker Michael Barrett has had quite the football journey. A high school quarterback, Barrett played the Maize and Blue’s viper linebacker position his first three seasons in Ann Arbor.

When head coach Jim Harbaugh brought in a new defensive staff that did away with the position in 2021, Barrett transitioned to a traditional inside linebacker role, playing the WILL. It took some time to acclimate, but the 6-0, 233-pounder is now one of the top players on the Michigan defense.

Barrett is second on the team with 67 tackles, adding 4 for loss and 3.5 sacks, with 2 interceptions, 2 quarterback hurries and 1 pass breakup. He’s totaled 21 combined tackles in the final two games — versus Ohio State and against Purdue in the Big Ten championship.

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The Valdosta, Ga., native has a decision to make once the 2022 campaign is over. With one year of eligibility remaining, he can either return to school or try his hand at the NFL. Barrett will be 23 years old when Michigan kicks off in the College Football Playoff Dec. 31 against TCU.

“I’ve given it a lot of thought and had a lot of conversations,” the Michigan linebacker explained. “I’m still not sure yet. We’ll get there when we get there. Just let it play out.” 

Harbaugh expressed after the Ohio State game that he’d love to have Barrett back.

“Factors would just be to up my draft stock, to put better, more film on tape at the inside ‘backer,” Barrett continued. “I feel like I don’t have as much film starting inside. That’s one factor.

“And I just don’t want to be too old, if that makes sense. I feel like I’ve been here too long. I don’t want everybody looking at me like an old man around here. Nah, I’m joking, but that’s one thing that is in the back of my mind.”

Players with eligibility remaining have until Jan. 16 to declare for the NFL Draft.

Barrett has been part of a big culture change at Michigan, one that’s led to the Wolverines’ 25-2 record over the last two seasons. They’ve won two straight Big Ten titles and are one of two programs to make the last two College Football Playoffs, along with Georgia. That came on the heels of a dismal 2-4 season in 2020.

“After the [2020] season, the guys who were here, we all just got together and said we knew that wasn’t our standard, that wasn’t what we came to Michigan for or to do,” the Michigan linebacker explained. “After that, the coaches left, and we got a new coaching staff. Everyone that stayed made that pact that we will never feel that way again. From then on, we just went to work, reloading everything that we had and our system. That’s it. We just went to work.

“We knew what we could do, the kind of team that we could have and the kind of people we had in the facility. We just went on from there.”

Michigan senior left guard Trevor Keegan said this week that he saw too many Wolverines focused on making the NFL rather than winning for U-M during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Now, that’s changed, and he feels the team is a “brotherhood.” Barrett agreed.

“I can see that,” Barrett said. “A lot of guys were more individually focused — just worry about individual accomplishments, to a sense.

“We kind of just bought into things. Everybody looks at it as what’s good for hive is good for the bee. Everybody’s just working for the person next to them. Everybody wants to see their brothers succeed. There are no bad looks from anybody or anything like that. It’s more just a family. We’re in here so much together and we’re always bonding. I feel like it’s a little tighter than it was in previous years.”

Michigan defense preparing for balanced TCU offense

TCU boasts one of the nation’s top offenses, ranking sixth nationally with 40.3 points per game. The Horned Frogs have an experienced and gritty quarterback in senior Max Duggan, who’s thrown 30 touchdown passes, and also have a strong run game. They’re averaging 273 passing yards and 200 rushing yards per contest, with those marks ranking 15th and 25th in the country, respectively.

“They’re versatile. They do a lot of different things,” the Michigan linebacker said of TCU. “They have a quarterback who’s a competitor. He’s going to compete, put his team on his back to get them the win.

“They’ve got a really good receiving corps and a quarterback that can get them the ball, a good running back. They’re balanced with the pass and the run game. They’re pretty good at both, so it’ll be a good test for our defense.

“It’s just making sure we’re focusing on our fundamentals, not trying to … it’s more anticipate than guessing. You can’t guess what they’re doing based on alignments. We’ll dig deeper into the film and kind of get deeper into it with the things that they do and different formations and stuff like that. That’s the hardest thing — not being able to guess, and just anticipate.”

Barrett added that he was “surprised” at how much TCU runs the ball, thinking that they are more pass-heavy given they’re from the Big 12.

Michigan is drawing on its experience from the 2021 College Football Playoff, when it fell to Georgia in the Orange Bowl, to help prepare it for this national title chase.

“There were a lot of distractions [in last season’s playoff],” Barrett said. “Guys weren’t used to being there, if that makes sense. We went down and it was sort of the point to where I felt like we were just happy to be there. We kind of let that blind us from our goal and what we were there to accomplish.

“Coming into this year, we’ve been there and we know how to prepare and know what we’re there for.”