WATCH: How Michigan's new portal defensive backs will fit in and more
The Michigan Wolverines added four defensive backs in the transfer portal last week in Albany corner Aamir Hall, Louisville safety Wesley Walker, Michigan State safety Jaden Mangham and UNLV’s Ricky Johnson III.
On this week’s show, The Wolverine’s Anthony Broome and Chris Balas discussed how the new additions fit into the picture at defensive back and round out Michigan’s defense.
“I thought it was great,” Balas said on this week’s show. “I would’ve liked to see one more linebacker, probably. People are saying the defense is set, and I’m looking at the backups to Jaishawn Barham and Ernest Hausmann, and I’m thinking if they had one more guy like they did last year when Hausmann was that guy, finishing third on the team in tackles, I’d feel a lot better.
“But you don’t replace Rod Moore. And I wrote that in the football preview. This is a guy who is elite at that position. All-American, one of the best quarterbacks they’ve ever had in the secondary. Outstanding instincts. This guy’s just a big play playmaker. But you can do it by committee so that you have enough guys there now.
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“They were thin, there’s no question about it. So landing the guys they did, I thought was huge. Mangham from Michigan State I thought it was a coup. I think this kid is going to be a good, nice fit here. The expectations are a little higher when you’re coming to the national champions. I think the guys on the team and the guys on the defense are going to let him know that, ‘Hey we don’t take plays off here. This is the way we do it if you wanna be a champion.’
“I really like Amir Hall too. I was watching his film and this is a guy that’s shown that he can play at that level. He has got great skills. Hall to me is a guy that’s going to be able to contribute and it’s going to add some depth there. So I like what they did on that side of the ball. Overall, you got to give them an A-minus for what they did in the portal.”
Other topics covered this week include Semaj Morgan’s camp at West Bloomfield and a Q&A segment to end the show. Watch using the video player above, on our YouTube channel or listen on whatever audio platform you choose.
