With spring practice starting next week, I think it’s time to look at what position changes might occur to benefit the team. With a lot of pieces remaining the same on offense and a similar scheme on defense, we generally know what type of systems we’ll see on each side. It’s more of a question about which players might slide around a little bit to fill some holes.
Mike Barrett (RS Sr.): OLB —> ILB
Barrett is a former starting Viper in 2020 under former defensive coordinator Don Brown, but that spot was largely eliminated early in 2021 when Michigan played Daxton Hill at the slot corner position. Barrett didn’t play much early in 2021 until defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald was forced to make some adjustments. He started just one game last year and made 20 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup on the year. Now with middle linebacker Josh Ross headed to the NFL, Michigan loses a leader in the middle but returns a freshman All-American in Junior Colson at the other inside linebacker spot. While Nikhai Hill-Green also returns, I think Barrett and Colson are the two most productive linebackers; Hill-Green played okay but his youth showed with some missed reads and false steps. Plus if Barrett is going to have a minuscule role, I’m not sure he can be convinced to stick around for a fifth year. I think Barrett is enough of a well rounded athlete that he’s worth keeping around, and his speed and athleticism could be a plus if the defensive linemen and the scheme can keep him clean.
Hit the jump for more.
Trente Jones (RS Jr.): TE —> OT
This isn’t a wholesale position change, but Jones – who was an Under Armour All-American as a tackle – spent most of his time playing tight end as a sixth lineman in 2021. There is an opening now at right tackle with Andrew Stueber off to the NFL, and the two front-runners would appear to be Jones and redshirt junior Karsen Barnhart. Barnhart was a spot starter in 2020, when he seemed to have the upper hand over Jones; but Barnhart was a backup in 2021, while Jones played pretty consistently wearing a #80 jersey with no name on it. It seems to be kind of a toss-up between those two, although I suppose a youngster like Jeff Persi could come out of nowhere to take the spot. It may be time, however, to ditch the eligible jersey number in favor of Jones’s old lineman number.
Mike Sainristil (Sr.): WR —> CB
Sainristil is a 5’10”, 185 lb. athlete who has been an important contributor at wide receiver for the past couple years. He has 37 catches for 539 yards and 5 touchdowns in his career, including 22 receptions for 312 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2021. With the situation at receiver last year, it was important for him to remain at receiver, especially once leading receiver Ronnie Bell went down with an ACL tear in the season opener. But Michigan doesn’t throw the ball a ton, especially not enough to keep four or five guys involved. On the other side of the ball, cornerback Vincent Gray, safety Brad Hawkins, and safety Daxton Hill are off to the NFL, leaving a bunch of inexperienced players available to play in the secondary. Sainristil was a two-way high school player and could provide an immediate boost of athleticism and confidence to the secondary. While D.J. Turner II and Gemon Green are the two leading candidates to start at cornerback, Sainristil could play the nickel spot vacated by Hill, allowing sophomore Rod Moore and redshirt sophomore R.J. Moten to stay at safety.
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