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2021 Season Countdown: #50 German Green

Name: German Green
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 181 lbs.
High school: DeSoto (TX) DeSoto
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #33
Last year: I ranked Green #62 and said he would be a backup safety (LINK). He played in six games and made 1 tackle.
TTB Rating: 59

German and his brother Gemon are so twin-like that they’re both listed at 6’2″ and 181 lbs. on Michigan’s roster. Unfortunately for German, their playing time has not been quite as equal. While Gemon started all six games at cornerback last season and led the team in pass breakups, German saw the field almost exclusively on special teams. He did play one game as a backup corner, and that’s reportedly where he remains in 2021 after spending his first two years on campus at safety.

German has special teams upside as well as a little bit of defensive experience at multiple positions. He has not been talked about as a possible starter opposite his brother, even though Vincent Gray and others really struggled in 2020. I would not expect him to factor into the prime-time rotation at corner this season, but it’s nice to have a veteran backup.

I’m interested to see how things might play out for the twins going forward. Would German spend five seasons as a backup in Ann Arbor while Gemon gets starting reps for two or three years? Or would German break apart from his brother as perhaps a grad transfer to try to strike out on his own and get playing time elsewhere?

Prediction: Backup cornerback

2021 Season Countdown: #51 Reece Atteberry

Name: Reece Atteberry
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 284 lbs.
High school: Aurora (CO) Eaglecrest
Position: Center
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #74
Last year: I ranked Atteberry #103 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in one game.
TTB Rating: 74

Atteberry surprised me a little bit last season. He was the lowest-ranked scholarship player in the countdown, but he ended up playing in one game on special teams against Minnesota. Usually you want big, beefy guys on the field goal protection unit, and at 284 pounds, Atteberry was not one of the biggest or beefiest guys available. But he got on the field, so good for him. That probably means the coaches were pleased with what they saw out of him in summer/fall practice.

This off-season Atteberry has been mixed in the talk about the center position. At one point I heard a rumor that he was a possible starter, but I found that to be very surprising. As the spring and summer have progressed, there has been more talk about Zak Zinter playing center. With Andrew Vastardis, Raheem Anderson II, Greg Crippen, and Nolan Rumler all also available, there’s no shortage of bodies. My guess is that it will be Zinter at #1, Vastardis as the primary backup, and then other guys filling in at center and/or guard on occasion to give them playing experience for when Vastardis graduates or for when a guard spot opens up, perhaps allowing Zinter to slide one way or the other.

Prediction: Backup center

2021 Season Countdown: #52 R.J. Moten

Name: R.J. Moten
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 213 lbs.
High school: Delran (NJ) Delran
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I ranked Moten #88 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted.
TTB Rating: 68

Moten was a do-everything player in high school who was recruited, like many others, to play the ballyhooed Viper position. I thought he was pretty raw, especially on defense, in high school, so I expected him to redshirt last year. He essentially did, playing in one game on special teams.

But then the off-season came, and the Viper position disappeared. Of all the freshman and redshirt freshman safeties in the class, the most buzz was coming out about Moten. I have heard more talk about Moten than the guy who actually saw the field a bunch in 2020, Makari Paige. It’s always tough to gauge practice rumors, and I don’t really trust them a ton here, other than to think Moten could be in line to be the fourth safety, behind Daxton Hill, Brad Hawkins, and Paige. There are still other guys to wonder about – Jordan Morant, Sammy Faustin, German Green, Quinten Johnson, etc. – and frankly there are too many on the roster to expect them all to stay too much longer. But Moten has a shot to start earning some playing time this season and stake his claim for a starting position when Hawkins and perhaps Hill are gone in 2022.

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer

2021 Season Countdown: #53 Jalen Perry

Name: Jalen Perry
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 185 lbs.
High school: Dacula (GA) Dacula
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #16
Last year: I ranked Perry #51 and said he would be a backup cornerback (LINK). He played in three games and made 1 tackle.
TTB Rating: 88

Perry had a rough introduction to college football in 2020. When Michigan’s corners were completely ineffective and getting abused against Michigan State, he was one of the items thrown against the wall to see what sticks – and he was promptly called for pass interference on the first play of his career:

Unfortunately, it got worse from there.

With no personal insight into the psyche of Jalen Perry, I have no idea how much that series of events in his college debut has affected him going forward. I thought he would be a pretty good college player, but he has yet to show that will be the case. He was never an athlete that had wow-level physical skills, so the weight room and his technique are going to be important.

Word out of spring camp was that Perry had moved to safety, which I think he can also play. He could be a serious option to play there in 2022, but right now the Wolverines have two players who are probably in their final year of college (Brad Hawkins, Daxton Hill). Perry would be fighting for backup reps with the likes of Makari Paige, R.J. Moten, and others to potentially replace Hawkins and Hill next year.

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer

2021 Season Countdown: #54 Sammy Faustin

Name: Sammy Faustin
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Naples (FL) Naples
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #9
Last year: I ranked Faustin #39 and said he would be a backup safety (LINK). He played in one game.
TTB Rating: 76

Through three seasons on Michigan’s campus, Faustin has played in a total of ten games, including just 3 on defense. He has two tackles to show for it. He has practiced at safety and a little bit at corner, just to try to shore up the latter position, but so far he has not been able to establish himself at either position.

This year he’s in a tough spot with a couple established safeties ahead of him in Brad Hawkins and Daxton Hill. And while Faustin is a more veteran backup option, freshman Makari Paige played more in 2020 and his classmate, R.J. Moten, has earned quite a bit of practice hype. Faustin was a steady special teams contributor in 2019, so he has the ability to get on the field, but he’s running out of time to help much on defense.

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer