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2025 Season Countdown: #16 T.J. Metcalf

Name: T.J. Metcalf
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Birmingham (AL) Pinson Valley
Position: Safety
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #7
Last year: Metcalf played for Arkansas. He started eleven games and made 57 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 3 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 7 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: N/A

T.J. Metcalf was a free agent transfer from Arkansas who fit in immediately upon arriving in Ann Arbor. A starter at safety in 2024 who played in 24 total games for the Razorbacks, he’s a good-sized player who apparently has a football mind. Sam Webb recently stated that Metcalf said he learned Michigan’s defense in about a week this spring, and that’s good news, because the defense is thought to be rather complicated since it’s an NFL system.

His Arkansas career included three interceptions last season, two of which came against former Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne, who decided to move south to throw his interceptions in an Auburn uniform instead.

Now that he’s in Ann Arbor, he seems likely to play the nickel position formerly inhabited by Mike Sainristil, Zeke Berry, and Makari Paige. Fifth year senior Rod Moore could be an option at nickel, too, but Moore is coming back from an injury. To start the year, I think it makes the most sense to have Moore at nickel, Jaden Mangham and Brandyn Hillman at safety, and then Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill at cornerback. Sherrone Moore was quoted over the summer as saying Metcalf could be one of the best players not only on the team, but in the Big Ten.

Prediction: Starting nickel; 60 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions

2025 Season Countdown: #17 T.J. Guy

Name: T.J. Guy
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 250 lbs.
High school: Mansfield (MA) Mansfield
Position: Defensive end
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #42 #4
Last year: I ranked Guy #27aand said he would be a backup defensive end with 20 tackles and 3 sacks (LINK). He made 32 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and 6 quarterback hurries.
TTB Rating: 65

Guy quietly turned into a pretty destructive pass rusher in 2024, finishing second on the team with 5.5 sacks behind Josaiah Stewart’s 8.5. That was perhaps especially impressive because Guy was essentially a backup, starting only three games. I felt like Guy finished the season strongly, making 3 sacks against Indiana and Northwestern and then playing well against Alabama. He has not added any weight since last season, and he can sometimes get pushed around in the run game, but his length and speed make him an asset on the pass rush.

This season Guy should be even more productive with more playing time, and his new #4 jersey (after switching from #42) should look fun getting after the quarterback; it’s not often we see pass rushers wearing single-digit jerseys, which may be one reason why I look back so fondly on #2 Shawn Crable. He may get replaced at times in run-stuffing situations, but the Wolverines have a good situation at edge with Cam Brandt and Dominic Nichols serving as backups, some young players with athleticism, and the potential of using linebacker Jaishawn Barham off the edge as well. I’m expecting a good season out of Guy that will end with him being a day two or day three pick in the NFL draft next spring.

Prediction: Starting defensive end; 40 tackles, 8 sacks

2025 Season Countdown: #18 Evan Link

Name: Evan Link
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 324lbs.
High school: Washington (DC) Gonzaga
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #71
Last year: I ranked Link #34 and said he would be a backup offensive tackle (LINK). He started eleven games.
TTB Rating: 72

Evan Link had one of the most inauspicious seasons for a Michigan lineman in my memory. And during that season, he had a couple of the worst games I’ve ever seen for a Michigan lineman. Perhaps the only more frustrating game was the 2023 version against Penn State where right tackle Karsen Barnhart couldn’t even sniff the Nittany Lions’ edges, so Michigan just ran the ball 30+ times to end the game.

Now take that performance, extend it over most of a season, and you have Evan Link’s 2024.

That all sounds a bit negative, but it doesn’t reflect my true thoughts about Evan Link. I think Link is a better player than what he showed last season. First of all, he was a left tackle in high school, and the skills to play on the right side are naturally flip-flopped. Of course, players move around on the offensive line all the time, but some guys can pull it off and some guys can’t. Second, there were times when Link’s feet looked like they were stuck in mud, but I saw in high school the potential to have better feet than we saw in 2024, too.

I’m not saying Link will have a better season in 2025, but I think the potential is there for him to be a solid player. We have seen less athletic players manage okay on Michigan’s offensive line. I felt like Link was thinking too much last year, and if he can get to a point where he’s playing confidently this fall, we could see a better version. He will be battling to start at left tackle, and there’s a possibility he could slide inside to play right guard. The recent injury of freshman Andrew Babalola is disappointing, but I think Link was ahead in the left tackle battle, anyway. Now the competition appears to be Blake Frazier at left tackle, but my money is on Link to start on the left side.

Prediction: Starting left tackle

2025 Season Countdown: #19 Brandyn Hillman

Name: Brandyn Hillman
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 200 lbs.
High school: Portsmouth (VA) Churchland
Position: Safety
Class: Junior
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I ranked Hillman #49 and said he would be a backup nickel (LINK). He played in twelve games and made 21 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 2 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 83

Hillman seemed to slide into some serious time last season after playing a minor role in 2023, albeit burning his redshirt during the national championship season. He played over 300 snaps in 2024 and turned into a ferocious hitter, perhaps Michigan’s most exciting hitter at safety since Ernest Shazor. A former high school quarterback – a trait I love in defensive players – he should move into an even more prominent role in 2025 now that Makari Paige and Quinten Johnson have moved on.

Michigan has a deep safety group, and Hillman should be in a battle with the likes of Jaden Mangham, T.J. Metcalf, and Rod Moore to start. Moore’s health is a question mark (thus his placement at #20 in the countdown), and Metcalf seems a likely pick for the nickel spot. That could leave the trio of Hillman, Mangham, and Moore playing safety – keeping a third starter-level player available to be insurance for Moore – and Metcalf as a chess piece who can be moved around a little bit.

Prediction: Starting safety

Savion Hiter, Wolverine

Mineral (VA) Louisa running back Savion Hiter committed to Michigan on Tuesday morning. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee, and others.

Hiter is listed at 5’11” and 200 lbs. As a junior in 2024, he ran 156 times for 1,698 yards (10.8 yards/carry) and 26 touchdowns. He also made 56 tackles, 7 sacks, and 1 interception on defense and returned 3 kickoffs for touchdowns.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 89 grade, #2 RB, #24 overall
On3: 5-star, #1 RB, #11 overall
247 Sports: 5-star, 98 grade, #1 RB, #17 overall

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