Devin Gil, Ex-Wolverine

Rising fifth year linebacker Devin Gil announced on Tuesday that he would be transferring elsewhere for his final year of eligibility.

Gil was a part of the 2016 class that brought teammates Gil, Josh Metellus, and Devin Bush, Jr. from Charles P. Flanagan High School to Michigan. He was a 3-star, the #67 safety, and #997 overall. I initially gave him a TTB Rating of 58 (LINK) and bumped it up to a 63 after his senior year (LINK).

Hit the jump for more.

Gil redshirted in 2016 and started one game in 2017 before becoming a full-time starter in 2018. That starting role was inexplicable to me, because Josh Ross, who’s a year younger, was outperforming Gil almost every step of the way. Ross jumped ahead of Gil by the beginning of 2019, and so did Jordan Glasgow, relegating Gil to special teams. It was a strange career arc:

2016: Redshirt
2017: 0 starts, 5 tackles
2018: 13 starts, 33 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks
2019: 1 start, 9 tackles, 0.5 TFL

It was totally predictable that Gil would transfer, considering he was demoted to third string after a year of starting. Ross returns next year and will almost certainly start at the weakside linebacker position. This does leave Michigan a little thin on experience, because the only guys who have seen the field much are the two presumed starters, Ross and middle linebacker Cameron McGrone. Even the Viper position will presumably have an inexperienced starter.

On the other hand, Michigan has stocked up on linebackers in the past couple classes, bringing in Charles Thomas, Joey Velazquez, Anthony Solomon, Nikhai Hill-Green, Cornell Wheeler, Kalel Mullings, Osman Savage, and William Mohan. That’s a lot of competition, and the cream will rise to the top for someone to be that third linebacker. The coaching staff probably anticipated Gil’s departure, and former blue-chip recruit Jordan Anthony was languishing on the bench, too, before transferring.

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