Rising redshirt junior Jaylen Kelly-Powell has chosen to exit the Wolverines’ program by entering his name in the transfer portal. Kelly-Powell is listed as a 6’0″, 180 lb. defensive back. He has played in twenty career games with 7 tackles to show for it.
Here’s what I said about Kelly-Powell when he committed to the Wolverines (LINK):
Overall, I like Kelly-Powell as a safety but don’t see him being a star. He’s not athletic enough to be a standout, but he can play nickel corner or strong safety. He’s not a guy you want playing in a ton of space, but he can blitz, stop the run, and cover. I think he’s somewhat similar to current Michigan sophomore Tyree Kinnel.
I gave him a final TTB Rating of 77 (LINK).
Kelly-Powell disappeared for long stretches of his career at Michigan, and there was virtually no buzz about him coming out of practice. He bounced between corner, safety, and nickel, and it’s rare that a player who bounces around becomes a viable option at any of those spots. When I watched Kelly-Powell on the field at Michigan, he just didn’t have any juice. He was a step slow, and he’s still listed at 180 lbs. after his third year of college.
This does not really affect the defensive back depth chart because Kelly-Powell was not much of a factor. Michigan is now down to 86 players slated to be on scholarship in 2020 (LINK). That number may drop down below 85 before Michigan accepts some transfer options as they continue to look to shore up some of their weakness on the offensive and defensive lines, in particular.
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Best of luck, and GO BLUE
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There was some limited buzz his freshman and soph years but by the time he was a senior it was clear he did not have a significant role on defense. Hopefully he got his degree and gets to play elsewhere. All the best to JKP.
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