Name: Jimmy Rolder Height: 6’2″ Weight: 240 lbs. High school: Orland Park (IL) Marist Position: Linebacker Class: Redshirt sophomore Jersey number: #30 Last year: I ranked Rolder #39 and said he would be a backup linebacker (LINK). He played in six games and made 5 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. TTB Rating: 81
Rolder took a unique path in 2023 by redshirting during his second year. Nagged a little bit by injury, the coaching staff purposefully had him play in fewer than four regular season games so he could take a redshirt and preserve that year of eligibility. (Post-season games don’t count against the four-game limit for redshirts.) So when Rolder did play last year, he seemed a little bit rusty and maybe even looked like he had taken a small step back from 2022.
But this year Rolder is seven pounds heavier and almost certain to be in the rotation at linebacker. Michigan did bring in one of Maryland’s best players in linebacker Jaishawn Barham to start at middle linebacker, and #3 linebacker Ernest Hausmann will step in at WILL to replace Michael Barrett. Rolder will probably take the Hausmann role from last year and play a significant amount at both spots, but Jaydon Hood is also in competition to play.
2023 Starters: MLB Junior Colson, WLB Michael Barrett Losses: Colson (NFL), Barrett (NFL) Returning players: Jaydon Hood (RS Jr.), Ernest Hausmann (Jr.), Micah Pollard (Jr.), Jimmy Rolder (RS So.), Semaj Bridgeman (RS Fr.), Jason Hewlett (RS Fr.), Hayden Moore (RS Fr.) Newcomers: Jaishawn Barham (Jr.), Jeremiah Beasley (Fr.), Cole Sullivan (Fr.) Projected starters: MLB Barham, WLB Hausmann
With the prevalence of the nickel position, linebacker has been somewhat de-emphasized in recent years. A position group that used to play three guys is now primarily whittled down to two. Michigan had a very good two in 2023 in Junior Colson and Michael Barrett, but both are off to the NFL. Both have had very different paths, with Colson playing three years – two as a starter – and Barrett bouncing around between running back, slot receiver, Viper, and weakside linebacker.
Michigan will have two new starting faces at linebacker in 2024, and both of them are transfers who previously wore red. Barham is a two-year starter at Maryland whom the Wolverines poached this off-season. Hausmann started as a freshman at Nebraska in 2022 before joining the Wolverines in 2023, rotating heavily with Colson and Barrett as basically a third starter. So while both will be new starters at Michigan, they have three combined years of starting and another year of heavily involvement out of four college seasons. That’s a ton of experience for two “new” starters and should help Michigan’s defense succeed in 2024.
The backup situation is a little murkier, especially with a new defensive coordinator (Wink Martindale) and a new linebackers coach (Brian Jean-Mary). Jimmy Rolder got a lot of experience in 2022 before playing sparingly in 2023 in the hopes of preserving his redshirt, which was a successful endeavor. Rolder seems like the most likely guy to emerge as a rotational guy or primary backup in 2024. Meanwhile, Jaydon Hood is a fourth-year player who was recruited by Jean-Mary to Michigan out of high school; some suspected Hood would have left by now with no clear path to playing time, but he’s still wearing a winged helmet.
Junior Micah Pollard has played a ton of special teams and some in a backup role, but the rest of the guys are total unknowns on the college level. Semaj Bridgeman, Jason Hewlett, and Hayden Moore all redshirted in 2023, and Michigan gets two early enrollees involved this spring with in-state product Jeremiah Beasley and Pennsylvanian Cole Sullivan. There are way too many players (10) in the linebacker room to support just two starting spots, so this is a position group that will certainly be thinned out by transfers within the next couple years. But for now, it will be interesting to see who could eventually step in, because both Barham and Hausmann could conceivably jump to the NFL with solid seasons in 2024.
Name: Jimmy Rolder Height: 6’2″ Weight: 233 lbs. High school: Orland Park (IL) Marist Position: Linebacker Class: Sophomore Jersey number: #30 Last year: I ranked Rolder #81 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in thirteen games and made 14 tackles. TTB Rating: 81
Rolder emerged last season, especially late, as a valuable piece of Michigan’s defense. With Nikhai Hill-Green out for the 2022 season with an injury, the team needed someone to step up at inside linebacker. Junior Colson and Mike Barrett manned the positions for the most part, but the third guy turned out to be Rolder, who made 14 tackles altogether. Listed at 220 lbs. last year, he looked a little thin and had a few tackling issues – which stood out more because Michigan tackles so well in general – but he played pretty well for a freshman.
This season Rolder might end up being the fourth linebacker. Colson and Barrett return, and Nebraska transfer Ernest Hausmann is also in the mix. Rolder has added thirteen pounds and might look less out of place, but the other three guys all have significant starting experience. There has been some talk that Colson could leap to the NFL in 2024, and Barrett will be out of eligibility, so Hausmann and Rolder could be getting groomed in 2023 to be the inside linebacker duo for next year. Regardless, there are always bumps and bruises at linebacker, so Rolder should get some decent playing time on defense as well as continue to be a special teams player.
Name: Jimmy Rolder Height: 6’2″ Weight: 220 lbs. High school: Orland Park (IL) Marist Position: Linebacker Class: Freshman Jersey number: N/A Last year: Rolder was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 115 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles. TTB Rating: 81
Rolder was a bit of a late bloomer. Originally planning to play baseball in college, his recruitment didn’t really take off until he realized that hitting running backs is a whole lot easier to do than hitting baseballs. His first Power 5 offer didn’t come until October of his senior season. He climbed in the rankings and eventually ended up as a 4-star, the #21 linebacker, and #222 overall in the 247 Composite, and Michigan bested Florida, Iowa, LSU, Ohio State, and Wisconsin for his services.
Rolder did not enroll at Michigan early and is just getting to campus this summer, so the chances of him playing much this fall are slim. Much like Deuce Spurlock (whom I profiled yesterday), if Rolder gets on the field, that means things have probably gone wrong with injuries and performance ahead of him. He also probably needs a year or two in the weight room. He could get some late game snaps to prepare him for 2023, when Michigan may need someone to take up snaps potentially vacated by Mike Barrett.
Is Mason Graham the next Maurice Hurst, Jr.? (image via Twitter)
Thanks to Ashley, Eric, Joe, and Stephen for the recent Paypal donations.
As much as we like to get excited about every single Michigan recruit, it’s important to keep perspective and realize that not every one of these players will be destined for stardom. This exercise can give us a range of what to expect from some of these players, even though star rankings can be very wrong.
Will Johnson – CB – Grosse Pointe (MI) South 2022 ranking: #14 Historical ranking: tied for #9 all-time at Michigan Tied with: S Daxton Hill (2019) and DE LaMarr Woodley (2003) Closest positional comparisons: Jabrill Peppers (#3 in 2014) and Donovan Warren (#27 in 2007)
Derrick Moore – DE – Baltimore (MD) St. Francis 2022 ranking: #49 Historical ranking: tied for #37 all-time at Michigan Tied with: OG Kyle Kalis (2012) and RB Ty Isaac (2013) Closest positional comparisons: Pierre Woods (#43 in 2001) and Luiji Vilain (#56 in 2017)
Keon Sabb – S – Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy 2022 ranking: #84 Historical ranking: #64 all-time at Michigan Flanked by: OT Cory Zirbel (#83 in 2005) and #87 Kyle Bosch (2013) Closest positional comparisons: Michael Williams (#72 in 2007) and Demar Dorsey (#87 in 2010)
