Tag: Jyaire Hill

2025 Season Countdown: #9 Jyaire Hill

Name: Jyaire Hill
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 190 lbs.
High school: Kankakee (IL) Kankakee
Position: Cornerback
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #20
Last year: I ranked Hill #20 and said he would be a starting cornerback with 25 tackles and 2 interceptions (LINK). He started nine games and made 35 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 9 pass breakups.
TTB Rating: 88

Hill had an odd season in 2024. It was both a breakout season and an odd season. He became a starter for the first time, making nine starts in a defensive backfield that had Will Johnson, Zeke Berry, and Aamir Hall. The season included his first career interception, a very nice play against Minnesota.

And then against Northwestern, he didn’t start, played only seven snaps, and wore #35 in what appeared to be a disciplinary move. It’s not often that a player changes numbers for a single game, but the whispers behind the scenes for the past couple years have been that Hill is extremely talented but still has some work to do with the choices he makes.

Can Hill take that next step in 2025? He should be a starter at cornerback, and he reportedly took steps forward last year with his preparation. With a good season this fall, he could potentially jump to the NFL. But if those questions persist and NFL general managers are concerned, he might have to spend another year in college in 2026. So this could be a giant swing year for Hill, and if he can lock down opposing receivers, he could be a hugely valuable asset for the Wolverines.

Prediction: Starting cornerback; 40 tackles, 2 interceptions

Michigan 24, Michigan State 17

All hail Davis Warren! I’m not going to pretend that Davis Warren is on track to be J.J. McCarthy, but Warren played his best game of the year in going 13/19 for 123 yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. He did not take any sacks and scrambled once for 7 yards. I mentioned on Twitter (before I knew Jack Tuttle would miss the game) that if I were Michigan’s coaching staff, I would start Warren and mix in Alex Orji on every third series. Warren got a bad rap early in the year when he made mistakes while other people (Donovan Edwards, Evan Link, Colston Loveland, etc.) were screwing up; Warren took the blame for the team being bad. Now that the offensive line has improved some and other players have adjusted, Warren looks okay. He’s not a world-beater, but the kid can play a little bit. I’m happy for him that he got a little bit of redemption. Nobody will ever be able to take away the fact that he quarterbacked Michigan to a rivalry victory over Michigan State.

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Michigan 27, USC 24

A win is a win. I always try to keep things in perspective. Herm Edwards famously said “You play to win the game,” and Michigan won the game. The Wolverines are 3-1 and their primary goals are still within play: win the Big Ten, beat your rivals, make the College Football Playoff, and win a national championship. Sometimes you win ugly, and sometimes you win pretty. It might help put things in perspective that star tight end Colston Loveland missed the entire game with an arm injury and Will Johnson was absent at the end of the game. This just happened to be an ugly victory, but oh well.

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Michigan vs. Texas Awards

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . running backs carrying the ball. Michigan’s top two running backs, Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings, had just 14 total carries on Saturday. While they were only mildly productive, Michigan needs to commit to the run game to help out inexperienced quarterback Davis Warren. Michigan can’t just run the ball to run the ball, either; the coaches need to find creative ways to get them the ball and help them be successful.

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Michigan 30, Fresno State 10

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PWO QB FTW. Well, it was a mild surprise when it was announced that former walk-on Davis Warren was named the starting quarterback for the season opener over Alex Orji and Jack Tuttle. Orji had received most of the hype in the off-season, and Tuttle is the most experienced. But Tuttle has been dealing with injuries and soreness, so he wasn’t really an option. Rumors started coming out a couple days before the game that Warren would be the guy. He finished 15/25 for 118 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception and graded out as Michigan’s #4 offensive player (69.7 on Pro Football Focus). Overall, I thought Warren was mostly accurate. He overthrew a deep shot to Tyler Morris, and he underthrew Fredrick Morris on an open post route that could have been a touchdown but turned into an interception. There were a lot of checkdowns and short throws, probably by design to make things easy for Warren in his first start. But overall, I thought Warren looked composed and accurate.

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