The Michigan Wolverines will enter the 2024-2025 college football season with big expectations for a defense that shut down Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington Huskies in the 2023-2024 National Championship Game.
Michigan football returns what is widely considered to be the best defensive line in the nation, but the linebacking corps has been flying under the radar considering that Jaylen Harrell and Junior Colson are now in the National Football League.
Defensive Coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale and the Wolverines return boundless talent at the position including a transfer from the University of Maryland who is turning heads in practice, with potential All-America aspirations.
The Michigan linebacking corps’ top eight players for this coming season are as follows:
1. Josaiah Stewart-
Stewart will likely shift between defensive end and linebacker in Coach Martindale’s 2024 defense. The ex-Coastal Carolina transfer had 5.5 sacks last season and could come close to or perhaps double his production this season with more opportunities to rush the passer.
2. Derrick Moore-
Moore is listed as a defensive end but his potential as a stand-up pass-rushing linebacker landed him on this list. Moore had five sacks last season and could greatly improve on that numbers in 2024-2025.
3. Jaishawn Barham-
Barham had 37 total tackles and four sacks last season for Maryland in his second season in College Park, MD, one season after he tallied 59 total tackles and four sacks.
This season, Barham will be surrounded by faster, stronger and more talented teammates on defense which will take the pressure off and allow him to roam freely in Ann Arbor with the Wolverines.
Barham could be the breakout star not just for Michigan football’s defense. He could be the breakout star of the team’s entire roster.
4. Ernest Hausmann-
Hausmann’s success with the Wolverines last season was almost certainly influenced new coach Sherrone Moore’s decision to bring in Barham from the Terrapins.
Hausmann’s tackling production dropped off slightly from last season but he still helped spearhead one of the most stout defenses in the entire nation; the only one that was left standing at the end of the season.
Hausmann is a quiet leader who does his job and does it well. He will have a chance to seize the number one spot on this list by the time the 2024-2025 season is up.
5. TJ Guy-
Guy is listed as a defensive end, but at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, he has the ability to stand up and work as a rush linebacker in Martindale’s defense. Guy has gotten plenty of hype this offseason and appears poised to follow in a line of defenders that includes Moore, Stewart, and the former breakout star Harrell.
He has length and standout pass rushing skills with the ability to set the edge against opposing teams in the running game.
6. Jimmy Rolder-
A 6-foot-2, 240 pound junior, Rolder looks the part of a future All-Big Ten peformer but has been stuck on the depth chart behind more experienced and accomplished players.
This season will be telling. Rolder could become a classic, versatile run stuffer and pass coverage specialist in the middle of the defense or he could remain a role player who shows flashes of ability but doesn’t quite crack the starting lineup.
“Yeah, he’s been awesome,” Moore said about Rolder’s offseason performance. “He looks like the Jimmy Rolder that we thought we would get before he started to get the injuries, so he looks good. He’s in a good place physically, in a good place mentally.”
7. Jaydon Hood-
At 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, Hood has a different build than most recent Michigan linebackers.
Hood, a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida native, has been praised by Moore this off-season and appears poised to take on a bigger role with the Wolverines in 2024-2025.
8. Micah Pollard-
Pollard came in as a playmaking safety with the ability to convert to linebacker. Thus far, he has done a great job of adding strength and muscle, putting himself in position to play more on both special teams and defense as a true junior.
According to Coach Moore, Pollard, now weighs 240 pounds, up from 205 as a freshman. His high school highlight tape is impressive, suggesting a possible breakout season for the Jacksonville, Florida native.
Honorable Mention: Cole Sullivan, freshman.