Expert Projects Michigan Will Have the Best Defense in College Football Again

Defense wins championships – and Michigan football knows that all too well.

Despite losing 13 players to the NFL – fourth-most since 1994 – the Wolverines return plenty of stars and will field the strongest defense in college football this season, according to 247Sports projections. Fittingly, Ohio State landed second on the list.

In total, five Big Ten programs made the eight-team list: Iowa, Oregon, and Nebraska.

The defense is led by All-American defenders in CB Will Johnson & DT Mason Graham – two unanimously projected top-10 picks. It’s rounded out with budding superstars already projected as future draft picks, like ILB Jaisham Barham, DT Kenneth Grant, and edge defenders Josaiah Stewart & Derrick Moore.

Perhaps the most overlooked weapon on the defense isn’t on the field. It’s new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who brings seven years of experience as an NFL coordinator and pioneered the scheme that Michigan used since 2021.

You give an NFL coordinator the keys to a defense built for his unique style with more talent than nearly every team in the country, and task him with game-planning against college coordinators after two decades in the league – what happens next?

There’s little doubt in believing this unit will be everything it’s hyped up to be.

Michigan shares key update on defensive training camp battle

Will Johnson entered training camp with one starting cornerback spot locked up. Sherrone Moore revealed that Jyaire Hill will start opposite the first-team All-American. Speaking to the media on Monday, the U-M head coach said:

“Jyaire has really taken a hold of that position and done a really good job. He’s been phenomenal, tough – just a gritty dude. One of Kankakee’s finest and he’s been great, so I think it’ll be him on Saturday to line up across from Will Johnson.”

Hill beat out transfer cornerbacks Aamir Hall and Ricky Johnson for the starting role. The four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class appeared in just four games as a true freshman, preserving his redshirt status. He recorded eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in limited playing time.

Check out Sherrone Moore’s comments below (starting at the 12:57 mark):

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms