‘He’s been phenomenal’: Michigan Football has its second starting cornerback opposite Will Johnson

Michigan has arguably the best cornerback in all of college football in first team All-American Will Johnson, but one of the few question mark on the Wolverines’ defense heading into 2024 was who would start opposite Johnson at the second corner spot.

It appears we have our answer with ‘game week’ underway ahead of Michigan’s season-opener against Fresno State this upcoming Saturday. At his weekly press conference on Monday, head coach Sherrone Moore said redshirt freshman Jyaire Hill, nicknamed “Sugar” for his affinity for candy, is expected to start for the Wolverines in the opener.

“Yeah, right now it would be Jyaire,” Moore said. “Jyaire’s really taking hold of that position and doing a really good job. Sug, he’s been phenomenal, tough, just a gritty dude. One of Kankakee’s finest. And he’s been great. So I think it would be him on Saturday that would line up across from Will Johnson.”

Hill appeared in four games for the Wolverines in 2023 to preserve a redshirt year, totaling eight tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss in limited action. A former four-star prospect and Top 175 recruit, the native of Kankakee, Ill. was one of Michigan’s most coveted prospects in the 2023 recruiting class. The Wolverines beat out the homestate Illinois Fighting Illini to earn Hill’s commitment in that cycle. If Hill starts and performs well for Michigan this season, that will prove to be one of the program’s biggest recruiting wins of the past several years.

This offseason, Michigan brought in two transfer cornerbacks out of the portal, 2023 FCS All-American Aamir Hall (Albany) and UNLV starter Ricky Johnson. It appears that duo will provide depth at the position behind Johnson and Hill, at least to begin the season.

Moore also gave insight on how the Wolverines’ outlook at the safety position. Michigan returns one half of its starting duo at the position in senior Makari Paige, but lost fellow senior Rod Moore to an ACL injury during spring practice. The Wolverines return rotational safety Quinton Johnson from last year’s squad, but also added Tennessee’s Wesley Walker and Michigan State’s Jaden Mangham at the position, each of whom were starters at their previous schools. Redshirt sophomore Zeke Berry is expected to start at nickelback.

“Right now, obviously, Makari’s been phenomenal,” Moore said. “Quinten Johnson’s been great. But you’ve got Zeke Berry in there. You’ve got Wes Walker in there. You’ve got Jaden Mangham. You’ve got Brandyn Hillman, who’s really, really taken his level of play to the next level because he’s got some elite traits and ability that people haven’t seen yet, and we’re super excited. It’s finally getting there for him. But him and a guy like Zeke Berry, who’s really all he needed was the confidence. And, you know, it would be funny because I’m talking to Rod, I’m talking to Will. I was like, who’s the guy in the background? And this was in the spring. Like, who are you guys most excited about? They said, Zeke. Zeke. And to watch his evolution as a player, he’s made some plays in camp, just wild plays. And they’re like, yeah, that’s routine of his skill set. So he’s really stepped up. So that room’s super deep and ready for it.”

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