Michigan’s secondary was good, not great in 2025. As such, the Wolverines dipped into the transfer portal to make a meaningful upgrade alongside Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill, both of whom are entering their third season as starters. Former Utah Ute Smith Snowden was the guy, and he’s expected to be one of the defense’s best players this year.
Here’s a look back at the accomplished career Snowden has had to this point and what to expect from him in 2026.
The story so far
A native of Lehi, Utah and a product of Skyridge
High School, Snowden didn’t grab a ton of attention during the 2023 recruiting cycle. Ranked as a four-star recruit by the 247Sports composite, he was the No. 4 player in Utah and the No. 356 overall player in the country.
His list of offers wasn’t as impressive as you usually see from some other four-stars, but he ultimately chose to commit to Kyle Whittingham and Utah over schools like BYU, Tennessee, Washington State, Colorado, Arizona and Stanford.
Snowden joined Utah a bit undersized at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, but it didn’t stop him from seeing action on defense right away. As a freshman, he played in 11 games, appearing on special teams and in the secondary. As a sophomore in 2024, his role expanded to include 11 starts at nickel. That season, he made 48 total tackles, broke up 10 passes, forced a fumble and even returned some kickoffs and punts.
He truly enjoyed a breakout season in 2025, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. He started at nickel in every game for the Utes and even got some time on offense, carrying the ball eight times for 40 yards and catching 13 passes for 57 yards. On defense, he compiled 37 tackles, two tackles for loss, 11 pass breakups and two interceptions.
Following the season, Snowden and plenty of other players entered the transfer portal. With Whittingham ending up at Michigan, it was only a matter of time before he followed him to Ann Arbor. He committed to the program in January and is set to join the starting lineup this fall.
Outlook for 2026
Michigan brought back Hill and Berry after solid seasons for both of them in 2025. Both will likely reprise their starting roles on the outside, opening up a natural spot at nickel for Snowden to take over.
Snowden thrived as the starting nickel at Utah the last two seasons and has the chance to provide both high-end talent and veteran leadership to Michigan’s defense in 2026. Despite him still being pretty undersized at just 185 pounds, it’d be hard to rule out some snaps for him on the outside as well, with plenty of other players like Jordan Young, Mason Curtis, Rod Moore and others as candidates to get snaps in the slot as well.
What we can rule out, though, is probably him getting snaps on offense as he did at Utah. Michigan should have more than enough weapons there that he shouldn’t be needed. It wouldn’t be a surprise for him to at least get some reps returning punts or kickoffs, although I wouldn’t bank on that being his role regularly.
The defense has more questions than it does answers heading into the 2026 season. Plenty of attrition at all three levels has led to some speculation about just how strong the unit can be. However, defensive coordinator Jay Hill has had plenty of success at BYU the last two years, with the secondary being the star of the show. With Berry and Hill, there was some optimism, but Snowden makes it an area fans shouldn’t be worried about much at all.
