Michigan’s incoming freshman class features potential stars at nearly every position group on both sides of the ball. Some may take a year or two to see the field, while others like Bryce Underwood are expected to see the field a ton as first-year players.
Another one that falls into the latter category is cornerback Shamari Earls, who has received a lot of hype this offseason as a guy that has sky-high potential and should be able to carve out a role this year.
The story so far
Earls was a Top-100 overall recruit
in the 2025 recruiting class, checking in at No. 88 overall and No. 13 at the cornerback position. He originally committed to South Carolina, but then began strongly considering two schools in particular — Michigan and Georgia.
After flipping his commitment from the Gamecocks to the Bulldogs in June 2024, defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan and company continued recruiting Earls like their life depended on it. Their hard work eventually paid off in November when they flipped him from Georgia to Michigan.
Unfortunately, Earls missed his senior year due to injury, but he excelled as a junior by racking up 25 tackles, four pass breakups and three interceptions. He also had 32 tackles, six pass breakups and two interceptions as a sophomore.
Earls enrolled early at Michigan and had some good moments during the spring game, but also some not-so-great moments. It was a great learning experience for him and his fellow freshmen, and he has still continued to receive praise this offseason as someone who is constantly improving.
”Shamari has done a good job of getting here in January, trying to put it all together,” Morgan told reporters in the spring. “He didn’t play his senior season, so it’s been a lot on him. He’s been pushing through. He’s a tough kid. Trying to get better each day.”
Outlook for 2025 season
However, senior defensive back Zeke Berry kept it real with the media earlier this month and said that while Earls is a talented player, he still has a ways to go when it comes to the mental aspect of the game.
“I wouldn’t say (Earls is) there yet (mentally), but he’s a young guy,” Berry said.
He may not be there mentally, according to Berry, but Earls certainly is there physically. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, he has the preferred size to be a shutdown cornerback in both college and the NFL. Wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy took note of that in the spring as well.
“(Earls is) a long corner, 6-2 corner, very skilled,” Bellamy said in the spring. “Those type of body types — built a little longer than Will Johnson — those guys give receivers problems just because if you beat them initially, they can recover with their length and athleticism, and he’s a kid that (we’re) expecting big things from. Obviously his recruitment, everybody in the nation wanted him, and you can see why. I think he’s gonna be a really good player.”
So if he’s going to be a really good player, as Bellamy put it, the question is when will he get there? There’s no rush for him to be a superstar right away, with players like Berry, Jyaire Hill and others projected to be ahead of him on the depth chart. But I fully expect Earls to burn his redshirt, get a lot of meaningful experience this year and fight for a starting role in 2026.
