ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Before Kyle Whittingham and Jay Hill had noted that perhaps the Michigan football linebacker corps was the weak link of the defense, there was some consternation about the position going into the 2026 offseason.
Last year, the game one starters were Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham. Barham moved up to be primarily an edge rusher, and Jimmy Rolder came in to replace him. Hausmann ended up leaving the team late in the season, and Cole Sullivan -- who was already in heavy rotation -- ended up looking like the future of the position. But Barham and Rolder went to the NFL, and Sullivan ended up transferring to Oklahoma. Thus, the four main linebackers for the Wolverines were suddenly gone.
The new coaching staff, including Hill,
the defensive coordinator, had high hopes for the younger players who would be stepping in. But it appeared as if it would be a challenge for them to rise up. However, now that fall camp is in the rearview, when WolverinesWire asked Hill on Wednesday which players across the defense had made the biggest jumps, it was three linebackers whom he mentioned -- very good news for the maize and blue.
"Chase Taylor has done an amazing job to this point," Hill said. "I think Troy Bowles continues to get better and better. Nathaniel Staehling has done a good job. So those three backers, I think, are playing a pretty good level. Alex Whittingham has done a really, really good job with those guys."
Hill mentioned other players across the defense who are standing out, but he started with the three backers as the top players who have made big leaps in camp. He won't go as far as to say the room is fully up to expectations, but he feels like the progress that the linebackers have made from spring to now has been substantial.
We asked a follow-up about his overall feeling, and he feels more like he's in wait-and-see mode than he does believing the linebackers are more of a work-in-progress.
"Yeah, give me a couple weeks, and I'll tell you exactly how good they're playing," Hill said. "But I think to this point those guys have done a really good job of learning the defensive system and scheme. For as complicated as it is, I think those guys have done a really good job with that. And the progression has been just getting better every day, so that's been good."
While there's no official depth chart as of yet, Hill did assert who the starters will be at the position group for the Western Michigan game.
As he notes, six will see the field, but there's a first group and a second group, with former three-star Chase Taylor, transfer Nathaniel Staehling, and former Georgia transfer Troy Bowles leading the way ahead of the other three.
"Probably those three guys that we mentioned: Chase Taylor, Nathaniel Staehling, and Troy Bowles," Hill said. "And then Ice Mo (Aisea Moa) will play. Nate Owusu-Boateng will play. And maybe Max Alford will play. So those six guys will play."
Fans will get a chance to see the new linebacking corps in action on Saturday, when Michigan football hosts Western Michigan at The Big House. Kickoff is set for 7:36 p.m. EDT, and the game will be nationally broadcast on NBC.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Jay Hill reveals Michigan football's starting linebackers for Week 1
