CHICAGO --
In spring ball, the one position group where new head coach Kyle Whittingham had some concern was at linebacker. After all, Michigan football lost not only the two incumbent starters from the beginning of last year in Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham, but it also lost Jimmy Rolder to the NFL and Cole Sullivan to the transfer portal. Thus, he wasn't quite sure how the position group would look.What a difference a few months make.
On Thursday at Big Ten media days, Whittingham recognized that his group is untested and unheralded, but he's feeling confident in the group's ability. He broke down four players he thinks will likely be in heavy rotation, but also noted that there could be up to six who contribute for the Wolverines this
year.
"I think the linebacker room is going to turn out to be pretty good," Whittingham said. "I think we've got some guys that a lot of people don't know about. Chase Taylor is a really promising young player. Nate Staehling from North Dakota State. He's a physical specimen. He's 243 pounds. Looks like he's chiseled out of granite. He's going to be a really good player. Troy Bowles is a real good prospect, probably the fastest and most athletic linebacker. Nate (Owusu-Boateng) is another prospect.
"We've got five or six guys that I think can really play at a Big Ten level and play very well at the Big Ten level, and we've just got to sort that out during fall camp and see. We're primarily a 4-2 base, so we've got to find out who those two guys are going to be."
While Whittingham oversees all, it's one thing to be a head coach and feel good about a position group. It's another thing entirely to know its capability from practical experience.
Running back Jordan Marshall is tasked with either facing off against or blocking linebackers, depending on his assignment on a given play. WolverinesWire asked him his thoughts on who he's been going up against in spring and in summer 7-on-7s, and, like his head coach, he's come away quite confident in what the maize and blue have in the middle of the defense.
"All of those linebackers are good," Marshall said. "You've got Wu and Chase, who are very young, but very good players. They'll be top linebackers when they come out. And then you've got the older guys, Nathaniel. You've got Max Alford, which are kind of the older guys. But I would say all four of them, the way we compete and the way we've gone after it this summer. And Troy Bowles, which I think Troy Bowles, again, is another freakish athlete.
"But those five right there, I trust any five of those to be on the field. And going up against them all summer and doing mat drills against them, they're going to be great. So you guys have nothing to worry about, too."
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham potential in linebacker corps
