ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Wolverines have three starting cornerbacks in earnest, but consider themselves to have four with sophomore Shamari Earls also in the mix. Having played in four of Michigan football's five games, Earls has improved upon his meager showing in his first year, but he's continuing to ascend the more time on task he gets.
He may not be playing at the same caliber as a Jyaire Hill just yet, but he's coming along, even on his limited snaps.
In the loss to Minnesota, Earls posted his best PFF grade yet, with a 71.8 coverage grade, albeit on just 18 snaps. His position coach, Jernaro Gilford, sees the progress he's making, but says there's one place he'd like to see him continue to improve.
"Just learning to have a short-term memory,"
Gilford said. "Playing this position, it's going to be ups and downs. Guys are going to catch the ball. Guys are going to score on you. That's just life of a corner, you know what I mean? And he wants what's best for him, so he always wants to be great.
"He never wants to give up a catch. He never wants to give up a touchdown. But at the same time, I need to teach him to be realistic, you know what I mean? I'm like, look, everybody gets scored on. Everybody gets balls caught on them. No matter what corner you're talking about, you can look at the best that has ever played the game. They've had down moments. But what made them great is the way that they respond. So that's what you need to start looking at, is the way people respond. You know what I mean? Not just everybody highlights. Look at the way they respond to their lowlights. And that's how you become great."
So how would Earls go about learning how to have more of a short-term memory? It comes mostly from practical experience -- first in practice and then in games. Along with that, he needs to continue his mentality of not wanting to give anything up while also recognizing it's not completely feasible that he won't ever give up plays.
But Gilford says it's about making more plays than he gives up.
"If somebody beats you, you have to be hungry for that very next rep against that same person," Gilford said. "'It's not going to happen to me.' That has to be the whole mindset. It's not going to continue to happen. You just have to know that you're going to make more plays than you give up. As long as you make more plays than you give up, you're always going to be positive. You'll start to feel more confident as you make plays and your teammates are cheering you on and stuff like that because they actually see that that didn't affect you. But as those things start to affect you, it's kind of contagious a little bit."
Fans will likely get another chance to see Earls in action on Saturday when Michigan football hosts Penn State at The Big House. Kickoff is set for 3:36 p.m. EDT, and the game will be broadcast on CBS.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan CB coach reveals next step in Shamari Earls' development
