DETROIT — With Michigan football having lost several key defensive players to the NFL draft — first-rounders Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, second-rounder Will Johnson, and third-rounder Josaiah Stewart — many across college football don’t have high expectations for the Wolverine defense. Yet, the unit that was No. 10 in the country a year ago in total defense is ready to reload, and it’s shown that it’s capable of dominating, even without those aforementioned stars.
Against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl, nine of this year’s expected 11 starters defensively were on the field at the outset of the game, while many others factored in. That group held a formidable, full-strength Crimson Tide offense to just 13 points. One of the stars of that game was safety Brandyn Hillman, who is now entering his junior year.
Expected to start this year, Hillman believes that the defense showcased its ability in the ReliaQuest Bowl and that it will improve upon what was seen last year — especially the lapses in the early season in 2024.
“In one of my other interviews, I kind of said, in my opinion, we’re the best in the country — I mean the best group in the country up front and in the back end,” Hillman said on the Locked On Wolverines Podcast. “The back end, we’re real young, real young guys like me, Jyaire Hill, TJ Metcalf, Tevis Metcalf, Jacob Oden — like everybody young. We’re all around the same age, and then the guys up front, we’re known for that, and it’s never a step off. It’s never a step off. Y’all seen it from the Alabama game. We didn’t have Mason, K.G., but it wasn’t a step off. You still out there getting to the quarterback. So I feel like it’s a big year coming up, my guys ready. I’m ready to come out to show it.”
Hillman had already braved quite a bit of depth at the safety position to find himself in the…
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Publish date : 2025-05-19 16:34:00
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