In Michigan's first season under new head coach Sherrone Moore, the defensive back room is undergoing plenty of change and searching for answers at various spots in the secondary. 

Elite cornerback Will Johnson remains the key cog in all of it, but the Wolverines are looking to fill the CB2 role, nickel role, and depth in the safety room. 

Michigan defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan recently offered some clarity on a few of these roles and revealed the likely starters at each spot. 

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Jyaire Hill Set to Start at CB2

The Michigan Wolverines are searching for a player to step in and fill in their starting CB2 spot opposite Will Johnson. Josh Wallace, who filled in the role last year, signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a UDFA. 

Recently, the momentum solidified behind sophomore Jyaire Hill, who had drawn encouraging reviews throughout the offseason. 

LaMar Morgan all but confirmed that Hill's performance had earned him a spot as the "early favorite" opposite of Johnson. 

""Right now you would say the early favorite would be, 'Suga,' Jyaire," Morgan said Sunday. "He's done a great job. He probably has a little bit advantage of some of the guys that's in the program just by getting all the reps he got this spring football, and now fall camp. But I think there's a constant battle. We've got two weeks for guys to continue to make moves."

Hill, a four-star recruit out of Illinois, was Michigan's third-highest-ranked recruit in their 2023 recruiting class. 

The Wolverines added two transfer cornerbacks in Aamir Hall out of Albany and Ricky Johnson III out of UNLV, who have pushed Hill for that role, but for now, Hill's familiarity with the system and expectations have earned him a shot with the starters.

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Zeke Berry the Likely Nickel

Coach Morgan also broke down the nickel room, and it appears like junior Zeke Berry is the front-runner to start in the nickel. 

"I love Zeke. Zeke's going to be a guy that we're going to try to move around…We have some talented guys like Zeke; they just haven't played as much…But I think Zeke is probably the leader in that nickel role right now, J-Mac behind him. We've been playing some of the other guys behind them, but the two guys that's been playing nickel the most at practice have been Zeke Berry and J-Mac [Ja'Den McBurrows]."

The Wolverines have to replace standout defensive back Mike Sainristil, who was selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Washington Commanders. 

Expect a Deep Safety Rotation

With Rod Moore's injury and Keon Sabb's transfer, the Wolverines are relying on a deep safety room to fill in the gaps. 

"There's a lot of guys that we roll the ball off against Fresno, six, seven guys that you will be okay with being in the game," according to Coach Morgan. 

Quentin Johnson and team captain Makari Paige are the leaders of that room, but Tennessee transfer Wesley Walker, sophomore Brandyn Hillman, and Michigan State transfer Jaden Mangham will also see plenty of playing time this season.