The Michigan secondary was nice and sound until Will Johnson went down with an injury halfway through the year. Nonetheless, the rest of the group stepped up in big moments to defeat Ohio State and Alabama:
The Michigan Wolverines had a tall task ahead of them in the secondary heading into the 2024 season. After winning the national championship, the Wolverines needed to find replacements Mike Sainristil, Josh Wallace and DJ Waller.
To do so, the Wolverines turned to the transfer portal and brought in Aamir Hall from Albany. With Will Johnson going down with an injury midway through the year, guys like Hall, Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill stepped up when the team needed them most.
Here is our review of the cornerbacks from the 2024 season.
CB Will Johnson
Johnson was already on every NFL team’s radar as he began his junior season, and he was looking to build off his four interceptions in 2023. In Week 1 against Fresno State, he jumped a pass in the red zone and took the interception back for an 86-yard touchdown.
Two weeks later, Johnson set a new record at Michigan with his career third pick-six, returning a 42-yarder for a touchdown against USC. He then started the next two games until he exited the game against Illinois with an injury.
It was unclear what the injury was at first, finally getting disclosed as a toe/lower leg injury . He was expected to eventually get back on the field, but he never did. It was a disappointing end to a legendary career, but his production in the 2.5 years of play has earned him first-round grades across draft boards.
CB Aamir Hall
Hall played a lot of football — 39 games, to be exact — at the FCS level before making his way to Ann Arbor, and he was even a first-team FCS All-American in 2023.
The first four games at the Power Four level weren’t as expected for Hall, as he did not start until Week 5 against Minnesota. When Johnson continued to be ruled out, Hall stayed in the starting lineup and held his own against some of the best wide receivers in the Big Ten. Hall made eight tackles against Michigan State, intercepted his first pass as a Wolverine against Northwestern, and made one of the biggest plays of the game against Ohio State, intercepting a pass and bringing it back to the one yard line.
AAMIR HALL WITH THE INTERCEPTION! pic.twitter.com/3IoCQGQuE0
— uofmcoverage (@uofmcoverage) November 30, 2024
Finally, in his last game of the season against Alabama, Hall led the defense with nine tackles, forcing a fumble, making a sack and breaking up a pass. Unfortunately, Hall is out of college eligibility.
CB Jyaire Hill
Hill came to Ann Arbor as a four-star recruit and did not play much as a freshman. After Sainristil, Wallace and Waller left the program, however, Hill was viewed as the next lockdown corner in Ann Arbor Starting 10 games in 2024, Hill made 35 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, eight pass breakups and one interception.
In 598 snaps, Hill earned a PFF grade of 76.9 , eighth-best on the defense. With Johnson and Hall NFL bound, Hill is in a good position to start once again this fall.
NB/CB Zeke Berry
During his first two seasons in college, Berry was mainly a special teams contributor. However, when Sainristil left for the NFL, Berry won the job to take over as the starting nickel corner.
Unfortunately, Berry struggled mightily to begin the year and was given a 58.6 overall grade per PFF because of that. Opposing offenses knew to stay away from Johnson and Hall, so Berry was targeted a team-high 65 times and allowed 39 receptions, the second-most on the team.
However, Berry finished the year on a high note primarily working on the outside. He earned an 81.8 grade against Indiana and gave up just one reception each in the games against Northwestern and Alabama. It’s unknown where exactly he will line up in 2025, but hopefully his growth in 2024 makes him a more consistent player moving forward.
Future Outlook
With Johnson and Hall both gone, Hill and Berry will be the only two returning starters. Freshman Jo’Ziah Edmond — who earned some playing time in 2024 — is expected to take a leap forward, and Ja’Den McBurrows should be back from injury.
Additionally, the Wolverines brought in TJ and Tevis Metcalf (Arkansas), and Caleb Anderson (Louisiana) from the transfer portal. Michigan also has some very talented incoming freshmen in Shamari Earls, Jordan Young, Elijah Dotson, Jayden Sanders and Kainoa Winston. The secondary should be in good hands moving forward even without an All-American talent like Johnson.