Michigan Football: Khaleke Hudson will be an impact player in 2019

Khaleke Hudson announced that he will return to play for Michigan football next season and here is why that decision will lead to a big season in 2019.

When you look back at Michigan football and its defense this past season, there were a lot of positives. A number of players took a leap with more playing time, however, one guy that seemed to take a step back this past season was viper Khaleke Hudson.

As a sophomore, when Hudson was first moved into the viper role to take the place of Jabrill Peppers, he put up some really impressive numbers, totaling 77 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and nine pass breakups.

To say he was an impact player was an understatement and after a season like that, it seemed like he was destined to leave early for the NFL draft. Hudson was talked about as a top-100 prospect when the season started but after tallying just 39 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack, plus no interceptions, his stock seems to have fallen considerably.

So when Hudson announced that he was returning to Michigan football Friday instead of declaring for the NFL draft, it wasn’t a huge surprise. Hudson needs to improve his draft stock and as he said, he wants to help the Wolverines win.

Hudson talks about unfinished business and he has some of that on two fronts. On the one hand, he surely wants to improve his draft stock during what will be his senior season. Also, he will want to help his team beat Ohio State and try to achieve the other goals that have alluded the Wolverines.

As far as the team goals, there are a lot of factors including what happens with the offense that will determine that. In terms of improving his draft stock though, Hudson should have every opportunity to do that.

With Devin Bush Jr. moving onto the NFL, Michigan football will need someone to help replace his production, including 10 sacks over the past two seasons and Hudson is an ideal candidate. He showed in 2017 how effective he can be in that role and with Bush gone, he should get even more chances to pressure the quarterback in 2019.

Of course, it will be up to him to take advantage of those opportunities but he proved to be an impact player before. While the Wolverines may want to utilize him in coverage, he does seem to play better when he’s attacking so we will see what Don Brown has in store for him.

At 6-foot, 220-pounds, he probably isn’t big enough to take over Bush’s job at middle linebacker, at least full time, but there is no reason he can’t take his place in the pressure packages and as the most proven blitzer among Michigan linebackers, he should get plenty of chances to make plays.

Hopefully, he will deliver but based on his history, there is a good chance he will and if he does, not only will it help Michigan football, it will also greatly help his draft stock.