Michigan Football: Devin Gil transfer will cost Wolverines LB depth
Michigan football will be minus one linebacker heading into spring practice and next season as Devin Gil announced his intention to transfer.
While roster changes happen constantly in the world of college sports, Michigan football will be dealing with another as senior linebacker Devin Gil has put his name into the transfer portal.
Gil made the announcement on his Twitter account Tuesday night when he said that he would be playing his fifth year somewhere else besides Michigan football.
Certainly, losing a player with Gil’s experience isn’t ideal, but outside of depth, it shouldn’t have a huge impact on the Wolverines who have others at linebacker such as Cameron McGrone, Josh Ross, Anthony Solomon and Michael Barrett among others.
#Flanagan HS (FL) & #Michigan #Wolverines alum LB Devin Gil (@devin_gil) enters the transfer portal and will be a grad transfer pic.twitter.com/0lYiovR8NT
— Sleeper Athletes (@SleeperAth1etes) March 10, 2020
McGrone stepped in when Ross was hurt and became the starter inside, and was arguably the Wolverines’ best defender during Big Ten play and beyond. So he has one starting job locked up and Ross, a former starter in his own right, is another guy that should see plenty of snaps.
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That didn’t leave a ton of snaps left for Gil, who was a part-time starter back during the 2018 season and was somewhat effective. Yet, he was never able to take that next step and earn his way into the lineup on a regular basis.
Now as he gets set to graduate in the spring, he will transfer and get the chance to play right away somewhere else, which can give Michigan a chance to see what it has in some younger guys on the depth chart.
Gil’s best season with Michigan football came in 2018. He played in 12 games that season and finished with 31 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack. Last season, in six games, he ended up with nine tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.
The 6-foot-1, 235-pound defender has shown some weakness in pass coverage, but he’s solid against the run and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him end up somewhere he can contribute next season in what will be his final year of eligibility.