Michigan Football: Daxton Hill Update ahead of CFP Semifinal

The Michigan football team is gearing up to face Georgia in the College Football Playoff Semifinal on December 31. However, they may be without a key playmaker on defense as they hope to advance to the National Championship.

Internet rumors have been swirling early this week as nobody has seen any pictures or heard anything from star safety Daxton Hill.

Many have suggested that he has contracted COVID-19 and will be unavailable for Michigan football’s matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs.

Nothing has been confirmed, but Chris Balas of TheWolverine.com was on The Huge Show hosted by Bill Simonson on Tuesday and had some interesting things to say about the former five-star out of Oklahoma.

“We do believe that he is not here at this point. That’s our feeling about it,” Balas said when asked about the rumors that Hill was unavailable for the semifinal matchup.

He also emphasized that this is unconfirmed and that there is hope that Hill could travel to Miami within the next couple of days and be ready to play against Georgia on December 31.

Balas pointed to Georgia backup quarterback JT Daniels’ situation where he similarly joined up with the team later after testing positive for COVID-19 on December 21 as a potential blueprint for what could unfold with Hill.

Unfortunately for the Wolverines, the timing of this news would not work out the same way if Hill does test positive.

Balas also mentioned that, to his knowledge, this is the only connection to COVID-19 that Michigan football has had, so there is at least some good news.

Impact of (potentially) losing Daxton Hill

In short, losing Daxton Hill would be catastrophic.

Hill would likely be tasked with most of the responsibility of covering Georgia’s star true freshman tight end Brock Bowers.

Bowers has a season line of 47 receptions for 791 yards and 11 touchdowns, adding 56 yards on four carries for a touchdown as well.

He has the team lead in each of the three aforementioned receiving categories and his rushing statistics demonstrate just how good of an athlete he is at the tight end position.

Hill was said to have the best coverage skills on the team by former Wolverines’ defensive coordinator Don Brown a year ago, and his coverage abilities would be sorely missed.

However, Hill is more than just a lockdown coverage safety, he also has the ability to blitz off the edge and come down to help in run support.

His versatility to play free safety, play in the box, nickel, or even outside cornerback at times, has been huge for first-year defensive coordinator Mike MacDonald and his defense this season.

If Hill is unable to suit up for the Maize and Blue, the next man up would likely be true freshman Rod Moore and/or sophomore RJ Moten.

Both players have the ability to step up and make a name for themselves on the national stage, but replacing a nearly three-year starter in a playoff semifinal game is a tall task, especially for young players like Moore and Moten.

Hopefully, this conversation is rendered moot and Daxton Hill can play on Friday for the Wolverines.