5 things we learned about Michigan Football this spring

The defense hasn’t dropped off

With all of the talent returning on offense, many Michigan football fans expected the offense to shine on Saturday and while it did, the defense really won the day in the 20-12 outcome.

Michigan suffered some huge losses on defense from the 2021 season and it wasn’t just on-field talent.

Yes, Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, and Daxton Hill all left for the NFL draft, along with other starters such as Chris Hinton, Vincent Gray, Brad Hawkins, and Josh Ross, however, U-M also had to replace defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.

So far though, it looks like the Wolverines have done a stellar job replacing both the talent on field and off the field.

Jesse Minter looks like a great hire so far and the addition of Steve Clinkscale last year just proves to get better and better. His secondary was outstanding on Saturday. The transition of Sainristil has been seamless and he made a helluva play breaking up a deep ball on the opening drive.

DJ Turner, mark my words, is going to be First-Team All-Big Ten in 2022. I think he’s as good a defender as Michigan football has going into 2022, but he’s not talked about enough.

Junior Colson looks like an absolute star at linebacker and that’s maybe the one position where Michigan isn’t loaded for bear with multiple guys capable of starting, but even that position has some talent up-and-comers.

The defensive line looks really good under new coach Mike Elston and as I’ve said here, I’m not as worried about the pass rush as I was prior to spring ball.

Yet, the secondary has really impressed me, and even with the loss of Hill and Hawkins, Michigan will be better on the backend of the defense — so good in fact that five-star freshman Will Johnson may not start the opening game as we all once thought.