Michigan football might have the best defense in all of college football this season, especially if one of the Wolverines' talented freshmen can live up to expectations.
That player is Shamari Earls, a 6-foot-2, 203-pound cornerback who isn't being discussed enough by fans or analysts.
It's easy to overlook players in the same class as Bryce Underwood. He stole the show. But Earls, a player that Michigan football flipped from Georgia, ranked 85th overall, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings.
A dynamic addition for Michigan football
Earls was a dynamic two-way player in high school. He missed most of his senior season but was impressive this spring, as an early enrollee, and is wearing the No. 2, with the blessing of Michigan football legend Charles Woodson.
As a junior in high school, he caught eight touchdowns as a wide receiver and intercepted three passes. Earls has been compared to Will Johnson. Some have even speculated that he could have a similar impact as a freshman.
Sherrone Moore mentioned Earls when talking about the cornerback room this week at Big Ten Media Days. Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill will be the starters. After that, it's wide open. Earls will be in the mix along with Caleb Anderson, Jo'Ziah Edmond, and Tevis Metcalf.
By season's end though, it wouldn't be surprising at all if Earls moved into that No. 3 role. Woodson played right away as a freshman. Johnson did, too, stepping up to cover Marvin Harrison Jr. during "The Game" back in 2022.
Earls didn't make the decision to wear No. 2 lightly. But you have to love that's he embarcing the expectations, and that he wants to be great.
It's probably asking a bit much to ask Earls to be as good as Woodson or Johnson were as freshman, two of the greatest cornerbacks in Michigan football history. Yet, Earls could a key contributor by season's end, and is another freshman that could become a household name.
He's at least a name that Michigan football fans will know by the end of the season.