One of the question marks facing the Michigan football defense heading into the 2025 season was the cornerback position, most notably the depth of it.
The Wolverines returned both of their starters from the end of last season in Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry. Hill has played well this season. Maybe not like a first-round pick, but he has played well.
Berry has been injured and missed the past two games. In his place, one of the guys getting a bunch of snaps is Jayden Sanders, who started the past two games for Michigan football and frankly, might just be a fixture in the lineup moving forward.
Freshman cornerback stands out for Michigan football
The 6-foot-2 cornerback was ranked No. 228 overall in the 247 Sports composite rankings for the 2025 class. 247 Sports ranked him 128th overall. There wasn't a ton of buzz about Sanders. He didn't even enroll early, but through four games, he might be the second-most impactful freshman outside of five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood.
Sanders has started the past two games at cornerback. He's got 16 tackles so far this season to go along with one pass breakup. He's also allowed just 71 yards on 10 targets on more than 20 coverage snaps. PFF has graded him at a 73.8 in coverage, which is the second-best grade on the Michigan football team, according to The Wolverine.
Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore praised Sanders this week, too. Sanders hasn't looked like a freshman and Nebraska has a stellar group of receivers.
There aren't many teams with more talent at wide receiver than Nebraska on the schedule. Ohio State and USC are the two that come to mind. The point is, Sanders has held up well so far and there is no reason to think he won't keep playing the way he has so far this season.