Predicting 5 key position battles for Michigan football this fall
Safety: Too close to call
This might be a cop out, but determining the starter opposide of Makari Paige isn't going to be easy and at the end of the day, Michigan football is going to play four safeties like it did last season.
Keon Sabb, Paige, Quentin Johnson, and Rod Moore all played plenty last season and that's what will happen this year, even with new additions such as Wesley Walker and Jaden Mangham.
Walker feels like a perfect replacement for Sabb. He can be a dime back. He can play traditional safety and he could even be the nickel back. His coverage skills are tremendous and in a new era of spread offenses, having safeties who can cover man-to-man is extremely valuable.
Johnson came back for a reason and really took a step forward last season. He made big plays against Alabama and Ohio State. He might even be the "starter" but I see a rotation between Walker, Johnson, and Mangham that leads them all to playing about the same number of snaps.
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Mangham probably has the most upside and after getting comfortable in the system, he could really emerge by the end of the year. Yet, the Wolverines play a bunch of guys and I think that will be the case once again at safety.