anthony solomon

Two defensive players who’ve rarely gotten on the field are in the portal, Rivals’ Josh Henschke is reporting:

#Michigan linebacker Anthony Solomon enters the transfer portal @rivalsmike @RivalsPortal https://t.co/hSYfehTXnq #GoBlue

— Josh Henschke (@JoshHenschke) January 3, 2022

NEW ON TMBR: Michigan defensive back Darion Green-Warren enters transfer portal https://t.co/qw8BYhCH7r #GoBlue

— The Maize and Blue Review (@MaizeBlueReview) January 3, 2022

Solomon was recruited in 2019 to play the Viper position that made a sort of renaissance this year with Michael Barrett, who’s a class ahead of him. Barrett redshirted as a freshman however so the two have the same eligibility. Depth chart hawks also noticed that Joe Velazquez appeared to be ahead of Solomon for the specialized hybrid safety role, though Joey had just 11 snaps to Solomon’s five (both played special teams). Several of the hyped freshmen safeties recruited this year could also factor in there, notably five-star Keon Sabb.

Green-Warren departs having never made a dent in a pliable cornerback depth chart over two years on campus. The four-star Californian jammer could still play four years somewhere since last year doesn’t count and he redshirted this one. Gemon Green, DJ Turner, and Vincent Gray locked down the starting rotation in 2021, true freshman Ja’Den McBurrows was the next man in, and here again there’s going to be an influx of talent that shouldn’t be far from seeing the field, led by five-star Will Johnson. Deep backups Keshaun Harris, George Johnson, Andre Seldon (DGW’s classmate) and Quinten Johnson all played ahead of Green-Warren this season.

Unfortunately this means the end of our dream of Michigan playing Green, Green, Hill-Green, Hill, and Green-Warren at the same time.

Previously: The Story. Podcast 12.4A, 12.4B, 12.4C. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End. Interior OL. Offensive Tackle. Defensive End. Defensive Tackle.

This is awesome! Just don't look past the starters. The starters are a guy who played at an all-conference level in his second year and a guy who almost played at an all-conference level in his second year. Josh Ross is his brother plus 30 pounds. Cam McGrone is Devin Bush* plus four inches. Josh Ross and Cam McGrone are awesome.

Their backups are true freshmen. DO NOT GET COVID.

*[-ish!]

INSIDE LINEBACKER

RATING: 4

balki-ass dancing is a bonus [Patrick Barron]

It was weird watching CAM MCGRONE [recruiting profile] emerge into Michigan's starting middle linebacker midseason. He was supposed to be Devin Bush, and he was a lot like Devin Bush except for one thing. He made mistakes. This isn't a McGrone problem. He was a redshirt freshman tossed into the most complicated spot on defense. It is a people looking at Cam McGrone problem: our expectations have been so warped by Bush that even a guy who did stuff like this in year two…

…gets an owlish glance because he also did stuff like this:

MLB #44

This happened for a few games and then largely stopped. Giddyup.

[After THE JUMP: also there are vipers]

Previously: Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver & Tight End, Offensive Line, Defensive Line

I'm bringing back this preview feature from before my time off; the exercise is to rank Michigan's opponents, as well as the Wolverines themselves, in each position group. This is particularly useful to do in a year when roster turnover and late-offseason changes (laaaaaaaaaaaaaate-offseason changes) are so prevalent; I'll do my best in these posts to highlight significant opt-outs, opt-ins, and the like.

Our long regional nightmare is over.

Tier I: You're Damn Right I'm Putting Another Michigan Picture Here

Josh Ross is back on the weak side, where he excelled in 2018 [Barron]

1. Michigan. Technically, Michigan replaces two of their three linebacker starters this year, but that's a bit misleading: Josh Ross returns from a year marred by injury, a move to middle linebacker that didn't take, and the emergence of Jordan Glasgow as a draftable weakside linebacker. He'll replace Glasgow at the WILL, where he started in 2018, tallying 61 tackles (five for loss) despite playing in a somewhat inexplicable platoon with Devin Gil—Ross was clearly the superior player. Back at his natural position, he could be an all-conference player.

The main attraction, of course, is MIKE Cam McGrone, who exploded onto the scene in his second year with impact and style reminiscent of Devin Bush. While McGrone can tighten up a few things, he was essentially a redshirt freshman last year, and he's already proven capable of swinging games by finishing plays in the backfield. If the defensive tackles can stand up to more double-teams—a big if, though one I'm cautiously optimistic about with Carlo Kemp moving to three-tech—then McGrone will be freed up even more, and he's got All-American potential if that happens.

There are a couple intriguing up-and-comers at VIPER, led by Michael Barrett, a former high school quarterback who's got the look of a versatile thumper; he may also be the primary long-term backup at either inside linebacker spot. If the defense needs more of a third safety, Anthony Solomon was praised as one of the best cover linebackers in his class, with the lack of a traditional positional projection holding back his rating—not a problem at Don Brown's hybrid spot. Ben VanSumeren is another former multi-position athlete who's received some offseason hype for his work at SAM, a position that could be of greater importance if DT is a worst-case scenario.

While there's not a ton of depth, I stress that less at linebacker than along the defensive line; there's far less rotation necessary at LB.

2. Ohio State. This wasn't a good unit in 2018. Freed of Greg Schiano's coaching in 2019, however, they were much better, and while WILL Malik Harrison is a major loss to the NFL, most everyone else is back. From my HTTV preview:

The linebacker level is the relative weakness on this defense. You already know the catch: they’re still plenty good and extremely talented. Redshirt senior Tuf Borland is being pushed by former top-50 recruit Teradja Mitchell in the middle; five-star senior Baron Browning gets to play the majority of snaps at his natural WILL position; senior Pete Werner displayed an impressive all-around game at their hybrid SAM position last year.

Browning*, a dangerous pass-rusher when playing on the edge instead of inside, and Mitchell are the two players who could take this unit from good to great. There's a healthy amount of depth. Michigan edges the Buckeyes out because McGrone looked like the best of the bench even though he got less help from his tackles.

*also the subject of one of the funnier high school highlights in recent memory

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the rankings.]