Who do we believe will stay and leave the Michigan football defense in 2023?
Yesterday we looked at the Michigan Wolverines’ offensive roster movements. Today, we look at what we expect the key defensive players will do.
Following the Big Ten Championship, wide receiver-turned-nickelback Mike Sainristil announced his return for a fifth season.
Jake Moody and Brad Robbins have all used up their eligibility, while George Rooks stated his decision to transfer on Monday.
Mazi Smith and DJ Turner’s future plans are easy to predict; Smith has been praised for his athleticism and physicality since the summer, and Turner has long been regarded as a top talent in NFL Draft forecasts.
This is, admittedly, a cop-out portion. Mike Morris has many reasons to declare for the draft, including his All-
American selection, winning the Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year Award, and Michigan’s excellent reputation
as a pass rusher factory. Morris is presently projected as a Day 3 pick, but he might boost his chances by staying for
another year.
Meanwhile, Barrett theoretically has one year of eligibility left due to the COVID year in 2020. This would be his
sixth year of college, but with limited NFL Draft status, a good NIL deal could come in useful here.
This list has a large number of names, which is due in part to Jesse Minter’s defensive strategy. If this was a defense
that relied on a hard and fast core set of players, some of these individuals would probably look elsewhere.
