Michigan football linebackers face big question mark

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- When it comes to the Michigan football defense, there's a lot of confidence externally in the secondary, confidence internally in the defensive front, but then a big question mark surrounding the linebackers. The Wolverines lost Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham, the senior starters at the outset of the last two seasons.

But they had hoped to retain Jimmy Rolder and Cole Sullivan, but Rolder departed for the NFL draft as well, while Sullivan ended up transferring to Oklahoma -- arguably the biggest loss for the team via the transfer portal. On Thursday, defensive coordinator Jay Hill gave his assessment of the linebacking corps, noting there are three players he feels are ready to be in rotation, but some work will be necessary for the group to succeed at the level he hopes. "Yeah, they're young, and they haven't played a lot, but I see a lot of talent," Hill said.

"Troy Bowles has stood out as someone that's doing some good things. Nate Owusu-Boateng has done some great things. Chase Taylor.

Bottom line, the group is going to continue to get better and better. There's guys behind them pushing hard right now. "So, I like where they're going to be.