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Michigan Football: Sherrone Moore talks secondary battles, players stepping up

Originally posted on Michigan Wolverines on SI
By Trent Knoop | Last updated Jul 25, 2025 8:35 AM ET

When the 2024 football season approached, many believed Michigan was going to have a top-five defense out of the gate. But after losing Mike Sainristil and Josh Wallace from the 2023 National Championship team, there was some obvious regression at cornerback. The position had some highlight moments, but it also got picked apart in the early goings against teams like Texas and Oregon.

However, as the season went on, players like Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill got better. Will Johnson went down with an injury, and players stepped up. Now, entering Year 2 under Sherrone Moore, Michigan returns both Berry and Hill, along with several safeties it feels good about -- including veteran Rod Moore.

Speaking at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday, Moore said while Berry could play nickel, the Wolverines like him at corner. He also mentioned both true freshman Shamari Earls and Louisiana transfer Caleb Anderson as two players who have stood out.

"Yeah, I really like Zeke at corner," Moore said. "He obviously showed high upside throughout the end of the season and I feel like he’s going to be in a good spot. The other guy that’s really standing out is Shamari Earls the freshman corner. He’s 6’2″, 200 pounds or 195 and super fast, super agile. Caleb Anderson the transfer from Louisiana like Lamar did a great job with him. Another tall, long guy just kind of in the mold of the corners that we’ve brought in the Josh Wallaces the Aamir Hall’s, those guys that have come in and had really good senior years, graduate season years, and Caleb kind of fits in that mold too.

"Then Jojo Edmonds is another guy that will fit in that phrase so I feel like there’s some young guys. I’m excited to see Jayden Sanders and Elijah Dotson who’s going to play safety and he’s going to play nickel. Those are some young, talented guys that I feel like they could jump in the fray but we’ll see when we get the fall camp."

With Hill and Berry likely holding down the two starting spots at corner, the one position up for grabs is at nickel. Toward the end of last season, the Wolverines moved Makari Paige to nickel and that's how Michigan ran its defense to end the season. With Paige gone, Moore mentioned a few other safeties who could play nickel this season.

"Yeah, we’ve done that before," Moore said of playing safeties at nickel. "We’ve had bigger safeties there not just Makari but the year before we did that. We did a little bit with Makari the year before and other guys so definitely an option for us and a guy we can put there a guy like Mason Curtis would be another guy we can have there. Brandyn Hillman is a guy we can have there. TJ Metcalf, all those guys. So it’s going to be a competition that will go throughout camp and even guys will rotate in the season for it."

Michigan will begin fall camp at the end of July and will take on New Mexico on August 30.

This article first appeared on Michigan Wolverines on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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