ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After Zeke Berry moved from nickel to boundary, and with Makari Paige having taken over that role when Berry moved, there's a vacancy at one of the most important positions on the Michigan football defense with no clear heir apparent. Spring ball should provide some answers, but not necessarily the final answer before the Aug. 30 season opener against New Mexico.
So who has been working at Berry's former position thus far in the spring? He shared a few of the names on Friday.
"We've been rotating a whole lot of guys," Berry said. "Tez Metcalf, he's been there. Jacob Oden's been there. Who else? Jeremiah Lowe's been there. Jyaire's been there. A whole lot of people have been there. We're rotating a lot of guys."
Berry has also been working at nickel, cross-training across the defense at multiple positions. The Wolverines have long had the idea of putting the best players out on the field, regardless of position, which could provide an opening for a talented freshman should he come along quickly.
Former four-star and once-Georgia commit Shamari Earls has been thought of as being an heir apparent to Will Johnson, and someone who could have a similar career trajectory. Berry says he's been impressed by Earls' work ethic, as well as physical attributes. So for him, it will more so come down to knowing what he's supposed to do than anything.
"Oh, man, that guy's long," Berry said. "I mean, I've been working with him in the offseason, putting some work in with him, but I feel like once he gets this playbook down and knows what he has to do, I feel like he's going to be a hell of a player for us."
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Zeke Berry shares which Michigan players are working at nickel, more
