Lavert Hill aside, Michigan football's CBs cause coaches frustration

Michael Zordich wants to be clear:

When it comes to his cornerbacks room, the sky is not falling.

"But there is an eclipse," Michigan's cornerbacks coach said Monday. "That could be a good thing."

Michigan is now less than two weeks away from kicking off its 2017 season against Florida in Texas. As of right now, only one of its starting cornerback positions is filled.

More U-M football coverage:

• The full slate: 2017 Michigan football schedule breakdown

• Michigan ranks 11th in preseason AP top 25 poll

Zordich heaped heavy praise on sophomore corner Lavert Hill, a Detroit King product, for his work throughout fall camp and his willingness to rebound from an injury-plagued spring session — thus stunting his development at the position.

Either way Michigan slices it, the Wolverines will start two new corners with a combined zero starts against the Gators -- as All-America Jourdan Lewis and multi-year starter Channing Stribling have both moved to the NFL.

"Lavert, since his injury, he's been pretty consistent," Zordich said. "You can see him (improving) every day, he's getting better. He didn't practice much in the spring and we were very disappointed with that. We expressed that with him. This summer, he really worked hard.

"The arrow's going up."

Hill has answered the bell. But the rest of the team's young corners?

"Not fast enough," Zordich said.

U-M football positional preview:

• QB battle features experience, but will there be progress?

At this point, Zordich says the battle for the starting spot opposite Hill is a fluid situation. Sophomore David Long, freshman Ambry Thomas, veterans Brandon Watson, freshman Benjamin St-Juste and converted receiver Drake Harris all have a shot to play -- and possibly start.

One player who won't win the job is Keith Washington, as a Michigan source confirmed to the Free Press on today that the third-year sophomore defensive back asked the staff for his transfer release earlier in the day.

"You see some flashes, you know they can do it, but they've got to do it every single play," Zordich said. "I don't know if they're just afraid to make plays. Again, they have the ability and they've shown it and they've done it in live situations at practice, but they have to understand it has to be on a consistent basis. And that's not happening right now.

"It could be experience. Maybe. It may just be they don't understand how to dig a little deeper and to find it. Maybe that could be part of the problem, too."

[Rashan Gary is new and improved, and that’s scary, Jeff Seidel writes]

Asked specifically if any of those other corners are closer to reaching Hill's level than someone else in the group, Zordich bluntly replied "No."

A year ago, anchored by Lewis, Michigan's pass defense ranked No. 1 nationally at 142.5 yards allowed per game. The expectation in Don Brown's defense is for corners to be able to handle themselves in press-man coverage. Which means everyone has to be confident enough in their abilities to engage with a receiver at the line of scrimmage, keep eye discipline and then make plays on the football.

When spring camp began in March, Hill and sophomore David Long were atop the depth chart. Now, it's just Hill. Asked if there's anything keeping Long from making a jump, Zordich was blunt again.

"That's probably a question you'd have to ask David Long," he said. "I don't know. It's out there. Just go grab it. It's there for the taking. That's what we're trying to find out. Why is David Long not running with this? We'll figure it out."

More: Don Brown making no excuses for U-M's youthful, new-look defense

Zordich admitted some frustration Monday. But he was also quick to point out frustration does not equate concern. He's still confident someone will step forward and grab a starting spot. And during the first game against Florida, several guys could see playing time.

Until then? Zordich says he's going to continue to tell his players the truth and continue to challenge them to be better.

"Hopefully some of them will read this article," he said. "You hear the youth thing. Well, that's no longer an excuse. You had spring, now you're two weeks away from a big game.

"It's time to go."

The stars to watch: Our 2017 preseason All-Big Ten college football team

Contact Nick Baumgardner: nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBaumgardner. Download our Wolverines Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!