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Michigan sophomore corner Jourdan Lewis had a big spring. Can it translate into a starting job?

(Melanie Maxwell | MLive)

ANN ARBOR -- For a while last season, it was easy to blame Michigan's defensive line for just about everything.

If a team ran against the Wolverines, it was the line's fault.

If a team was having success throwing the football, well, the line wasn't getting enough penetration.

But as time went on, that excuse grew tired. And old. And just became wrong.

Sure, the line wasn't really getting pressure on the quarterback in terms of sacks. And if a team was running the football against Michigan, yeah, the line probably had something to do with it.

But, in reality, if a team was having success throwing the football against Michigan -- more often than not, it was because the secondary was basically in disarray.

Last season was, without question, Michigan's worst pass defense performance under Greg Mattison. The group went from spending most of the 2012 season in the top five nationally against the pass to finishing 2013 No. 66.

What happened?

Well, for one, Jordan Kovacs left. And despite the crowd that loved to knock him because he was a "former walk-on," Kovacs was easily (by the widest of margins) Michigan's best defensive back in each of Brady Hoke and Mattison's first two seasons.

So what else?

Let's examine.

2013 recap

First -- because I'm a nice guy, and no one can say otherwise (even though you probably will -- the good.

Blake Countess and Raymon Taylor really did have a nice year in terms of takeaways. No one can say these two don't compete, because they do. On every snap, they're fighting their tails off.

Countess finished the year with six interceptions and was actually voted as a first-team All-Big Ten corner because of it. He's still a very smart player who knows how to read a defense and knows how to make a play on the football when it's in his area. If you make a mistake against Countess, he's probably going to have some success.

Taylor finished the year with four interceptions -- and a team-high 86 tackles. Again, he competes. He does everything he can to make a play. He's a much better tackler now than he was two years ago. He's gotten better every year.

Now the bad part, as far as the corners go.

They were just way too small and not nearly athletic/physical enough to play as shutdown, man-to-man corners.

Countess is 5-foot-10, to begin with. And he's only 180 pounds. He has the body of a nickel corner, and Michigan's needed him to play on the outside his entire career. Taylor is a bit heavier -- but only by four pounds. He's also 5-foot-10. He's a solid hitter for a guy his size, but he -- like Countess -- isn't very explosive athletically and he can be beaten down the field by a decent-sized wideout with speed.

Teams figured this out and picked on these two time and time again. Michigan gave up 42 pass plays of 20 yards or more last season -- way, way, way too much. Nowhere near good enough.

The Wolverines tried to spell Countess and Taylor with freshmen Channing Stribling (6-foot-2, 178) and Jourdan Lewis (5-foot-10, 175) a year ago. At times, it worked. At times, it didn't. Lewis has the speed and athleticism that neither Countess nor Taylor have, but he was raw. Stribling had more length than anyone, but again, he was a rookie.

And then there's the safety spot.

Jarrod Wilson is the positive here. He played his best football last season, and turned himself into a serious week-in, week-out starter at strong safety. He had 50 tackles and a pair of interceptions, and was routinely the top safety in a seemingly never-ending shuffle of safeties.

Opposite Wilson, though, there were problems. Courtney Avery never really figured out the free safety spot. And neither did Josh Furman. Michigan spent most of the year trying freshman Dymonte Thomas out at corner, ultimately sliding him over to safety at the end of the year. Delano Hill didn't redshirt, but he was just too young to make a difference.

The defensive backfield was rarely organized (the loss of Kovacs hurts here) and was never really athletic or physical enough to play man-to-man. As a result, Michigan spent most of the year playing soft zones and ended up getting gashed and gashed and gashed and eventually beaten because of it.

Starting contenders

CB: Blake Countess (5-foot-10, 180; junior), Ray Taylor (5-foot-10, 184; senior), Jabrill Peppers (6-foot-1, 202; freshman), Jourdan Lewis (5-foot-10, 175; soph.), Channing Stribling (6-foot-2, 178; soph.), Brandon Watson (5-foot-11, 188; freshman); SS: Jarrod Wilson (6-foot-2, 205; junior), Jeremy Clark (6-foot-4, 205; soph.); FS: Delano Hill (6-foot, 205; soph.), Dymonte Thomas (6-foot-2, 193; soph.), Jabrill Peppers (6-foot-1, 202; freshman); Nickel: Blake Countess (5-foot-10, 180; junior), Jabrill Peppers (6-foot-1, 202; freshman), Brandon Watson (5-foot-11, 188; freshman).

Outside of the offensive line, this is the hardest spot to sort through. And, just like the offensive line, this is the spot on defense that needs to improve the most this season.

I think we can safely say that Wilson has a spot at one of the safety positions. He's consistent, he's improved every year. He seems to be a player.

The corner spots are really where all of this gets interesting. Lewis was the breakout player of spring ball in March and April, and he was the best defensive back on the field during the spring game itself -- picking off two passes.

He got beat a few times, he was flagged a few times -- but he was physical, he showed off his speed and he showed an ability to get in someone's face and play aggressive man-to-man coverage. That's what Michigan wants to do this season. They want to challenge their corners and let them play on islands, and they want to be comfortable in doing so.

Can Countess and Taylor do this? Maybe, but probably only if they have a guy opposite them really putting the clamps on someone. Is Lewis big enough to do this? No, he's probably not. He is, however, athletic enough. Stribling is certainly tall enough, and he's rangy, but he's only 178 pounds after the offseason. More weight on the frame there would have probably helped him.

At the free safety spot, Delano Hill and Dymonte Thomas battled almost neck and neck all of spring and will probably continue to do so throughout fall camp. Jeremy Clark seems to be slotted as Wilson's backup, and he'll probably get some time this season.

And then there's Peppers.

Arguably the best prep athlete in America a year ago, Peppers is going to play and he's going to play right away. Where? We have no idea.

On paper, he is absolutely the type of player you toss out on an island against the opponent's best wide receiver and just let him cover. You take that side of the field away, and that allows you to blitz the hell out of people. That allows you to take chances. That allows you to get creative. And it allows you to be an elite defense.

Think of all the elite-level defenses you can remember -- either in the NFL or in college -- and you'll find one thing in common, every time. They had a lights out cornerback who just dogged people.

Is Peppers ready to be that guy right now? That's the big question. He's just a freshman. He's never played a college snap. Cornerback is one of the hardest positions on the field to master, even for veterans. Can he be asked to take on such a huge responsibility so early? True freshmen corners don't start too often. And when they do, it often ends up with mixed results.

The interesting thing about Peppers, though, is that he seems to have the skill set to play basically any spot in the defensive backfield. Michigan says it wants to start him out at nickel corner, but both Hoke and Mattison have also said they're going to put Peppers wherever they need the most help in the back end.

Watson is also interesting, to me. Physically, he's really put together. He's more built than any other corner on the roster -- outside of Peppers -- and appears to have the athleticism to compete. He's not going to walk into fall camp and be handed the old redshirt card. He's going to get his chance to earn a job.

Because when the smoke clears -- Michigan needs all the help it can get here.

Peppers should bring an added dimension. Lewis appears to be more than a few notches better than he was a year ago. Watson is quick and physical. Wilson's experienced. Countess is as smart as any player on the field and Taylor fights his butt off.

Is that enough? We'll have to wait and see.

Projected starters: CB: Jourdan Lewis, CB: Ray Taylor, SS: Jarrod Wilson, FS: Jabrill Peppers, Nickel: Blake Countess

First off, I believe the starting spots back here could end up being turned upside down by week four or five. I think the competition will carry into the season, and as certain players start to emerge, roles will probably be shifted. So nothing -- at all -- is set in stone here. It really can't be after only four weeks of camp.

Mattison and Hoke have said that, when it's all said and done, Peppers is going to go to the spot where Michigan needs the most help. To me, that's free safety. Hill and Thomas both went back and forth in the spring and neither really emerged. There's a huge opportunity there for someone to step up and steal a job. Peppers is more than big enough to play back there, and we know he's plenty quick enough.

Does that mean he's a career safety? No. He still knows how to play corner and that's probably where his future lies. But if pressed, I think he seems to fit in best at safety right now.

Lewis was so much better in the spring game than any other corner, and really seems to be the one guy who has the athleticism to play man-to-man and do it with success. I just don't know if Countess has the jump in his step to do it. But, of course, I could be wrong.

Speaking of Countess -- to me, he's really the perfect nickel corner. Teams spread you out so much anyway, your nickel is on the field more often than not these days. It's not like he's going to be on the bench. He'll cover a slot guy, and he'll be able to read things and make plays from that spot just as he would his corner position.

This is, of course, just one man's guess. I really don't know here.

Bottom line -- Michigan needs to get its most athletic, most physical players on the field back here and get organized. Those were the two problems a year ago, and they cannot be repeated.

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