Three Michigan Football Headlines to Follow On Defense Ahead of Preseason Camp

Michigan's defense has been very good under Don Brown but not quite good enough when it really counts.

The bigger storylines surrounding Michigan football are on offense but there are some things to follow on the defensive side of the ball as well. There are two new position coaches, a small handful of new starters and some pretty good players heading into their final seasons at U-M.

Some positions are locked into place, while others definitely have questions that still need to be answered once fall camp starts.

Here are three storylines to keep in mind as the season gets closer and closer:

How will Brian Jean-Mary and Bob Shoop Impact the Defense?

I'm personally really curious about this one. 

As we've outlined many times, Michigan's defense has been outstanding under Don Brown save a few key games. Bringing in two well-respected coaches like Jean-Mary and Shoop, who have both been defensive coordinators in their own right, should improve a unit that's been really good and on the verge of being great. Can the two new assistants be the missing links?

Jean-Mary has been billed as the better recruiter of the two, where Shoop is probably the better Xs and Os guy. Either way, as position coaches and due to their experience, they feel like upgrades over Chris Partridge and Anthony Campanile as on-field teachers and schemers. 

It's going to be really interesting to see how it looks on the field. Will there be new blitz packages? Will we see less man-to-man defense and more zone concepts? What kind of approach will there be with substitutions? All of those things are subject to change with two new, experienced guys who used to call defensive shots themselves.

Who Starts at Viper?

With Khaleke Hudson off to the NFL, someone new is going to be starting at the viper position. Right now, it looks like it's going to be redshirt sophomore Michael Barrett but sophomore Anthony Solomon is in the mix as well. 

Defensive coordinator Don Brown mentioned both by name earlier this year when speaking with the media, which usually means something. I'll be surprised if it's not Barrett, and I'll be surprised if he's not very good there, but Solomon can really run and did play in every game last year, indicating that the staff was trying to get him up to speed in a hurry.

How will the Defensive Line Rotation Look?

This is probably the biggest question mark on defense. The starting four is as good as it gets in the Big Ten. Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson should be a lot to handle off the edge, while Carlo Kemp and Chris Hinton will be able to hold it down in the middle. But who comes in behind those guys?

Michigan fans and the coaches are hoping that redshirt freshman defensive tackle Mazi Smith takes a big leap in year two. He's got the size at more than 305 pounds and skills to be a contributor, but couldn't find his way onto the field last year. Redshirt junior Donovan Jeter is another candidate to earn some snaps but in three years at Michigan he hasn't been able to do it.

On the edge, Michigan needs redshirt junior Luiji Vilain to stay healthy and contribute. Beyond him is just a bunch of young guys who have not played — David Ojabo, Mike Morris, Taylor Upshaw, Julius Welschof and Gabe Newburg make up that group. There's some talent in there, but virtually no experience.

The starting four are strong, but they can't play every snap and as we know, injuries do happen. Shaun Nua and Don Brown need to make sure that others are ready.