Three “Under the Radar” Michigan Freshmen That Could Make An Impact Early
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and the rest of his staff can't wait to get their hands on the incoming freshmen. With schools around the country starting to allow its athletes to return to campus, it feels like only a matter of time before Michigan does the same.
Michigan is bringing in a very solid class that fell just outside of the top ten nationally. It addressed needs and attempted to fill holes moving forward, but we won't know just how those holes are actually filled for a little while. Some rookies will get on the field this fall, and a few of them might be surprises. Here are three "under the radar" guys who could make an impact as freshmen.
Jaylen Harrell (Linebacker, Berkeley Prep, Tampa, Fla.)
Harrell is one of the lesser known signees of the 2020 class but he's got the potential to get onto the field early because of his build, skill set and an open spot. At 6-4, 235 pounds, he's a bit of a tweener. He's not quite a true linebacker and he's not quite a fully developed defensive end. He is, however, twitchy, explosive and good at getting after the passer — just like Josh Uche.
With Uche gone Michigan is going to need to find someone who can do the things he did. Right now, there doesn't seem to be an obvious replacement for Uche, which means Harrell is going to get a bigger shot than most incoming freshmen would.
RJ Moten (Athlete, Delran High School, Delran, N.J.)
At 6-0, 201 pounds, Moten is an intriguing player. He did it all in high school — played running back, wide receiver, all over on defense. He's not as highly ranked as Jabrill Peppers was coming out of high school but there are a lot of similarities between the two New Jersey natives.
Will Moten get a look at viper? Could he potentially provide some athletic depth at safety? Is it possible that he even gets a look on offense? The potential to play on the offensive side of the ball was there during his recruitment but he's listed as a defensive back on Michigan's official website. Still, it'll be interesting to see how he's used and he looks like a candidate for a lot of special teams work at the very least.
Nikhai Hill-Green (Inside Linebacker, St. Frances Academy, Baltimore, Md.)
Hill-Green is another unheralded recruit in terms of his ranking and overall profile but the kid can play. At 6-1, 230 pounds he definitely feels like a true inside linebacker, which is a position lacking depth on Michigan's roster.
Beyond expected starters Josh Ross, Cameron McGrone and Michael Barrett, there aren't any linebackers on the team that have played meaningful snaps. Furthermore, there are zero inside linebacker types beyond the starters meaning Hill-Green may be in the two deep as soon as he steps on campus.
