Michigan's CBs Have Talent, But Jernaro Gilford Sees One Area That Needs Cleaning Up

New assistant coach Jernaro Gilford loves what he has in his cornerback room, but there is one area that needs to be cleaned up.

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Cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford might be new in Ann Arbor, but he knows what it takes to have a good secondary. Gilford spent the last 10 seasons coaching the corners at BYU, along with being the Defensive Passing Game Coordinator in 2025. During his time with the Cougars, he helped get 10 players to the NFL.

In three of the seasons at BYU, the Cougars had a top-30 passing defense and with resources much higher at Michigan, Gilford is excited for what could come coaching the Wolverines. Speaking on 'In The Trenches' recently, Gilford was asked what he saw when he first took over the defensive back room, and he noted it was littered with talent.

But it's not all perfect. The Wolverines are going to work on getting better at man-to-man coverage and that's one of Gilford's goals ahead of the 2026 season.

"Talent," Gilford said. "I’ll be 100% honest with you. We have some talent. We have probably half the group that can play, play. The thing that we had to work on most was playing man-to-man. Just different techniques that we have to teach a different mindset of not letting your man catch the ball, and you’re going to have to compete. And I think that was the challenge mentally because guys were getting up and catching the ball, but that’s man-to-man."

It's all about short-term memory

The thing about playing corner, or safety, is that when you're playing man-to-man, the wide receiver is going to come down with a catch. Even some of the Michigan greats, such as Will Johnson, allowed catches — it's going to happen. But, as Gilford says, it's all about getting up and brushing it off your shoulders. His unit needs a short-term memory.

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"Man-to-man coverage and having that short-term memory, knowing that guys are going to catch the ball sometimes," Gilford admitted. "I mean, of course, I want them to get irritated when they give up catches, especially when they know what was coming and they’re prepared for a certain concept. That’s when they get irritated a little bit because they’re like, damn, coach, I knew it. I seen two on one side. I felt it. Trust it. Trust it. Because that’s the hard part of actually trusting what you see if you haven’t done it."

Michigan will enter 2026 with possibly the best trio of starting corners in the Big Ten with Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, and Smith Snowden. The room is talented, but not all that experienced past those three. Shamari Earls is expected to take a big leap this season in his second season with the team, and Michigan will look to develop others in a 'break glass in case of emergency' situation.