Wolverine Digest

Pair of Michigan defenders appear on watch list for nation's top linebacker

The Wolverines' defense has two players at the LB spot who are considered amongst the best in the nation heading into the season
Seth Berry|
Michigan Wolverines linebacker Ernest Hausmann (15) celebrates after tackling Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) during the first half of Saturday’s NCAA Division I football game at Ohio Stadium.
Michigan Wolverines linebacker Ernest Hausmann (15) celebrates after tackling Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) during the first half of Saturday’s NCAA Division I football game at Ohio Stadium. | Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

A pair of Michigan linebackers have appeared on the preseason Butkus Award Watch List, an award that is presented to the nation's top linebacker at season's end.

Senior's Jaishawn Barham and Ernest Hausmann are the two Wolverines who made the list as both are expected to be amongst the top at their position during the 2025 season.

Barham is reportedly expected to make a transition to an edge rusher for the 2025 season to unleash his size, speed, and pass rushing ability to create matchup problems for opposing offensive linemen off the edge. However, his versatility will allow him to drop into coverage on certain plays from the edge spot, with an obvious ability to drop back and still play one of the linebacker positions in specific packages in Wink Martindale's defense. As a junior, Barham started all 13 games at linebacker for the Wolverines, finishing second on the team in tackles with 66, including 3.5 tackles for loss with one sack and five QB hurries.

Hausmann, an All-Big Ten selection in 2024, also started all 13 games at linebacker last season while leading the team in tackles with 89, including seven for loss with two sacks, two pass breakups and an interception. He will once again look to be a catalyst on the Michigan defense with his ability to swarm to the football, rush the passer in certain occasions, fill rushing lanes and drop into coverage when called upon.

Barham
Sep 14, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines linebacker Jaishawn Barham (1) pursues a play on defense against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

The Butkus Award was instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando and is named after the late Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, who played in eight consecutive Prow Bowls in the NFL.

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Published
Seth Berry
SETH BERRY

Seth began writing on Michigan athletics in 2015 and has remained in the U-M media space ever since, which includes stops at Maize N Brew and Rivals before coming onto Michigan On SI in June of 2025. Seth has covered various angles of Michigan football and basketball, including recruiting, overall team coverage and feature/analysis stories relating to the Wolverines. His passion for Michigan sports and desire to tell stories led him to the sports journalism world. He is a 2020 graduate of Western Michigan University and is the former sports editor of the Western Herald, WMU's student newspaper.

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