'Competing His Tail Off': Michigan's Tyler Stockton On Taylor Tatum's Move to Safety

Michigan landed both Chris Bracy and Taylor Tatum to fill voids at safety. Michigan coach Tyler Stockton broke both down.

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After losing the trio of Brandyn Hillman, TJ Metcalf, and Jaden Mangham — all of whom started for Michigan in 2025 — it was clear the Wolverines needed to get some bodies at safety. Retaining both Mason Curtis and Jordan Young was a start, but Michigan made a move that might be going unnoticed.

Memphis starter Chris Bracy is now in Ann Arbor, and it would be shocking not to see him start in 2026. Rod Moore is back, and Michigan is four strong at safety entering the 2026 season, with some other young guns emerging.

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Bracy is experienced, playing in 758 snaps last season with the Tigers, and he is one of the best safeties against the run. Bracy is a versatile piece that Jay Hill can use in a variety of ways. Appearing on 'In the Trenches', safeties coach Tyler Stockton told Jon Jansen that Bracy has a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove he's one of the best out there.

"Chris has played close to 700 — over 700 snaps at Memphis," Stockton said. "And Chris is a football guy. I mean, he wasn't a guy who's highly recruited or anything. He has a chip on his shoulder. So he knows that his whole objective is to prove to the country that he can be one of the best safeties in the country. I've been so impressed with Bracy. I know his teammates have been impressed with him as well. And I'm expecting big things from him this year as well."

But Bracy isn't the only transfer

When former five-star running back Taylor Tatum announced he was coming to Michigan, he wasn't expected to play safety. Tatum was among the best running backs in the 2024 class, and at the time, Tatum picked Oklahoma over the Wolverines.

But after seeing limited playing time for Oklahoma, Tatum made the decision to get a fresh start. And, in fact, it's truly a fresh start.

After two seasons at running back, Tatum is now a safety, and hoping to earn some sort of role for Michigan this season. According to Stockton, Tatum is now competing and by the end of spring ball, he was playing his best football.

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"The first thing is what's best for the team," Stockton said on Tatum's position change. "And we thought that Taylor Tatum had a unique skill set from an explosive standpoint, a ball skill standpoint, because he's also a baseball player as well. Like, he's just scratching the surface.

"I mean, this was his first time ever backpedaling, you know, so it fires me up because you got like a piece of clay that you can just fine tune and make him into a great player. And if he does a good job, just getting better every single day. I mean, the first time he took a rep, he lost. Like, who wouldn't if you never done it? Then all of a sudden, towards the end of spring ball he's going against our better wide receivers, competing his tail off."

It's not clear how much Michigan fans will see Tatum on the field, unless he makes a name on special teams. It's possible to see Tatum running the ball a few times this season, and if he continues to compete and earn reps, fans might see him on the defensive side of the field sooner than you might think.