Michigan Wolverines Football: 2009 Season Preview

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Sophomore Mike Martin is expected to start the season at defensive tackle. Last year he led all freshmen on the team with 20 tackles and also had two sacks.

True freshman, William Campbell will not be red-shirted so don't be surprised if he overtakes Mike Martin for the starting role at some point this season. In his senior year in high school, Campbell registered 55 tackles (22 for loss), nine sacks and two forced fumbles (one was recovered for a touchdown). He could be another Brandon Graham in the making, or better.

Grade: B

Linebackers (2, Obi Ezeh, Jonas Mouton)

Junior Obi Ezeh is the best returning linebacker for the Wolverines. He led the team with a career-high 98 tackles last season. He also has seven tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception. Expect those numbers to further improve this season with triple digit tackles.

In the offseason, Ezeh lost weight and gained speed.

Junior Jonas Moutan was the second leading tackler on the team with 76 (seven tackles for a loss), and one sack.

Senior Stevie Brown will head up a new position on the team that is a hybrid safety/linebacker. He will cover slot receivers as well as support the run, and has a lot of quickness and toughness.

Sophomore Brandon Herron should be the fourth starting linebacker. He was a special teams starter in 2008 but will now be relied on for a starting role. In his senior year in high school, Herron had 77 tackles and nine sacks.

Grade: B-

Secondary (1, Donovan Warren)

Junior Donovan Warren is now the unquestioned leader of this secondary. He has been decent, but not great, and now is his time to breakout. He has great speed and awareness, but even better hands. Last season, he had 52 tackles, five pass breakups, one interception, and one recovered fumble.

Promising Sophomore Boubacar Cissoko will start this year opposite Warren. Cissoko played in all 12 games last year, mostly as a backup. His blazing speed and agility got him some action as a return man last year as well.

Cissoko plays with intensity and hits hard and should compliment Warren's style of play very well.

Junior Troy Woolfolk is slotted to be the starting strong safety. For the past two years, he has been a special teams player and hasn't seen significant action since high school. He is a big hitter, though, and his father Butch was an All-American running back for the Wolverines.

Sophomore Michael Williams is expected to start at free safety. He saw limited action at safety as a freshman, but will likely be used occasionally on the pass rush, as he registered two sacks last season.

Grade: B-

Special Teams (1, Zoltan Mesko)

Junior Bryan Wright will get the first shot at the kicking job.

He does have some promise. In his senior year of high school, he kicked the second longest field goal in Ohio high school football history, a 57 yarder.

He was 7-for-11 in field goal attempts that season, with all four misses coming from over 48 yards.

Senior Zoltan Mesko is one of the top punters in the nation, and had a 43-yard punting average last season. He also punted for over 3,000 yards and became the first player in Michigan history to ever achieve that mark. He currently is the second best punter in U-M history and by the end of his senior year should rank at the top.

Grade: B+

Overall

The team still has holes both on offense and on defense, but there is lots of promise and potential on both sides of the ball.

This will be a tough year with more growing pains, but it won't be as bad as last year.

Michigan football isn't back yet, but they should still be playing in a bowl game and finishing somewhere around 7-5.

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