Note: Edge rushers such as Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo were covered in our defensive line position review. For that Click Here.
With Michigan hiring defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, schematic changes were made, and the position of linebacker was utilized in a different manner.
Macdonald was previously the Ravens linebackers coach, a team that had the No. 1 in blitz percentage in 2020 at 44.1%. The perception was Macdonald would blitz in abundance, and the linebackers would factor into that equation. However, with Michigan having two of the best edge rushers in college football (Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo), the need to send more pass-rushers wasn’t all that necessary.