Michigan 2023 season preview: Safety

Fall camp is underway for the Michigan football team, and the Wolverines are gearing up for their most anticipated season in decades. With returning starters, an incoming transfer class with starter-caliber players and former top-flight recruits another year older waiting in the wings, Michigan is the No. 2 team in the country in the AP and Coaches polls, and aims to build off of its two consecutive College Football Playoff appearances.

To get fans ready for the coming season, we’re taking a look at what to watch this season at each position group. We look at each position’s biggest strength, biggest question mark, a defining stat to watch, a position battle to watch, an X-factor player, make a bold prediction and break down the depth chart for the position group.

quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, edge, linebacker and cornerback positions. Below, we look at the safety room.

Biggest strength: Coverage abilities.

If last season is any indication, Michigan might have the best safety duo in the country this fall in terms of pass coverage. Last fall, out of 146 qualified Power-Five safeties, Moore and Paige were respectively 30th and second in passer rating allowed, and 15th and 16th in PFF's coverage grade. Combined, they allowed 29 receptions on 48 targets, for just 332 yards (23.7 per game), 6.9 yards per target, 130 yards after the catch (4.5 per reception) and two touchdowns with five interceptions.

That’s a collegiate passer rating of 111.4 — a figure that would have ranked 10th nationally among teams in 2022. And remember, that’s at the safety position, with just one combined penalty in coverage and five pass breakups as well. Paige and Moore have great speed, but also can move laterally without losing their balance or footwork. They don’t give up on plays either, something both their teammates and NFL scouts have taken notice of.