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Michigan Football: 5 breakout candidates for spring 2019

By Connor Muldowney

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 01: Ambry Thomas #1 of the Michigan Wolverines returns a kickoff for a touchdown while playing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on September 1, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 01: Ambry Thomas #1 of the Michigan Wolverines returns a kickoff for a touchdown while playing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on September 1, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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MADISON, WI – NOVEMBER 18: A.J. Taylor #4 of the Wisconsin Badgers catches a pass in front of Jaylen Kelly-Powell #16 of the Michigan Wolverines during the third quarter of a game at Camp Randall Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI – NOVEMBER 18: A.J. Taylor #4 of the Wisconsin Badgers catches a pass in front of Jaylen Kelly-Powell #16 of the Michigan Wolverines during the third quarter of a game at Camp Randall Stadium on November 18, 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Safety will be a major position of need in the coming season with Tyree Kinnel gone and that could mean junior Jaylen Kelly-Powell from Detroit could be the next man up.

Kelly-Powell was a highly-recruited player out of Cass Tech in Detroit — an absolute football powerhouse in Michigan — and he chose the Wolverines with the hope of seeing the field early on, but that hasn’t quite happened in the first couple of seasons. He’s played in just four career games and has recorded five total tackles, but his time is yet to come.

This is a big spring for the third-year player as he could finally have an opportunity to start in the defensive backfield to potentially keep the secondary near the top of the Big Ten.

The junior is talented with great ball skills and quickness, but he could afford to be slightly more aggressive. He was highly-touted for a reason but the four-star prospect could see the field extensively, starting with a strong spring.

Is Kelly-Powell the next top draft pick from the Michigan defensive backfield? Potentially, but we will know more this spring.

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