With sophomore cornerback Blake Countess out for the season with a ACL injury in his left knee, the Wolverines likely will go with junior Courtney Avery.
“The next guy is going to have to step up,” Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said Tuesday. “When you’re in a university setting where you only get so many guys, you can’t go out and get a free agent or something like that. They next guy has got to step up.”
Avery spelled Countess in the first quarter and was beat on a long touchdown pass by Alabama. Avery slipped on the play.
“He knows it and we know that shouldn’t have happened,” Mattison said. “He should have been on top of that receiver. You don’t use slipping as an excuse. He did some other things that were good, but that’s the one everybody sees and that’s the one that hurts your defense the most.”
Raymon Taylor, Delonte Hollowell and Terry Richardson all could see playing time, but Avery is the frontrunner.
“Because of how much he’s played and some good things he’s done,” Mattison said, adding that Taylor and Hollowell will be the next in line.
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