Meet Wesley Walker, Michigan football's new DB stepping in for injured Rod Moore

Fall camp is now more than halfway over for Michigan football , yet when players and coaches for the defending national champs have spoken recently, most have chosen to play things rather close to the vest, speaking generalities and clichés as to not give too much away.

Enter graduate transfer Wesley Walker — a well-traveled defensive back with stops at Louisville, Georgia Tech and, most recently, Tennessee — whose sixth season brings him to the secondary in Ann Arbor.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound safety pledged to the Wolverines in mid-May as part of a 72-hour flurry that saw defensive coordinator Wink Martindale and defensive backs coach Lamar Morgan add four defensive backs — including Albany cornerback Aamir Hall, UNLV cornerback Ricky Johnson and Michigan State safety Jaden Mangham — in one weekend.

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The reinforcements weren't a surprise.

Martindale told his unit at the end of spring and told them what would be happening, particularly after U-M lost All-Big Ten safety Rod Moore indefinitely with a knee injury .

It's the primary reason Walker is in Ann Arbor.

"I feel like, I mean being transparent, if Rod (Moore) didn't get hurt , I probably wouldn't have came here," Walker acknowledged. "As far as coming in and replacing him, I mean we are different players. ... That's just a given. But I look forward to showing the fans my style of play and how I play."

Moore has been known as "coach Rod" in recent months as he's still sitting in the front row of team meetings, but now that he can't be on the final line of defense, it's up to Walker to learn to jell with safety Makari Paige.

Walker was productive over his two seasons at Tennessee: He started the first 10 games of 2023 before missing the final two with injury and finished the season with 53 tackles (3½ for loss), two pass breakups, a sack and a forced fumble. In 2022, 5½ of his 33 tackles went for a loss and he also grabbed an interception.

There were several reasons Walker chose U-M.

For starters, he was familiar with linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary, who occupied the same position for Tennessee from 2021-23 before joining U-M head coach Sherrone Moore's staff. Jean-Mary was one of the first to reach out to Walker.

When he visited Ann Arbor and heard the plan for him up close, there wasn't much left to be done after that.

"This is my last year, so just trying to find a spot that would allow the smoothest transition for me and my career," he said. "When I got up here, it was a no-brainer. Really, the facility, the access I'd have to getting my body right. Not only offseason, but in-season, what I have access to.

"The coaching staff was real transparent with me, and they painted a good picture for how they (saw) how I could be implemented into the defense, and overall it seemed like the best fit and what I was looking for."

The Wolverines enter 2024 without All-American nickel Mike Sainristil (a high NFL draft pick in April), solid cornerback Josh Wallace (now with the NFLs L.A. Rams) and, of course, Moore, leaving them missing three-fifths of their starting secondary in January's College Football Playoff title game.

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And yet, U-M's secondary still appears deep.

The unit boasts All-American corner Will Johnson on one side plus Paige and sixth-year DB Quinten Johnson and the portal additions. There are also several players — namely, Jyaire Hill at the second corner spot and Zeke Berry and Ja'Den McBurrows, battling for the starting nickel role — who seem ready to step forward.

That means there's no guarantee of a starting role for Walker. But he brings experience, with 46 Power Five games under his belt.

“I’ve played over 2,000 snaps,” Walker said. “I bring IQ, a person that’s going to play really fast because I trust what I see. I’m going to be a sponge, too. I know I know a lot, but I could also learn from other guys around me and my coaches.”

That IQ is going to come in handy when it comes to understanding the intricacies of the defense installed by Martindale, tweaked slightly from predecessors Mike MacDonald and Jesse Minter. Although Walker said football is generally universal, there are some terminology switches with which he's still getting up to speed.

But Walker was excited to discuss the differences in Martindale's scheme and those he'd played in before — where they'd "just sit, play quarters and get after the quarterback that way."

"But this, we just run a lot of different things and (have) different ways to mess with the quarterback," Walker said. "Showing different pictures and you've got to be smart to be able to do that."

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Walker has plenty of teams, programs and cultures to compare Michigan against; he said the difference is noticable. One such change? "I feel like I’m really a part of a team," he said after warning of a cliché

Earlier in the week, Sherrone Moore detailed the care with which the players are treating the new locker room, discussing how there's no detail too small to pay attention to. Apparently, that has been the same in practice.

Walker said there hasn't been any resting on CFP title laurels since he's been around.

In fact, there's actually been minimal discussion of last year's national championship. There's too much to work on, Walker said, and too many goals left for the team to accomplish.

“It’s strictly ball, and that’s the way it should always be," he said. "It’s not a bunch of rah-rah stuff; it’s just strictly ball — getting in and getting better.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Meet Wesley Walker, Michigan football's new DB stepping in for injured Rod Moore