ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If there’s one school known for linebackers, it’s Georgia. The Bulldogs collect linebackers the same way that Ohio State collects wide receivers, and are widely known for having the best in the country, year in and year out.
So, when former UGA linebacker Troy Bowles got to Ann Arbor, he was surprised — to some degree — at the level of talent in Brian Jean-Mary’s room.
“Yeah, it did surprise me,” Bowles said. “Probably mostly the freshmen, because the freshmen, I feel like they caught on to playing linebacker in college a lot quicker than I did when I was a freshman. That was probably the biggest thing because I knew Ernest, Jaishawn, Jimmy — I knew all of them were good.
“But when I got here, I was like, ‘Oh, the freshmen, they’re really about their business.’ And I also feel like that pushed me to be better, too.”
With that said, Bowles doesn’t feel like playing at Michigan is much different than playing at Georgia or in the SEC. As far as he can tell, the only real difference is the weather and the fact that there are different coaches and personnel.
“I’ll definitely say a lot of physicality, probably the biggest similarity,” Bowles said. “And difference? Honestly, just location and doing it, different people.”
Brandt earlier remarked, “Other than the weather, just probably learning a new defense,” was the biggest difference moving from the SEC.
With Sherrone Moore leading the charge, in his second year as a head coach, the hope is that he can follow in his mentor and predecessor’s footsteps, as Jim Harbaugh won a national championship in 2023 after winning the Big Ten for three straight years. Bowles, the son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, played for Kirby Smart, who led Georgia to two straight national championships in the years before the Wolverines did it.
Bowles doesn’t see a ton of differences between the two coaches in how they run things. But he notes that Moore is something of a player’s coach.
“Obviously, Sherrone’s younger, but I like Sherrone because he likes being around everybody, and he could turn it on and off,” Bowles said. “He’ll be like your buddy at one point, but he could flip that switch and be your coach, be hard on you. I think that’s what you want from a coach.”
Bowles has been a rotational player thus far this season, playing behind Ernest Hausmann, Jaishawn Barham, Jimmy Rolder, and Cole Sullivan. He’s currently got eight tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one quarterback hurry, one forced fumble, and a punt block.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Troy Bowles praises Michigan linebackers, compares Georgia and U-M
