Carmel brownies — that’s what was on junior cornerback Jyaire Hill’s mind Tuesday night when answering questions from the media.
Everyone who steps into Schembechler Hall knows Hill’s obsession with candy. His teammates and coaches even refer to him as “Suga.”
“Jyaire Hill was in my office for like 30 minutes yesterday with a bouncy ball eating candy,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said Aug. 11. “A lot of sugar in his body.”
Aside from his candy obsession, what everyone in Schembechler Hall hears about to be true, and Moore confirmed in fall camp, is Hill’s ability to step into the top cornerback spot after Will Johnson’s departure to the NFL.
Hill got valuable experience playing on the opposite side of Johnson last season and even had some experience taking CB1 snaps when Johnson went down with an injury midway through the season. Hill finished the season with an interception and eight pass breakups.
“(Hill), to me, is a unique kid,” Wolverines defensive back coach LaMar Morgan said Aug. 11. “He’s loaded with talent, and I think you take a kid like that, who maybe played high school running back, ran track and then you get him and tell him he’s a DB, it takes him a little bit time to develop. Last year, he played on the other side of Will Johnson … there’s a lot of added pressure. Now he saw how Will did that and now he’s kind of allowing that to improve his game.”
The increased responsibility did come with its struggles, though, as Hill was often punished on double moves. To start the 2025 season, Hill showed similar ups and downs. On two plays with double moves against New Mexico, Hill struggled to keep up with the receiver, committing pass interference and watching a touchdown pass fly over his head.
But Hill didn’t let his Week 1 performance sour his offseason improvements. Instead, Hill has grown week by week, taking strides to eliminate some of those mistakes on double moves and also make a difference all over the field.
So after a rough Week 1 showing, Hill turned things around and justified the praise he received during the offseason. Even with the loss to now-No. 11 Oklahoma, Hill recorded a crucial pass breakup, a tackle for loss on a screen pass and four total tackles, multiple of which were strong open-field tackles.
“Jyaire Hill is playing as good as he’s ever played,” Moore said Sept. 8. “Feels like he’s playing at a great level.”
Hill also had a standout game against Central Michigan where he added a sack and four more tackles. The sack came on a corner blitz where he flew on the quarterback’s blind side untouched and grappled him to the ground. Hill will continue to improve and become more comfortable with his on-field abilities, but he’s also working on implementing some of the off-field leadership Johnson showed a season ago.
“I’ve been more leading, more vocal to the team and the younger guys on the DBs,” Hill said Tuesday. “(I’m) stepping up and teaching the younger guys.”
As he improves as a leader both on and off the field, Hill hopes to become someone teammates can go to for advice. But regardless of where the season takes him, Hill will still be someone his teammates fear will take their candy and opposing offenses fear will severely limit the passing game.
