Ernest Hausmann has ‘brought explosion’ to Michigan’s LB room

Nerbaska transfer linebacker Ernest Hausmann received a lot of playing time as a true freshman — 12 games played, seven starts, 54 tackles (36 solo), and one sack.

Hausmann is still just 19, but the 6-foot-2, 220-pound LB already looks like one of the toughest and most conditioned players on the team.

Last week defensive coordinator Jesse Minter called Hausmann a “tremendous asset” and “tremendous pickup”.

Hausmann joins a linebacker room that has a lot more depth than a season ago — there’s Junior Colson, Michael Barrett, Nikhai Hill-Green, Jimmy Rolder, and Jaydon Hood all vying for snaps.

“My challenge to Ernest is to go take their spot,” Minter said. “My challenge to those guys is to hold on to your spot — because he’s coming.”

Hausmann was impressive on Saturday during Michigan’s spring game, posting a game-high 8 total tackles (4 solo). Hausmann’s biggest play came when he forced Jack Tuttle to fumble.

Linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green looks at Hausmann as a great addition to the football team. Hausmann’s improved the linebacker room and Hill-Green feels there’s a burden off the backs of the linebackers this year — he knows they can trust the next guy to come in and the level of play “won’t drop at all”.

“He’s brought explosion. Speed, versatility, finesse,” Hill-Green said on Saturday. “He’s a worker. He absorbs information pretty well. I’m just excited to see how good he can be because bringing him in adds depth. That just makes the whole room better and when he gets better, I get better, and we get better. It’s great. He’s a great addition. He’s a good player.”

Hausmann knows the competition at linebacker is ongoing and won’t be decided upon any time soon. There will be many daily grinds from now until the end of fall camp where Hausmann can show coaches he has a great work ethic and is consistently impactful on defense.

“I’ll never back down from any challenge that comes my way,” Hausmann said after the spring game. “I go about my business. I have a lot of pride in my day-to-day routine, and I truly believe that if I continue through my routine, my habits, I’ll put myself in the best position to be in the mix for playing time on the field.”

Fellow linebacker Michael Barrett, who will be entering his sixth season at Michigan, has noticed a lot of positives to Hausmann’s game.

“He’s smart, fast, and can move,” Barrett said in March. “How fast he’s learning the defense, coming along with our guys, blending in, meshing together well with everyone. He’s gonna be a great player. I like his enthusiasm, the way he flies around at practice. He always has a smile on his face. He’s going to bring something to this team.”

What Hausmann is going to bring to this team is explosion.