Trevor Keegan, Michael Barrett debate whether to stay with Michigan football or go to NFL draft

isaiah hole

Thu, Dec 15, 2022, 3:51 PM·3 min read

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — After Michigan football beat Ohio State in Columbus last month, fifth-year linebacker Michael Barrett was given an overture in the postgame press conference to return for his sixth-year by his head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Barrett, who came to Ann Arbor as an offensive weapon before becoming something of a journeyman on defense, finally found a home at linebacker after playing safety, VIPER, and outside linebacker. However, this year, he’s thrived in his role. But after wrapping up his fifth regular season with the Wolverines, he’s going to have a decision to make.

Does he stay or does he go?

At the moment, two and a half weeks before the team’s second-straight incursion into the College Football Playoff semifinals, he isn’t firm on an answer.

“I’ve given a lot of thought, had a lot of conversations. I’m still not sure yet. We will kind of get there when we get there, I feel. Just kind of let it play out.”

For Barrett, the pros towards staying is that he just really started gaining his footing at his position and knows it could do him well to return for another year to show what he can do.

But, he jokingly noted he doesn’t want to keep going, given that he’s been with the program since 2018.

“Factors will just be to up my draft stock, to just put better more film on tape at the inside backer,” Barrett said. “I feel like I don’t have as much film starting inside. I feel like that’s kind of one factor.

“And just I don’t want to be too old, if that makes sense! I feel like I’ve been here too long. I don’t want everybody looking at me like an old man around here! No, I’m joking, but yeah, that’s one thing that kind of be in the back of my mind.”

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LG Trevor Keegan also has a decision to make

Photo: Isaiah Hole

For Michigan left guard Trevor Keegan, he’s already likely got a high draft grade, despite having missed multiple games this season due to a neck injury sustained early in the season.

Keegan notes that he hasn’t yet made a decision, but that he does still have two years of eligibility remaining.

Factoring into his decision certainly is the NIL element, as Keegan could continue to progress at the college level while earning money based off his name, image, and likeness. Unlike in the past, NIL offers an incentive to players who are on the fence, and though it intrigues Keegan, a little more will go into it than simply whether or not he can make money in what would be his fifth-year.

“I’d like to say it doesn’t, but I mean, it does a little bit,” Keegan said. “But I mean, I gotta graduate. There’s a lot of things that I gotta think about. I mean, obviously, I’d love to come back but you know, it’s a business. I just gotta weigh out my options.”