When analyzing Michigan’s defense during the RichRod era, one glaring weakness has become obvious, year after year:

Ninth in Big Ten pass defense in 2008.

Seventh in the same category last season.

See a pattern?

Adding more insult to injury, the year before Rich Rodriguez took over as head football coach, the Wolverines’ pass defense ranked near tops in the Big Ten, allowing just 178.8 yards per game in Lloyd Carr’s last season at the helm.

One could point to the improvement (albeit slight) in Michigan’s pass defense from the 2008 season to the 2009 season. That sort of improvement should continue, right?

Well, with a pass rush that remains a huge question mark and a secondary devoid of the shutdown skills of All-Big Ten talent Donovan Warren — who signed with the New York Jets after going undrafted — the Wolverines could be hard-pressed to improve on their meager numbers in the defensive backfield.

With Warren gone, the pressure will be on senior corner Troy Woolfolk to fill the shoes of Michigan’s shutdown corner.

After splitting time between corner and safety last year, Woolfolk should be prepared to be Warren-esque in his performance. And although he lacks the impressive size that made Warren the dominant force he was, Woolfolk makes up for it with blazing speed, enough to be referred to by some as the fastest player on the team.

But aside from Woolfolk, the rest of the position group gets pretty fuzzy from there.

The other cornerback spot, which many thought could be filled by blue-chip prospect Demar Dorsey before he was denied admission to the University, remains a wide open competition.

The most likely candidate for the job is J.T. Floyd, a redshirt sophomore who was a regular in nickel and dime packages last season. With a few years of experience in the defense (even though it’s been consistently changing since he enrolled), he should have the advantage to nab that second spot – at least to start the season. In his time in the spotlight, however, Floyd was a little better than average, appearing to be in over his head at times.

But don’t count out freshman Cullen Christian. Christian was one of the Wolverines’ star recruits in their past recruiting class and his size makes him an ideal replacement for Warren. Just like Warren, however, Christian has been criticized for lacking top-end speed, which kept him from five-star status on all the major recruiting sites.

Floyd will still get the nod against UConn, but don’t be surprised if you see Christian take that spot for his own by the fifth or sixth game, with Floyd sliding back to the nickel or dime spot. And maybe, just maybe, sometime this season Wolverine fans will get a glimpse of super prospect J.T. Turner.

As for the safety spots, the goal of improving those pass defense numbers doesn’t get much easier.

Jordan Kovacs will most likely retain his spot at the bandit safety position, where he’ll play up close and aid with the run-defense in addition to dropping back into coverage. And with the lack of viable options behind him, it’s not likely that Kovacs will lose his job. But if anyone were to challenge him, it’ll be incoming freshman Marvin Robinson who has wowed coaches to this point with his brute strength and athleticism.

But aside from the glaring question marks, there is one unique and seemingly positive experiment going on in the Wolverines’ back four.

Cam Gordon, a wide receiver when he came to Michigan, has made headlines this spring and summer for his seamless conversion to the Wolverines’ free safety spot, where it looks like he’ll start come Sept. 4.

Despite his lauded transformation, it still should worry Michigan fans, at least a little bit, that Gordon has never played a down on defense. If he turns out as dominant as the coaches say he will be, then he’ll be one of the most pleasant surprises of Michigan’s season.

Grade: C

Projected Starters: Troy Woolfolk, J.T. Floyd, Jordan Kovacs, Cam Gordon

Surprise Player: Cullen Christian