Michigan Sophomore linebacker Jaishawn Barham will start Saturday night’s showdown with Oklahoma on the sideline — not because of injury, but because of a targeting suspension that carried over from the Wolverines’ season opener against New Mexico.
The penalty deprives Michigan of one of its defensive anchors for two quarters, and it sparked strong criticism from Fox Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt, who said the rule is fundamentally broken.
“The targeting call in college football is terrible… attaching an ejection automatically to a penalty like that, and [having it] carry a suspension for the next half of football… that is stupid and it needs to change,” Klatt said on The Joel Klatt Show.
Klatt’s frustration centered on the nature of the play itself. Barham turned his head, wrapped up the quarterback, and made incidental high contact — far from the crown-first, spear-style hits that the rule was designed to eliminate.
“Barham is making a football play and wrapping up the quarterback while his cheek happened to contact the head of a defenseless player,” Klatt explained. “Throwing him out for that is egregious.”
The loss underscores just how important Barham is to Michigan’s defense.
Last season, he started every game and produced 66 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, a sack, and two pass deflections, establishing himself as one of the Big Ten’s most disruptive linebackers.
His blend of physicality and versatility makes him the type of defender coordinator Jesse Minter can line up all over the field, whether rushing off the edge or dropping into coverage.
Michigan will have to adjust without him early, but his return in the second half could provide an immediate spark. Barham’s leadership and playmaking ability give the Wolverines a dimension that can’t be replicated when he’s sidelined.
For Klatt, the issue goes well beyond Michigan’s short-term disadvantage. He argued college football needs a two-tier targeting system to distinguish between malicious hits and borderline plays like Barham’s.
“When someone is lowering the crown and trying to injure somebody, throw them out. When it’s letter-of-the-law like Barham, march off 15 yards — but don’t hold him out of the next game,” Klatt said.
Until that change happens, players like Barham — and teams like Michigan — will continue to face costly suspensions in the sport’s biggest games.