Big things were expected from defensive back Dax Hill this season, even as a true freshman. You don’t arrive in Ann Arbor with a five-star rating on recruiting websites with some sort of expectation.

Through the first eight games of this college career, the freshman is already impressing his head coach.

Hill has totaled 14 tackles this season with 1.5 tackles for loss and two pass break -ups in Michigan’s secondary. But it’s more than the numbers that Harbaugh has been impressed with from his freshman defensive back. Hill’s understanding of the game really has Harbaugh’s attention.

“He is a really smart player, he understands beyond his years,” Harbaugh said of Hill during his Monday press conference. “He’s got a real intuition for the game.”

Harbaugh talked about specific plays that stood out to him during Saturday’s game against Notre Dame. A fumble recovery was one of those moments. He also thought one particular coverage play, Hill did a phenomenal job.

Below is Harbaugh’s comments on Hill, as posted by Brad Galli of WXYZ Detroit: