Khaleke Hudson and Devin Bush, Jr. (image via MLive)
I posted my thoughts on Michigan’s offense yesterday (LINK).
Here’s what I thought I saw on the defensive side:
DEFENSIVE END
Believe the hype: Last year around this time, I was praising Chase Winovich for being a guy who was quick enough to cause some problems and annoying enough to pester opponents. He’s added some weight, and I think he’s going to be pretty darn good this year. He’s just relentless and takes good angles to the football. Sophomore Rashan Gary looked good to me as a two-way lineman, a guy who can stop the run and rush the passer. I’m not ready to say he’ll be an All-American this year or anything, but he’s ready to be a starter at this level. I think we can safely say this about him: it will be rare that he will actually lose battles with anyone. Sophomore Carlo Kemp looks like another guy who’s going to be able to make some plays this year. I think he’s a guy who could play on either side of the defensive line.
Jury’s still out: Freshman Donovan Jeter looked okay, but he didn’t stand out against some questionable offensive tackles. The same can be said for redshirt sophomore Reuben Jones.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Believe the hype: I don’t buy that the defensive line – even just the starting four – is going to be as good as last year, and a big part of that is the defensive tackle depth. I don’t think redshirt junior Bryan Mone will be on the level of Ryan Glasgow, and fifth year senior Maurice Hurst, Jr. was already pretty good last season. Those guys were backups last season, and if we get their level of production from the bench, then Michigan will be in very good shape.
Jury’s still out: The one thing I can tell you is that Ron Johnson, Jr. is taking one for the team by playing defensive tackle during the spring. With limited bodies on the interior, Johnson – who’s probably about 245 lbs. – bumped down to 3-tech tackle and mostly got pushed around. Sophomore Carl Myers didn’t show a lot, either, but that’s how Ryan Glasgow’s career started out, too. When Greg Mattison finds a walk-on defensive lineman he likes, things usually go well for that guy. Michigan needs – needs! – Aubrey Solomon to be the real deal in the fall.
LINEBACKER
Believe the hype: Sophomore Devin Bush was flying around, and I think he’s every bit as good as has been coming out of practice. The thing that got me most excited was that he’s quick enough to blitz from depth, without having to creep up to the line pre-snap. Guys like Joe Bolden, Desmond Morgan, and others couldn’t get home if they came from 3.5 or 4 yards deep, and while Mike McCray and Ben Gedeon were both a step up athletically from those guys, Bush is another notch up. Speaking of McCray, the fifth year senior should be very good. I thought he got a bad rap last year, but he looks like an NFL inside linebacker to me. I also think redshirt junior Noah Furbush looks improved at SAM. He’s had some injury issues and needed to pack on weight for his first couple years, but he hung with Nick Eubanks on a couple crossing routes and was in good position.
Jury’s still out: I’m not buying the Michael Wroblewski hype. I was skeptical going into this spring, and even though we’ve heard good things, I just don’t see it on the field. Maybe I’ve just been burned too many times before, but walk-on linebackers just haven’t done much at Michigan over the years, for whatever reason. You might remember Kevin Leach and Mark Moundros getting a little bit of hype in the last decade, and that amounted to nothing. Wroblewski might be a smart guy capable of making calls and getting guys lined up, but I think it takes something more than that to play a lot of linebacker at a high level. On another note, redshirt junior Jared Wangler made an appearance with 2 tackles. I literally don’t think I’ve seen Wangler play in a game or even in practice or a spring game since he arrived at Michigan in 2014.
CORNERBACK
Believe the hype: All of it. They’re all good. I really think Michigan has a great crop of cornerbacks on campus these days. They’re not all ready to play as of right now, but the top guys can play, and the youngsters are maybe a year away. I was especially impressed with freshman Benjamin St-Juste, even though he was beaten a couple times. The Maize team was picking on him, and what they’ve probably figured out is that he’s not great at locating the ball right now. I think the game is moving a little too fast for him, which is expected, considering he played his high school ball in the Yukon. Despite all that, he was stride-for-stride on a couple fades, took a pass interference penalty, and even made an interception of Wilton Speight. Redshirt junior Brandon Watson had a pick-six against Brandon Peters, and redshirt sophomore Keith Washington is bigger and more physical. Freshman Ambry Thomas looks good in the Michigan uniform, although he didn’t get a whole lot accomplished in the spring game; he needs to get stronger, but he’s enticing. I’m looking forward to the future of this crew.
Jury’s still out: I know I listed Watson in the above section, but he’s the least talented athlete of the bunch, and he also totally missed Ty Isaac galloping through the hole on Isaac’s 28-yard touchdown run. He was lined up at safety on the play, so maybe he was playing out of position and didn’t really know how to read-and-react to what he was seeing in front of him. Even so, it was not a shining moment.
SAFETY/VIPER
Believe the hype: I mentioned a week and a half ago that I had heard great things repeatedly about Khaleke Hudson, and I think that showed itself on the field on Saturday. He made 3 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup, but he was all over the place and made a couple hard hits, too. Michigan is going to miss Jabrill Peppers’s overall contributions, but I don’t think we’ll miss him a ton on defense alone. Redshirt sophomore Jordan Glasgow made maybe the most exciting play of the day when he picked off a Wilton Speight pass intended for Eddie McDoom and returned it 100+ yards for a touchdown. He’s not a track star, but he’ll blow up receivers and come up to stop the run. Junior Tyree Kinnel is a very willing and capable tackler, too.
Jury’s still out: Freshman J’Marick Woods sat out the game due to a minor injury, but he was recently named a “Dude of the Day” by Don Brown. Meanwhile, sophomore Joshua Metellus was reportedly dealing with a leg injury but toughed it out for most of the day, too. He was beaten by walk-on Nate Schoenle for a long completion on the game-winning field goal drive, but I’m willing to give him a bit of a passing, considering he was a little bit gimpy. Metellus did tackle well, too, which is the case for our whole secondary. Freshman Jaylen Kelly-Powell looked very skinny, and he was listed at just 183 lbs. coming out of high school. Counting the Viper position, I think Michigan has four guys who can help Michigan this year (Hudson, Glasgow, Kinnel, Metellus), and Woods is a wild card.
You need to login in order to vote
Don Brown seemed extra disappointed that J’Marick Woods could not go on Saturday. Speculating that Brown is pegging Woods for the #3 safety this fall. JKP needs another 10-15 lbs before he has a prayer of handling run-support duties.
Agree with the DL comments. There has to be a bit of a drop off from last year considering the ridiculous depth they had. The question is, how much? Ryan Glasgow in particular will be missed. Jeter did not set the stadium on fire, but I think he flashed some natural rush instincts (which you either have, or you don’t). That’s all I wanted to see at this stage.
UM has a couple potential intimidators in the back seven between Hudson and Bush. Both look like major hitters. Agree on the Wroblewski comments – he is clearly a good practice player and fills a need there, but not buying him as a gamer. If Mbosse is not ready for prime time, I could see Ross or Anthony becoming the key, back-up ILB. Mason needs a redshirt.
You need to login in order to vote
I would be surprised if at least one of Anthony, Ross or Singleton were not seeing significant snaps at LB by mid-season, if not sooner. Guys like Wrobolewski, Mason and Furbush are not going to hold their place against faster and more athletic guys for long.
You need to login in order to vote
Normally, I would agree, but Michigan basically went with a three-man rotation at inside linebacker last year with Gedeon, McCray, and Bush. So it also wouldn’t surprise me if Michigan had a very small group of playable players in 2017. I don’t think all those freshmen will redshirt or anything, but maybe Don Brown just likes to stick with the main guys as much as he can at linebacker, since they’re the center of the defense and have to make so many of the calls.
You need to login in order to vote
Well, right now, McCray may be the only “main guy”, though maybe you can put Bush down in more than pencil. As far as anyone else, I think the freshmen have a wide open field, though Wrobolewski is probably in the best position, since he’s been in the program a long time and knows the defense. The coaches like the way he calls the signals, so that may stand him in better stead than guys like Furbush and Mason, despite his physical limitations.
You need to login in order to vote
Probably good news if Woods is pushing to be the top backup at FS. The limitations of JKP have been expressed many places. Woods wasn’t a big recruit so if they found a diamond there, it’s good news.
Though competition isn’t exactly fierce, Woods emergence is probably a best case scenario for the moment. Worst case is a walk-on or shuffling over a CB like Watson.
You need to login in order to vote
I guess it’s not bad to have someone else looking halfway decent back there, but free safety is not really a good place for a true freshman to be tossed into. A strong safety’s mistakes turn into first downs, a free safety’s mistakes turn into touchdowns.
You need to login in order to vote
As somebody here noted yesterday … apologies to that person, but I don’t have the motor going yet to go back and look … we appear to be much faster than we have been in a long time.
Because we are running with just a whole lot of puppies, strength and a lack of experience will be issues. While we are much faster everywhere, we are also much younger and lighter, and as such will be prone to getting pushed around and mistakes at levels we haven’t experienced on defense for three years. There will be bitching about this, just get ready for it now.
A lot of our depth is way young and light. If we get injuries, we’re gonna really get pushed around. I’m hoping two freshmen defensive tackles can step in and play. I think Solomon is a lock to play, I’m on record ad nauseum regarding Paea to offensive guard, but I’ve been told twice now that he has improved dramatically in terms of size, strength and quick. I’m hopin’.
I don’t know why I should be surprised at how thick and powerful Glasgow is, considering his brothers, but he looks thick even for an NFL safety. Then, I was surprised at his quickness breaking on the play. Glasgows are awesome.
I liked Washington. He looked ready to play D1 CB.
You need to login in order to vote
Agree about mistakes but I don’t buy us getting pushed around. Because Bush is small? Because of the secondary? Nah. Michigan has a loaded starting DL that is anything but light, 2 good-looking ILBs, and can sub in Furbush if somebody tries to run down their throats. Bush and Metellus may not be tall but they can thump. Don Brown is excellent at stopping the run, so good luck to those who try to run it down our throats because we’re “light” or “young”
You need to login in order to vote
DL depth is a concern of mine. Our RBs looked best yesterday going against them, even when running behind our splintered backup OL
Gotta stay healthy
You need to login in order to vote
I think Solomon and even Hudson will contribute right away. Hopefully Dwumfour is 100% by the summer so he can get involved in the 2 deep as well.
Wonder if a guy like Luiji Vilain will jump Reuben Jones from day 1. He’s only about 240 lbs, though.
You need to login in order to vote
I think Vilain will pass up Jones, yeah. I agree that Hudson will probably play in 2017, too.
You need to login in order to vote
Don’t forget to include Dwumfor in the mix at DT. He was dinged and did not see full action in the spring, but should be better than the backups who played Saturday.
You need to login in order to vote
I like Kinnel a lot, but we seem a little thin in the Free Safety 2 deep. Do you think Mettellus can cover wide-outs? Glasgow and Leke appear custom built for VIPER, and not FS as much.
You need to login in order to vote
Metellus is supposedly the fastest guy on the team. I don’t think he’s great in man coverage, but that’s probably why he’s playing safety and not corner. I don’t think he’ll be significantly worse than last year’s safeties in man coverage.
You need to login in order to vote
This strikes me as optimistic. Hill was excellent in coverage and Thomas, while he wasn’t the most instinctual player, could cover a lot of ground.
I don’t doubt that Kinnel will be solid and that Metellus will get there eventually, but I think you’ll see a step back in 2017.
You need to login in order to vote
Glasgow is quick enough. That race 200 yards down and back, Long and Evans crossed at the same time, followed by McDoom and then Glasgow.
You need to login in order to vote
Yeah…but out of eight guys, it was Long, Evans, McDoom, Glasgow, and then four other walk-ons, I believe. And Glasgow was 10 yards behind Long/Evans at the finish.
http://detroitsportsnation.com/videos/cpoposki/watch-photo-finish-200-yard-footrace-michigan-practice/90713/
You need to login in order to vote
He looked pretty good for the first 150 yards.
You need to login in order to vote
I know this is parsing, but the guys who pulled away seemed to be saving themselves for the return trip. They looked like they were going 85% or 90% on the way down, and then they turned on the jets. If nothing else, it means they have Glasgow beaten in the conditioning department. Additionally, Glasgow didn’t show amazing speed on the INT return. Speight and Wilson both took poor angles, which is understandable for a quarterback, but Wilson (a high school safety) should have known better.
I think Glasgow is fast enough to play. Jordan Kovacs wasn’t a burner, either. I just think he’s average in the speed department.
You need to login in order to vote
Yeah, Glasgow has plenty enough quickness to play, but with the frame he has, he’s not the guy you want in the down and back.
You need to login in order to vote
If Dwumfour is back and playing well, as rumored, and any 1 of 3 freshman emerge at DT (Hudson, Irving-Bey, Jeter), does Michigan still NEED Solaman?
If nothing else Wrobo should be a useful special teams contributor. But given the lack of viable backups, I think we have to take it at face value that he’s in the rotation unless a freshman usurps him. It does not appear it’s by merit as much as a recruiting failure. Had sort of given up on some of the others but Devin Gil was supposed to be on track not so long ago…
The consistency of the praise from all sources is the thing that stands out at CB. We’ll have a dropoff in 2017 but it’s a great sign for the future. Especially so, since none of the CB recruits were clear blue-chippers (though Thomas and Long weren’t far off).
For safety, I don’t think 4 guys for 3 spots is enough unless they luck out with health.
Can’t say enough how great it is to have Don Brown, Greg Mattison, and Chris Zordich on the same coaching staff. As an added bonus to being great coaches, Brown and Mattison also are pretty candid in interviews.
You need to login in order to vote
Well, the big question mark is Dwumfour. That’s a little too big of a hypothetical. Is he playing well like Bryan Mone in 2016? Or is he playing well like Maurice Hurst, Jr.? Or is he “playing well” like Jibreel Black at NT? I think Michigan needs Solomon either way, but I also think he’ll be better than Dwumfour as soon as he steps on campus.
Four guys for three spots is enough at safety in some years. Last year Michigan had four guys for three spots (Hill, Thomas, Peppers, Kinnel) and it worked out fine. Is that lucking out? I don’t remember a ton of injuries to safeties over the years.
You need to login in order to vote
I take your point, but I see it as less of a hypothetical than one particular true freshman coming in and being ready. Yes Rashan Gary just did it, but most guys take time.
I don’t think Dwumfour is Hurst necessarily, but the praise for his play and potential has been pretty consistent.
Obviously Solomon’s recruiting profile indicates a higher ceiling but any freshman is a wildcard. I can’t help but wonder if the the transition on-field and off will go as smoothly as the recruiting rankings might lead one to think. We’ve been burned by blue-chip DL hype more times than not.
You need to login in order to vote
We’ve lost a starting safety* each of the last 2 bowl games. While it’s been mostly CBs that have gotten hurt the last few years I think we can chalk that up to chance.
But yes – it’s possible that a group of 4 guys is 100% healthy all year…but I would call it 50/50 at best.
*/viper/nickel/etc.
You need to login in order to vote
So I asked my buddy who gets to see practice every once in a while, “Dwomfor?”
He says that he never sees him. Then he backs it up and changes the word to notices. Then he admits he’s focused on the big names and Dwomfor, to the extent that he’s there at all stands in the middle of a group of large wide people and is not distinguishable except by number which my friend hasn’t cared enough to check into. Which is fair.
So the real answer to Dwomfor? is ?????
But ….. Mattison!!!!!
You need to login in order to vote
I can’t even spell the kids name right.
Dwumfour
You need to login in order to vote
Of course we need Solomon. Next year he’s almost guaranteed to start, and this year we desperately need depth
You need to login in order to vote
I think there’s a decent chance that Dwumfour and Gary are your starting interior lineman in 2018.
You need to login in order to vote
Mone will be back for 2018, and I doubt Gary moves from the anchor DE spot. And as much as I like Dwumfour, he’s not beating out an all world 5-star in Solomon in 2018.
You need to login in order to vote
Two things….
1. I think Keith Washington should be one of the starting CBs. I still remember the parking lot story where he was gonna run the 40 for Harbaugh and it seemed like he had that same confidence playing out there.
2. I’m really stoked for our defense….NEXT YEAR…..lolol We’re gonna be so deadly next year with the experience catching up to their talent.
You need to login in order to vote
I’m with you on Washington, he looked great.
You need to login in order to vote
I’m in on the Keith Washington praise, though probably it’s a sign of positive developments for 2018 and beyond than 2017.
Washington was always raw but full of potential. A red-shirt was fine, but when he got immediately passed by Hill and now Thomas, plus staying behind Watson things look grim.
Getting a high upside player up to serviceable is one of the best things I’ve heard coming out of Spring, particularly since CB depth is (or was) a bit of question. At least we have options.
You need to login in order to vote
Why so little confidence in furnish? I’ve watched twice now, and I think he’s fine against a sparty/Wisconsin offense, and more than serviceable as a backup Sam Linebacker
You need to login in order to vote
*Furbush
You need to login in order to vote