The Big Ten released its all-conference teams over the past couple days, and here’s a look at the honorees for Michigan:
FIRST TEAM RB Blake Corum (Coaches, Media) C Olu Oluwatimi (Coaches) OG Trevor Keegan (Coaches) OG Zak Zinter (Coaches, Media) DL Mike Morris (Coaches, Media) DL Mazi Smith (Coaches, Media)
SECOND TEAM QB J.J. McCarthy (Media) OT Ryan Hayes (Coaches) LB Junior Colson (Coaches) DB D.J. Turner II (Coaches)
THIRD TEAM WR Ronnie Bell (Coaches, Media) TE Luke Schoonmaker (Coaches) LB Mike Barrett (Coaches)
COACH OF THE YEAR: Jim Harbaugh RUNNING BACK OF THE YEAR: Blake Corum DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR: Mike Morris KICKER OF THE YEAR: Jake Moody
Name: Mazi Smith Height: 6’3″ Weight: 337 lbs. High school: Grand Rapids (MI) East Kentwood Position: Nose tackle Class: Redshirt junior Jersey number: #58 Last year: I ranked Smith #5 and said he would be a start nose tackle with 15 tackles and 3 tackles for loss (LINK). He made 37 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 4 pass breakups, and 4 quarterback hurries. TTB Rating: 86
2022 season prediction: Starting nose tackle; 45 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks
Name: Mazi Smith Height: 6’3″ Weight: 326 lbs. High school: Grand Rapids (MI) East Kentwood Position: Nose tackle Class: Redshirt sophomore Jersey number: #58 Last year: I ranked Smith #28 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He made 3 tackles and 1 tackle for loss. TTB Rating: 86
Michigan fans have been longing for an impact defensive tackle basically since Maurice Hurst, Jr. moved on to the NFL. For the past few seasons, the Wolverines have been lacking true defensive tackles, resulting in the team playing people like former linebacker Carlo Kemp on the interior. In the class of 2019, Michigan recruited a couple highly regarded, beefy tackle types, and fans have been salivating for them to play. Unfortunately, it’s been some slow going with Smith and Chris Hinton, Jr. Smith played in a couple games in 2019 but didn’t do much, and last season he made just 3 tackles in five games as a backup.
With the move to more of a 3-4 look under new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, Michigan needs a nose tackle to step up. Smith is the obvious top choice considering his size and recruiting pedigree. The concern continues to be his conditioning. How long can he play at one time or in any one game before his performance falls off drastically? Michigan did bring in help in the form of Oregon State nose tackle Jordan Whittley, but reports coming out of practice are saying he’s probably not going to help much. (Whittley sat out the 2020 season and is in the 350 lb. range.) Beyond those two players, Michigan is looking at the likes of Donovan Jeter, Jess Speight, and Jack Stewart. Ideally, Smith and Whittley would provide a nice 1-2 punch on standard downs, perhaps with a sub package coming in on passing downs to get a better pass rusher on the field.
Prediction: Starting nose tackle; 15 tackles, 3 tackles for loss
Name: Mazi Smith Height: 6’3″ Weight: 305 lbs. High school: Kentwood (MI) East Kentwood Position: Defensive tackle Class: Redshirt freshman Jersey number: #58 Last year: I ranked Smith #46 and said he would be a backup defensive tackle (LINK). He played in two games and redshirted. TTB Rating: 86
Last year I overvalued defensive tackles, as evidenced by placing Donovan Jeter just behind Shea Patterson (LINK). That also came into play with Smith, whom I ranked #46 even though he ended up redshirting. I was not confident in the other defensive tackles, including starters Michael Dwumfour and Carlo Kemp, and I thought they would get complemented by heavier doses of Smith and Chris Hinton. Though Dwumfour was spotty, it was actually three-man lines and Jess Speight that stepped up the most.
According to off-season reports, Smith is in much better shape this year. He took plays off in high school, but going into his second year of college, he should be more ready to play with good technique consistently. That should be good news for a defensive interior that lacks size and depth. Michigan needs some 300-pounders to step up this year. I would expect Smith to play a backup role behind Kemp.
The Fence the Mitten Project continues with defensive tackles today. Go back and take a look at QB (LINK), RB (LINK), WR (LINK), TE (LINK), OL (LINK), and DE (LINK).