The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 35 BY JOHN BORTON M ake no mistake, fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich expects Michi- gan's offense to be better than it was a year ago. If he didn't, he might not be here. That said, Winovich and his de- fensive teammates aren't obsessing about all of Michigan's changes on offense and what they might mean for a run at the Big Ten championship. Instead, they're focused on hanging zeros, quarter by quarter, on all those they face. If they do that, everything becomes more manageable. "You're almost baptized to the idea that it's always the Michigan de- fense's responsibility," Winovich in- sisted at the Big Ten football meetings in Chicago. "If you look at my fresh- man year, we had a couple of games where we had negative yards rushing. I'm not badmouthing anybody … but it was our responsibility as a defense. "It's the truth. If they don't score any points, no matter what happens, they can't win that game." The Wolverines were very good on defense last fall, despite a lineup fea- turing almost all new starters. They finished third in the nation in total defense, surrendering just 271 yards per game. They wound up 18th nationally in scoring defense (18.8 points allowed per game), No. 4 in passing efficiency defense (103.71 rating allowed) and first in third-down conversion per- centage defense (.261 opposition success rate). At the same time, they know they can get better. They were ambushed in Happy Valley, Penn State running away in a 42-13 win. They saw a 14-0 lead evaporate at home in losing to Ohio State, 31-20. There were plays to be made that weren't. The losses and the letdowns only fuel their it's on us approach. "There were some days that came down to one play, and some that came down to multiple plays," senior safety Tyree Kinnel cautioned. "Penn State put it on us pretty bad. You've got to go through a whole season of work." That's precisely what they're pre- paring to continue — work that started in winter conditioning and then ramped up during spring ball, summer drills and now fall camp. The last-chance Wolverines — Win- ovich, Kinnel and a host of other se- niors — are ready to see their work turn into wins. Here's a look at how they're shap- ing up, and what they had to say about it: DEFENSIVE LINE Head coach Jim Harbaugh himself made a point of bringing up his fixa- tion on Michigan's lines and how he likes what he sees. "I feel really good about our de- fensive line," Harbaugh said. "Some guys have really asserted themselves. You know about [junior defensive end] Rashan Gary, you know about Chase Winovich." What people are finding out, he noted, is just how talented and de- termined redshirt sophomore de- fensive tackle Michael Dwumfour proved himself to be. Harbaugh in- sists Dwumfour stepped forward more than any other Wolverine in the spring, and that's huge news. Gary and Winovich are already ex- pected to deliver the sort of produc- tion they did a year ago, when they combined for 145 tackles, 14 sacks, 30 tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hurries. They'll be plenty disruptive, all the more so if Michigan proves stout up the middle. That should happen, Harbaugh noted, given the way Dwumfour — who appeared in nine games last year — has come on. He'll combine with sophomore Aubrey Solomon (four career starts), fifth-year senior Bryan Mone (seven career starts) and Michigan's other defensive tackles. "It looks like Aubrey is really com- ing along and turning the corner as well, being a presence inside," Har- baugh said. "Can that nose tackle po- sition be one that has a real identity, a real presence in the middle? There's some good candidates for that to take place." Winovich is ready to see the Wol- verines up front put opposing skill players into a maize and blue trash compactor. "It all starts in the middle, then works its way out," Winovich ob- served. "Once they establish that you can't run in the middle, for a lot of teams, it's what are they going to do? They either have to run outside or pass. Those guys in the middle set the tempo. They get after it." Michigan's tackles are ready for the challenge, in Winovich's estima- tion. "It's amazing how athletic they are for their size," he said. "There are a couple of kids who have really turned the corner this year. Michael Dwumfour did a great job … "Somebody in particular is [junior defensive lineman] Carlo Kemp. I'd say this to his face, so I'm comfort- able saying it in public — he almost looked like a doughboy last year. This year, he looks like a man. He's going to be a good player for us. "Aubrey Solomon as well. He's mentally started to turn the corner." Backing Michigan's two All-Big Ten defensive ends are some qual- ity performers as well, Winovich as- sured. Redshirt freshman Luiji Vilain drew considerable attention prior to the 2018 season before a knee injury wiped out his chances. Sophomore Kwity Paye played in nine games as a true freshman and appears ready for more. "Luiji Vilain, coming off a knee in- jury last year, has done a great job on Can't Score, Can't Win Michigan's Defense Brings A Shut-Down Mentality Into 2018 Fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich's 18 tackles for loss last year tied as Michigan's 11th-best single-season total since 1978, while his eight sacks tied for 15th since 1980. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL STATE OF THE DEFENSE