The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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36 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2018 STATE OF THE DEFENSE the outside," Winovich said. Of Paye, the fifth-year senior noted: "He's going to be a force. I don't know when that will come, if he really gets a chance this year or next. But he and Luiji are going to be awesome players, and really fun to watch for Wolverines to come." The starting duo is enjoyable to watch right now, Harbaugh assured, regarding Gary and Winovich. "They're really good players, no question about it," he said. "We're getting that presence inside as well. We're getting some players that are really coming along, that could give that. "We're hoping for a great line, of- fensively and defensively. They win football games for you." LINEBACKERS Two major starters return here, ju- nior inside linebacker Devin Bush Jr. and junior viper Khaleke Hudson. This combo teamed up for a com- bined 185 stops, 28 tackles for loss (including Hudson's team-leading 18.5) and 13 sacks, as well as 17 pass breakups, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. Winovich expects the linebackers to be even better this season, despite the loss of inside 'backer and captain Mike McCray. Of course, a strong move forward there depends on the defensive line doing its job, noted the fifth-year senior with the flowing blonde mane. "I think they could do even bet- ter this year, if we just continue to wreak havoc," Winovich said. "If we stall out, or we're not making plays behind the line of scrimmage and causing havoc, it's going to let other people on the offense focus on them. "Khaleke was an absolute mon- ster, a B.A. [bad-ass] football player. He's a tough dude. At the same time, Rashan was a force. "With them being on the same side, the offense had to decide who they wanted to focus on with protec- tions. I think Rashan made it tough on them." Winovich anticipates more of the pick-your-poison stress in store for opponents in 2018. "It's the same thing this year," he said. "Now they've got to worry about me and Rashan, and maybe some guys on the inside. Not only does it make it tougher for them to scheme against us, it makes it tougher in a lot of ways. "We're coming from everywhere. It will be fun." As for the linebackers in their own right, Winovich is impressed with what he sees from the starters. "It's just the speed and physical- ity, the love that they have for the game," he said. "Across the defense, that's what separates us from a lot of defenses. Some defenses may be better in certain ways, but in terms of athleticism … we've got some ath- letes who can run and play. We've got some dudes out there." A third starting "dude" will as- sume the vacated weakside line- backer position. The favorites seem to be redshirt sophomore Devin Gil, who started the opener last year when McCray became ill near game time, and sophomore Josh Ross, a special teams contributor last season. It's too close to call between the two, Kinnel noted in the days leading up to the start of fall camp. "Those two guys at that spot are doing extremely well," Kinnel said. "They rotated a lot in spring, and they're doing good. It's going to come down to whoever has the bet- ter camp. "I feel good with either guy. That position is on my side, the weak side. They both want to meet the fullback really well in the hole. They've got a lot of speed. They can cover the run- ning back out of the backfield. They can blitz really well. They're very similar. That's why it's such a close competition." As for who he thinks emerges, Winovich proved typically engaging. "No one knows," he said. "They don't know. Coach [Don] Brown doesn't know. God probably knows." Winovich's breakdown of the two puts a finer point on it. "Josh Ross is probably the most downhill player I've ever seen," Winovich said. "He will just go and smash anything. I don't know if you've ever seen him shirtless, but his traps are the biggest traps I've ever seen. It's impressive. "He's built to go hit stuff. That's Ross' best aspect. "Gil is very mobile, and he can di- agnose plays very well. He already has that presence out there. Gil is also starting to turn that corner and embrace that role." Brown also noted redshirt fresh- man Drew Singleton was in the "fist- fight" for the starting weakside spot — but he cautioned there was still no leader as of early August. "Josh and Devin Gil are probably slightly ahead of Drew," he said. "If that would be the case we'd let them both play, see who steps up and sep- arates, or if they both keep playing well leave it alone." They've also been working Ross behind Bush in the middle, giving them a 'three for two' deal. SECONDARY Michigan returns all four starting defensive backs from 2017 — Kin- nel, junior safety Josh Metellus, and junior cornerbacks Lavert Hill and David Long. They were a big part of Michigan's best-in-the-nation pass defense, giving up a paltry 150.1 yards per game through the air. At the same time, Kinnel noted they've worked diligently to improve for the coming season. "It starts with our front seven," he said. "They help us out a lot. We've got to be better than we were last year, even though we were pretty good last year in the secondary. "We've got to be better, because some of those big plays were on us, in the safety play. That's what we're Junior linebacker Devin Bush was named an All-American by two different outlets last season, earning second-team honors from Walter Camp and third-team laurels from the Associated Press. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN