The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1014905
SEPTEMBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 45 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL biggest jump, he added, is sophomore safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell. The biggest surprise is also at safety. "The guy that might be the surprise for me is Brad Hawkins," Brown said of the sophomore. "He's really figured it out … the biggest piece for him that was most difficult was he couldn't 'get right.' Now he's getting right. We're seeing that athleticism." Veteran safeties Josh Metellus, a ju- nior, and senior Tyree Kinnel are both playing well, Brown added, reiterating that they'd be given more help in cov- erage this year. On the defensive line, redshirt soph- omore Michael Dwumfour inside and sophomore Kwity Paye outside con- tinue to play "extremely, extremely well," Brown said. "Both guys are going to be counted on to play big minutes," he continued. "Mike Dwumfour had a really excit- ing spring from a coaching standpoint … that kid has really stepped into it. Kwity can play either defensive end position. "Position flexibility is a big deal, gives you a chance to play both posi- tions. We still have Rashan [Gary] and Chase [Winovich] there playing at a very, very solid level." Freshman end Aidan Hutchinson is making a case too, he added. "He is going to be a good player. Can we get him ready? My lean is with Coach [Greg] Mattison's tu- telage, he'll be ready to go," Brown said. "[Sophomore] Aubrey Solomon [is good], [fifth-year senior] Lawrence Marshall is back … he had an injury in the spring, but he's full time playing." Junior Carlo Kemp has moved full time inside, while fifth-year senior Bryan Mone has been good there too. "Bryan Mone has been a stalwart in the middle, will be a first- and second- down guy for us," Brown said. "We expect good things out of him. He's like an immovable object, like a fence post in the ground in cement, because he's not moving." Junior viper Khaleke Hudson has also been outstanding. "He's a real guy, now," Brown said. "He's got it all figured out mentally, physically. He's 220 pounds. You can tell how far he's come. He's just a spe- cial player, can blitz, cover, he's smart. He can relate to the DBs and fit in with those guys in terms of his coverage capabilities, can play linebacker and be a very solid run defender. "He's a tremendous, tremendous, tremendous blitzer, and we're doing several things differently in some of our structures … he'll continue to be a significant playmaker." — Chris Balas Defensive coordinator Don Brown said sophomore safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell has made the biggest jump from last season to this fall on defense. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 2018 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time (ET)/TV Sept. 1 at Notre Dame 7:30pm/NBC Sept. 8 Western Michigan Noon/FS1 Sept. 15 SMU 3:30pm/BTN Sept. 22 Nebraska TBA/TBA Sept. 29 at Northwestern TBA/TBA Oct. 6 Maryland Noon/TBA Oct. 13 Wisconsin TBA/TBA Oct. 20 at Michigan State TBA/FOX or FS1 Nov. 3 Penn State TBA/TBA Nov. 10 at Rutgers TBA/TBA Nov. 17 Indiana TBA/TBA Nov. 24 at Ohio State Noon/FOX Outside of Michigan's three freshman early enrollees — quarterback Joe Milton, cornerback Myles Sims and defen- sive end Taylor Upshaw — the jersey numbers, and official heights and weights of Michigan's rookie class had been a complete mystery. The Aug. 2 updated roster revealed all of them, though. — Austin Fox No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. 5 Joe Milton QB 6-5 234 6 Michael Barrett ATH 6-0 224 6 Myles Sims DB 6-3 183 8 Ronnie Bell WR 6-0 182 9 Gemon Green DB 6-2 174 13 German Green DB 6-2 175 13 Jake Moody K 6-0 177 17 Sammy Faustin DB 6-2 187 20 Ben VanSumeren FB 6-3 236 25 Hassan Haskins RB 6-1 212 28 Christian Turner RB 5-11 200 31 Vincent Gray DB 6-2 184 44 Cameron McGrone LB 6-1 228 60 Ryan Hayes TE 6-7 271 73 Jalen Mayfield OL 6-5 296 85 Mustapha Muhammad TE 6-4 245 89 Luke Schoonmaker TE 6-6 231 91 Taylor Upshaw DL 6-4 246 96 Julius Welschof DL 6-6 253 97 Aidan Hutchinson DL 6-6 268 FRESHMAN JERSEY NUMBERS, OFFICIAL HEIGHTS AND WEIGHTS REVEALED