The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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32 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2018 know the things that have to be fixed, and they will be fixed." They needed to wait until a bit fur- ther down the line to certify any fixes. Beating up on Western Michigan and SMU wouldn't do it, in the minds of most observers. That said, it beats the alternative. The Wolverines clamped down on WMU, giving up just 208 yards and a meaningless three points with 2:34 to play in a 49-3 rout. Against a team that had put 42 points on the board against Syracuse a week earlier, the Wolver- ines shut down the passing game, al- lowing a mere 85 yards through the air. SMU wasn't as cooperative, even while leaving with a 45-20 defeat. They put the ball in the end zone three times, and took great advantage of Michigan's 13 penalties for 137 yards, most of them on the defensive side of the football. So while the Wolverines continue to feature considerable talent on defense, they're definitely smoothing out some rough edges in the early part of the season. Now, life begins to gradually get tougher again. Nebraska at home, Northwestern on the road and Mary- land at home all present more of a test than the Broncos and likely as much as the Mustangs, despite early season struggles of their own. After that, it gets very real. Wis- consin, at Michigan State and Penn State (following a bye week) loom as the biggest three-game chapter in the book on Michigan football 2018. The Wolverines' defenders haven't lost any confidence in themselves, and some- one facing them in practice every day feels the same. Junior quarterback Shea Patterson insists Brown's crew is "second to none." "Playing against them every day, that's a huge benefit for our offense," he continued. "You never know how teams will play us, but as far as from a talent and scheme standpoint, coach- ing staff, I don't think we could get better prepared. "That was the one mindset I had coming in — you've got a champion- ship-caliber defense, just come in and do your job." HELP FROM NEW CONTRIBUTORS Michigan entered the season with high marks all around for its defense, and for good reason. The Wolverines returned nine starters, losing only se- niors Mo Hurst at tackle and Mike Mc- Cray at linebacker from the No. 3 total defense in the nation. Nothing ever goes completely ac- cording to plan, of course. The Wol- verines didn't expect to be without sophomore defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon and fifth-year senior coun- terpart Lawrence Marshall, a week one starter, for games two and three. They also didn't figure to lose Me- tellus for more than three-quarters of the toughest game to date. But those absences have created opportunities for others to step forward, and they have. Junior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp — having previously played line- backer and defensive end for the Wol- verines — impressed in his first start against WMU and followed it up with half of a sack among four stops ver- sus SMU. He'd requested a shot at an inside spot before spring practice and put on 25 pounds in the offseason to gear up for it. Kemp senses a keen obligation to maintaining the type of defensive lines the Wolverines have trotted out under coach Greg Mattison. "You want to keep the people that wore the jersey before you, and played specifically for the Michigan D-line, proud," he said. "You know they're always watching. The D-line for us is special. We like to make sure it starts up front. "If you can control the trenches, you can have a pretty good defense." The Wolverines — even in the ab- sence of Hurst, Marshall and Solo- mon — are working to do so. They didn't get as much inside push as they wanted in the opener against the Irish, but Gary pointed out that several de- fensive tackles are coming along. "[Redshirt sophomore Michael] Dwumfour, Kemp, [fifth-year senior Bryan] Mone and [redshirt freshman Donovan] Jeter — a lot of guys were coming in, and the level of play stayed the same," Gary said after the win over WMU. "They stopped the ball whenever it came their way. They want to hit the end but then you've got [true freshman defensive end] Aidan [Hutchinson] and [sophomore defensive end Kwity] Paye right there — I love being a big brother to them." Hutchinson, the son of former Mich- igan All-American defensive lineman Chris Hutchinson, got involved in a fourth-down stop for the Wolverines in his first action as a rookie. "Have you seen him?" fifth-year se- nior defensive end Chase Winovich said of Hutchinson. "Someone tweeted he's a behemoth. I knew from the jump he'd be a contributor sooner rather than later." Winovich continues to lead the way for the defensive line, ranking second on the team with 21 stops and pacing the squad with 6.5 tackles for loss after three games — but the new faces up front are occupying blockers and pro- viding support. Sophomore linebacker Josh Ross notched just four tackles in 13 games last season, but ranks fourth on the team through three contests with 16 total stops, including 1.5 for loss. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN