The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1029353
36 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2018 J unior Carlo Kemp has followed the Chase Winovich path to success at U-M and seems to have found a home at defensive tackle. The fifth-year se- nior Winovich moved positions fre- quently early in his career, starting out as a linebacker, playing tight end for a while and then becoming an outstand- ing defensive end. Kemp never dabbled on offense, but he also started out at linebacker before moving to defensive end, and then this spring he asked to move inside. The early returns have been very positive. The Wolverines have struggled with injuries on the interior, giving Kemp opportunities to start against both Western Michigan and SMU. The start against WMU — his first time log- ging more than 21 defensive snaps in a game — surprised him. "Basically, you go through practices and go through the warm-up on game day, and then as it just so happens, coach puts you in that first series," Kemp said. "That's kind of that first moment of realizing like, 'Okay … I guess it's time to start this defensive series for the team.'" He also started the following week against SMU. In his three 2018 appear- ances, he has logged six tackles with 1.5 for loss and assisted on a sack. Kemp knew in spring he'd have competition to play whether he stayed at end or moved to tackle, but he chose the harder route, the one that entailed gaining 25 pounds. He reported he's now up to 295 and carrying it well on his 6-3 frame. "I wanted to give it a try and help the team in any way possible, and even if meant being a backup, just letting Coach [Greg] Mattison know that I just want to learn it at least, just so he has that option," Kemp explained. "It was approaching spring ball, and I said, 'Coach, you think I could just try it out?' And I think he was okay with it. "So in spring ball I was just taking three-tech and anchor reps, and just trying to be the best at either one of them. And it was a grind. Not every- thing went smooth in spring ball try- ing to learn that and I tried to improve on those things in camp and just keep working on it." On the inside, he said, a player has to be even more aggressive because he's got about 600 pounds from two block- ers on him every single play. Hold- ing ground is one of the keys, and it's all the harder when a third offensive player sometimes chips in. In that sense, the move from end to tackle was much different. "There are a lot of different respon- sibilities you've got to do," Kemp said. "You've got to learn new footwork and new blocks, and for me, I've never re- ally played inside, even in high school. … The transition in spring ball and then camp and these last couple weeks of finally getting to hone in on it, it's been pretty new. You take it one day at MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Carlo Kemp Starting And Impressing At Defensive Tackle Kemp (No. 2) has been strong after changing positions to tackle this spring and stepping into the starting lineup for two of the first three games. Pro Football Focus awarded him U-M's second-highest defensive grade in week three against SMU. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL