The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1029353
OCTOBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 39 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Three Best Players 1. Junior linebacker DEVIN BUSH JR. He was named a first-team preseason Associated Press All- American and has lived up to the billing. Bush racked up a team-leading 23 tackles and 1.5 sacks in the first three contests, and was second on the squad with 2.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage. Following U-M's 45-20 victory over SMU Sept. 15, Mustang head coach Sonny Dykes noted that the junior is "as good a linebacker as I've ever seen." 2. Junior quarterback Shea Patterson The junior signal-caller has been everything fans had hoped for and more. His six touchdown tosses rank second in the Big Ten (behind Ohio State redshirt sophomore Dwayne Haskins' 11), while his 70.8 completion percentage is the third- best mark in the league. Patterson has helped resurrect a U-M pass- ing attack that threw for just 171.2 yards per game last season, elevating it to a 209.7 clip in 2018. 3. Fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich Statistically, he has picked up right where he left off in 2017. Through three contests, Winovich has compiled a team-high 6.5 tackles for loss (better than last year's pace, when he accumulated 18), while checking in second on the squad in tackles with 21. He nearly went pro after last season, but will likely see his draft stock skyrocket if he continues to produce at the level he has been. Key Play Junior safety Josh Me- tellus' 73-yard intercep- tion for a touchdown against SMU gets the nod here. The Wolverines led just 14-7 with 17 seconds remaining in the first half of the Sept. 15 affair and were in search of some much-needed momentum. With the Mustangs driving into U-M territory and looking to knot the game before the break, Me- tellus' pick-six immediately swung the pendulum as time expired to give the Maize and Blue the breathing room they had been searching for. SMU never came within 15 points again. Best Highlight Michigan trailed Notre Dame 21-3 late in the second quarter Sept. 1 and was in dire need of something good to happen. The Irish kicked off to sophomore cornerback Ambry Thomas with 3:55 to go before halftime, and the speedster fielded the ball at his own 1-yard line. He sprinted out to the 35-yard mark before he was even touched and proceeded to break two arm tackles by Notre Dame defenders. Aided by a convoy of blockers that consisted of junior tight end Sean McKeon, fifth-year senior linebacker Noah Furbush and sixth-year senior running back Berkley Edwards, it was obvious Thomas was going to take it to the house as soon as he hit midfield — nothing but green grass stood between him and the end zone. The kick return for a score was U-M's first since Jehu Ches- son took one all the way against Northwestern on Oct. 10, 2015. It also trimmed the Irish's lead to 21-10 and gave the Wolverines some confidence heading into the break. Surprise Performer Redshirt sophomore punter Will Hart is the choice here. Sophomore Brad Robbins was expected to man the position after he took the starting job away from Hart at Purdue on Sept. 23, 2017, but head coach Jim Harbaugh revealed that surgery would keep Robbins out for an extended period of time, once again opening the door for Hart. He has averaged 43.7, 56.7 and 50.0 yards per punt in Michigan's first three games, respectively, and has helped make the Wolverines the third-best sta- tistical punting team in the country (50.1-yard average, trailing only Georgia State's 53.0 and Texas A&M's 51.6). Bold Prediction Michigan will head into the Oct. 20 matchup at Michigan State with a 6-1 record. Granted, the first half of U-M's schedule that was ex- pected to be so daunting isn't looking as tough as it once did, due to Nebraska starting 0-2 and Wisconsin being upset at home by BYU Sept. 15. Still, an Oct. 13 visit from the Badgers won't be easy, nor will a Sept. 29 road trip at Northwestern. If the Wolverines are able to head into East Lansing still perfect in conference play, though, the showdown could hold major Big Ten title impli- cations and would be vital for U-M to win if it hopes to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. — Austin Fox SUPERLATIVES THROUGH THREE GAMES