The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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24 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2019 like Kwity that plays as hard, as physical and as fast as he does," Kemp said. "Kwity is just like Rashan, like all of us. He works ev- ery single day to be as good as he is." Kemp, meanwhile, started out as an outside player but added weight to get to 295 so he could help on the interior line. The Wolverines were lucky he did, given the losses up front and the injuries they suffered. Redshirt sophomore Michael Dwumfour went down with a lower leg injury that looked severe against Maryland two weeks before the Michigan State game. Though Dwumfour played a bit a week later against Wisconsin, Kemp was the guy who took most of the snaps in a 38-13 win and was also in for many plays against the Spartans. "We have a starting first unit and a rotating first unit and a rotating second unit," Mattison said. "All of them are like starters. … But the guy who happens to be playing very, very strong for us in there is Carlo Kemp." Kemp explained the pressure that comes with stepping up when others can't. "You're playing for everybody that lines up next to you and behind you," Kemp said. "That's who we're all playing for — the people we've been doing this with since we were freshmen. "Having an impact, doing it for your brother and them doing it for you — it's a special feeling." The line also got a boost from an- other player who wasn't one of them, but certainly played like it at times. Junior Josh Uche had a hard team seeing the field behind some special linebackers that included Bush and junior Khaleke Hudson, but he found his niche as a pass-rush specialist and often saw the field with Paye on ob- vious passing downs. Uche usually lined up at the line of scrimmage and was very effective, racking up seven sacks to lead the team despite playing less snaps. That's the kind of depth that puts teams in championship contention in late November. "Josh works with the linebacker group more, and he does pass rush work with us," Mattison said. "He's a great example of guys developing. He has very, very good speed." It's also a real credit to Brown and the schemes that the coordinator comes up with and his ability to get the best football players in the best positions at the right time, Mattison added. "You're seeing a young man like Uche who's very fast and very quick and improved," Mattison said. "[Line- backers coach] Al Washington has done a great job with getting him ready, and then he comes and helps us." The secondary remained relatively healthy this year, though sophomore safety Brad Hawkins did step in for junior Josh Metellus twice, including a start at Rutgers (his home state). He still has work to do, but he's making progress. Hawkins didn't play as much in the second half of the season, but he still finished with 24 tackles and three tackles for loss. "I think he played really well," Harbaugh said. "We're confident in Brad Hawkins. He's elevated himself to the third safety. He really took his play up a level this season." DEPTH NOT LIMITED TO DEFENSE On offense, many believed the Wolverines would take a huge hit due to the absence of Black, who was U-M's top receiver last year before going down in the third game. Though he returned Oct. 20 against MSU, he played only one snap and was tentative on his healing broken foot suffered in the preseason. Sophomore receiver Nico Collins said it was only a matter of time un- til everyone saw Black back at full strength, but they were never wor- ried about the position. "It doesn't matter, as long as we make plays," Collins said. "I'm happy for the next guy. He's happy for me. This is a team sport." Sophomore Nico Collins is one of the wideouts who received more opportunity with redshirt freshman Tarik Black missing time due to injury, and he finished the regular season with a team-high 552 receiving yards. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL ❱ Defensive line coach Greg Mattison "We have a starting first unit and a rotating first unit and a rotating second unit. All of them are like starters."