The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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40 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2019 BY JOHN BORTON M ichigan's 2018 season turned into the Tale Of Two Defenses. The anticipated one fin- ished second nationally in total defense (275.2 yards allowed per game), sec- ond in average passing yards allowed (147.8), seventh in passing efficiency defense (105.61), tied for sixth in defen- sive touchdowns (four), etc. The unanticipated one showed up in Columbus. That's where Ohio State registered one of the biggest shockers in the series since 1969, pummeling the Wolverines 62-39. OSU's Dwayne Haskins threw for 396 yards and six touchdowns, his team ran for 171 more yards and sim- ply raced away from the visitors. Former Michigan All-American Jon Jansen has experienced plenty in and around The Game … but nothing quite like this. Jansen knows as well as any- one that the road to a Big Ten title and anything more goes right through a scarlet-and-gray tollbooth. Finding a way to blast through that gate means everything, he suggested. "Obviously, you're going to be measured by how you play in the big games," Jansen said. "When we lined up against Ohio State, we didn't play very well. There's really no other way to say it." You'll never find the two-time Mich- igan captain numbered with ledge jumpers plunged into utter despair over a single game, or even by OSU's obvious upper hand for a too-long stretch now. It can be fixed, Jansen indicated. And it must be. "I would also say that in the 12 regu- lar-season games they played, that was an outlier," Jansen said of the crusher in Columbus. "Do you want to have that as an outlier, against Ohio State? Absolutely not. "You have to play your best at that time — and we didn't. I do believe this is a defense that is going to be a top-three defense. It's going to be a defense that's going to attack. They're going to get after the quarterback. They're going to suffocate running games. "We've got a secondary that can still play man-to-man coverage. This is a very talented defense. I have no question in my mind, if we lined up against Ohio State again, we would be talking about a different narrative." That assessment begs the cynic's question of why, given the jaw-drop- ping result in a stadium where the Wolverines haven't won since 2000. Yes, Ohio State comes to Michigan this year. Yes, Haskins mercifully bolted for the NFL after the Buckeyes' Rose Bowl victory. Those are no small factors. Jansen fo- cused instead on Michigan's defensive coordinator. "What makes me say that is Don Brown," Jansen said. "Don Brown is a guy that, every time there's been an issue, his whole focus is on fixing that problem." Whether it be penalties extending other teams' drives, rectifying an in- dividual series (Penn State) from one year to the next, etc., Brown has met the challenges. Jansen expects him to meet this one as well. "Let's face it," Jansen mused. "The big question everybody wants to ask is, can we continue to play man coverage against teams that have as much speed and skill as Ohio State? I think what you're going to see from Don Brown is much of the same, but you're also go- ing to see some wrinkles he's going to throw in there. "He is a guy who continually keeps offenses guessing, as to how are they coming after the quarterback? What type of attack is he putting out there? When they line up against Ohio State this year, you're going to see something different. "What that is, I wish I could tell you. I'm not Don Brown. I'm not the guy who has to come up with that scheme. But I can guarantee you this, he wakes up every day thinking about that game. He goes to bed every night thinking about that game." He probably thinks about going into it without Devin Bush Jr., Chase Win- ovich, David Long, Rashan Gary and others lost to the NFL. But it's not as if nobody's left to stand guard. The men up front will be trained dif- ferently, with longtime defensive line coach Greg Mattison bolting to Ohio State in the offseason. But new defen- sive line boss Shaun Nua features a strong upside, Jansen noted. "I'm excited about Shaun Nua," Jan- sen said. "I think he brings a lot to this defense. Shaun is a guy that played during part of my career. There's obvi- FASHIONING A FINISH Dominant Defense Needs To Close It Out Defensive coordinator Don Brown's unit lost six starters, but still features several excit- ing pieces. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 2019 SPRING FOOTBALL PREVIEW