The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/111015
and the guy goes and gets the ball whether it���s high, low, or just stops to adjust to it. ���And the bigger the guy, the better shot you���ve got. The better the jump timing, the better shot you���ve got at that, and that���s how we recruited them. We got some guys that had a little more range, and we got a guy that was fast.��� Defensive Line The Wolverines pulled in a rangy defensive end from Pickerington, Ohio, in 6-6, 249-pound Taco Charlton. Then they added bulk and mobility on the defensive line, with 6-4, 260-pound Henry Poggi from Baltimore and 6-2, 305-pound Maurice Hurst Jr. out of Westwood, Mass. ���With Taco, you can���t find that kind of length and guys that are going to come off the ball like that,��� U-M defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said. ���They���ll just go right in with the guys we have, and they���re going to be good.��� Meanwhile, Mattison noted, Poggi and Hurst bring the sort of size and movement he���s seeking. Hurst actually played some running back in high school, while Poggi will start out at a defensive end and can move inside to handle tackle on passing downs. ���You have to have the ability to get pressure with a four-man front,��� Mattison said. ���That���s a must. It���s no negative to the guys we had, but I don���t know that we were able to do that, just because of the ability to run.��� That aspect, he added, is changing quickly. Linebacker U-M took just two linebackers, after pulling in a boatload the year earlier. There���s certainly quality in the mix, according to Mattison, with 6-3, 215-pound Ben Gedeon out of Hudson, Ohio, and 6-4, 230-pound Mike McCray from Trotwood, Ohio. ���McCray, I had a chance myself to watch him in the state championship game,��� Mattison said. ���What a warrior. I was sitting in the stands, and I think the first eight times, his name was mentioned on the tackles. ���He had a bad shoulder, and he kept playing. He kept rolling it out, making sure it was okay, then he���d go back in and play. That���s a Michigan football player. ���Ben Gedeon, a lot of people are going to be real happy when they see this guy. I heard from the people in that all-star game he was just in, and he really played well. ���They���re going to fit right in with the group we have already. You saw how our young linebackers played this year. That���s what you want to keep doing ��� keep bringing the next group in, and the next group in. Now you have Michigan football players.��� Secondary Mattison wants to fight fire with fire when going up against lanky wide receivers. That���s why none of Michigan���s six-man defensive backs class is under 5-10, and the shorter ones can climb the ladder adroitly. Two of them ��� 5-10 180-pound