The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2019 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Donovan Jeter is healthy and in great shape heading into his third season, one of the pleas- ant surprises on a revamped de- fense. He's expected to play a key role for Michigan's line this year. Jeter answered some of our questions in this Q&A: The Wolverine: You got off to a tough start with injuries your first two seasons. How difficult was the adjustment from high school to college while going through that? Donovan Jeter: "I came in and basically sat the bench, I'm not used to that. I couldn't just sit there and be okay with, 'I can be a backup.' No — I have to try to be the best player I can be. "This past season was almost like my freshman year because I got hurt a week before the Florida game in 2017, so I missed that whole year and last year was getting adjusted to the speed of the game, how strong guys are and how smart guys are. I used last year as a year to get a feel for the speed of the game, how strong people are and how smart people are." The Wolverine: What was the differ- ence for you this spring that allowed you to make a move up the depth chart? Jeter: "I changed my mindset. I told myself that I'm going to be dominant and I'm going to be physical. … Stay- ing focused, just trying to correct the little things. "[New defensive line] Coach [Shaun] Nua brings a type of energy that [Greg] Mattison couldn't bring. That's not to put Mattison down, but [Nua] is a former player. He understands how we feel mentally and physically some- times." The Wolverine: You've talked about redshirt junior tackle Mike Dwumfour and his impact. How has he helped you? Jeter: "He became like a coach al- most. Mike's been in every big game — Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Notre Dame. He's been in all the big games, so when he's telling you something, he's telling you something from experience. "It's hard not to listen to him. … Mike has stepped up as a leader a lot." The Wolverine: What's been the key to taking the next step in your development? Jeter: "I've always had power, I've always been strong, but I had to just fine tune everything. I'm still working on it. Every day I would tell myself, 'I've got to get better at something,' whether it's my feet or my hands or how I play a certain block or how I read the back. There were certain things I had to do. "I'm ready to be a big-time player, I've been working like it. … I think I have what I need, but now it's just about putting the work in and really just executing, tweaking those fine little things." The Wolverine: How hard has the transition been going against the new up-tempo offense? Jeter: "I'm tired of them going hurry- up. It's annoying [smiles]. It's good for us. It's good we see that early, because teams are going to try to go fast on us and try to hurry up and keep us off-kilter. "It's a blessing and curse the offense is doing it because there are days when you're dead tired, but it's going to be like that on Saturdays. So I'm glad our offense has changed every- thing, RPO [run-pass option], fast … just that tempo creates a lot of prob- lems." — Chris Balas Sitting Down With Redshirt Sophomore Defensive Tackle Donovan Jeter Jeter is expected to play a key role this fall, despite appear- ing in just seven games so far in his career. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN The past three seasons for Michigan basketball compare favorably to U-M's most successful three- year stretches. Even though they bowed out in the NCAA Tournament against Texas Tech in the Sweet 16, the Wolverines finished the campaign with 30 victories, which was its third most since 1993. In the last three campaigns, U-M has won 89 games, the most of any three-year period. During the recent stretch, the Wolverines did not win a regular-season conference title but did capture two Big Ten Tournament crowns in addition to their nine NCAA Tournament victories. — Andrew Hussey Years Victories Win Big Ten NCAA Tournament Percentage Titles Wins 2017-19 89 .767 2* 9 2012-14 83 .755 2 8 1992-94 80 .784 0 13 1988-90 79 .774 0 9 1984-86 78 .813 2 2 1975-77 70 .787 1 6 1964-66 65 .793 3 7 * Were Big Ten Tournament titles MICHIGAN BASKETBALL'S THREE-YEAR RUN IS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IN PROGRAM HISTORY