The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 29 BY CHRIS BALAS A sk Don Brown about re- grets, and Michigan's de- fensive coordinator doesn't usually like to go there. His focus when things go wrong is gen- erally "where did it break down" and "how do we fix it," worried more about the future than the past. Most times it requires just some tweaking or a new package or two to combat some of the offensive wrin- kles thrown at him, as it did when they rebounded from an embarrass- ment at Penn State (42-13 in 2017) to turn the tables in a 42-7 victory last year. The goal this year — a better start and a better finish. An improved first 19 minutes of the opener with Notre Dame game and last 19 of the Ohio State game, he noted, could have resulted in a historic season. He has already taken steps to en- sure his defense is better prepared. "It's really more of a mindset and making sure when the game goes like this in game one, we don't have the same kind of an adjustment pro- cess early in the game," Brown said. "That's really what I'm searching for — hard work, facing adversity in practice at times and all those things that go into it; making sure your guys are settled when adversity strikes. "I don't have time for skepticism. I don't have time for that to affect any- thing that happens in our room. Do I evaluate, and have we adjusted sche- matically? Yes. But let's not make any bones about it. Bring [Georgia head coach and longtime Alabama defensive coordinator] Kirby Smart in here and ask him how you're go- ing to stop RPOs [run-pass options]. "Ask him, and I bet I know what he's going to say. He's not going to say, 'Let's sit back and react to what the offense is doing.'" Neither is Brown, who simply isn't wired that way. "For three years, we've built our reputation here on being aggres- sive," he explained. "Like every other coach in the country, you have to evaluate, adjust on a week-to- week basis. "One thing I can tell you is we'll be more prepared versatility-wise in coverage, but the aggressive nature will never change. In fact, I would like it to be more aggressive." DEFENSIVE LINE To do that, the Wolverines are going to need to be effective as pass rushers. That was something that was lacking last year in the 62-39 loss at Ohio State, and an area head coach Jim Harbaugh said needed to improve this fall. Of the three big questions marks on this year's Michigan team, two are directly associated with the defense — cornerback depth and interior defensive line play (and pass rush). The Wolverines lost a pair of elite ends to the NFL in Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary, but there are very promising, somewhat proven players emerging to replace them. The inside is a different story. The graduated Bryan Mone was a run stop- per in the middle, and there are ques- tions as to who can hold up against the downhill running teams on the sched- ule. Brown didn't seem overly con- cerned after seeing the line this spring and after a week of fall camp. "[Sophomore end] Aidan Hutchin- son is playing really well, along with [junior end] Kwity Paye and [redshirt sophomore tackle] Donovan Jeter," he said. "Probably the most improved guy I could speak on would be [senior nose tackle] Carlo Kemp. He's stron- ger, way faster, confident … just body language and the whole deal, lead- ership. He's really playing at a high level." Kemp started out as a linebacker, but is now listed at 286 pounds. Junior Ben STATE OF THE DEFENSE Junior linebacker Josh Ross started only one game last fall, but still finished fourth on the team with 61 tackles. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN