The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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30 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2019 STATE OF THE DEFENSE Mason is up to 270 and has improved after moving over from fullback — he should provide some depth — while redshirt junior nose tackle Michael Dwumfour is working through a mi- nor practice injury that kept him out for a few days early in camp. "He's practiced and done well," Brown said of Dwumfour. "I think he'll just kind of take off. We've got four guys [inside] and will develop in there with [freshman tackles] Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton, and [gradu- ate transfer end] Mike Danna." Danna is doing well, Brown noted, after adding 20 pounds this summer to go from 240 to 260 under strength coach Ben Herbert. He could play a number of positions on the line. "To gain a player of that quality, it al- ways helps," Brown said. "It takes the pressure off a little bit with younger guys, not having to force-feed and jam them into a role they might not be ready for. "Mike's a mature, tough, hard-work- ing guy. He's brought a nice maturity to the group. We can put him right in the mix now. With Aidan, Kwity and Mike right off the get go, that's a nice three-man deal." And don't forget about senior Josh Uche, he added. The hybrid defensive end/linebacker might be U-M's best pass rusher. "The good thing about him is he can do a lot of stuff," Brown said. "In the NFL, when he finally gets there some day, he'll do a lot of stuff. It's going to be the same type of scenario. "He can play defensive end, can play Sam linebacker, which is really his No. 1 position. Then he's got all the pass-rush scenarios to utilize him in on third down." That is, and will remain, his forte. "I don't know if there's a better sub- stitute pass rusher in the country than this guy," Brown praised. LINEBACKERS Replacing a player of Devin Bush's caliber is no easy task — in fact, there really is no replacing a talent like him. Bush, a consensus All-American, is one of the best linebackers in Michigan's storied history and very possibly its fastest of all time. Junior Josh Ross, however, has proven to be confident and capable in early fall. He missed most of spring practice with an injury, after he totaled 61 tackles to rank fourth on the team last year, but he is off to a great start this fall. "Josh Ross is the brightest linebacker I've been around in a long time. Even when he was injured in spring, this guy knows his stuff," Brown said. "I don't have to worry about what kind of a day's work I'm going to get out of Josh Ross." After that it's wide open, but that's not a bad thing. There are four oth- ers in redshirt freshman Cameron McGrone, fifth-year senior Jordan Glasgow, redshirt junior Devin Gil and redshirt sophomore Jordan Anthony who are more than ready to play. McGrone is probably the fastest of the group and could play either Mike (middle) or Will (weakside). The for- mer walk-on Glasgow is the "Steady Eddie" of the group, Gil is experienced after starting every game last fall and Anthony has made great strides since arriving on campus. "Ross, Cam McGrone, Jordan Glasgow, Devin Gil and Jordan An- thony can play a lot of places in this country," Brown said. "They're very good football players. I feel like five guys is the most depth I've had. "Now, five practices in, everybody is on their feet practicing, [so we] let the competition just go. Isn't it a beautiful thing when five guys can play two positions? 'You're not playing at your best? Sorry — we've got to roll here.'" They're all bringing out the best in each other, he added. "It's a good competition, really prob- ably one of the greatest linebacker rooms I've had in terms of attention to detail, guys wanting to be good and Senior safety Josh Metellus was a rock for the defense in the spring and again early in fall camp. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL