The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 51 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL loaded, because everyone is compet- ing and every safety on this team has a chance to win the job," he ex- plained. "The competition is heavy right now and we don't have a depth chart yet, so everyone is just trying to be the best they can be. "[Junior] Brad Hawkins, [junior] J'Marick Woods, [redshirt sopho- more] Hunter Reynolds, [freshman] Daxton Hill and [redshirt freshman] Sammy Faustin are the main guys competing for the other spot. Players are starting to step up and you can see the maturity in those guys." Defensive coordinator Don Brown revealed Aug. 7 that Hawkins was currently the top man there, which didn't come as a surprise when con- sidering he has the most experience of the bunch. "Brad was originally in my class out of high school as a receiver," Me- tellus recalled. "When he first got here, he was new to defense and ac- tually played viper at first. He got better and better every day, and wound up moving to safety and ex- celled there quickly. "It felt like a natural switch for him, because playing receiver has helped him read routes and cover guys." Metellus and cornerback Lavert Hill will be the lone two seniors in the secondary in 2019, and will be tasked with leading a unit that lost not only Kinnel, but also key cor- nerbacks David Long and Brandon Watson from the 2018 club. The veteran safety, however, said he has enjoyed serving as a mentor for others. "I view myself as a leader on the team, because a lot of people look up to me," he explained. "I have a lot of insight on the game and I've worked so hard, so I step up to the challenge of others looking up to me. I will do whatever I have to do to make sure the team is at its best — guys have a dif- ferent role on the team every year, and I'm just getting into mine this year. "The offensive and defensive play- ers worked out together this offsea- son, so I've been trying to be a leader for all of them and not just to the defense. I'm taking things slow now, and realizing these are my last prac- tices, last first game, etc. "We've been using the sayings 'day by day' and 'brick by brick' this off- season, and you have to fuel the fire somehow. We were close to being a historic defense last season and now we just have to take that extra step." — Austin Fox CARLO KEMP LOOKING TO IMPROVE, MAKE THE MOST OF HIS FINAL YEAR AT U-M Senior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp's play in 2019 will be crucial to an interior that lost Bryan Mone and Lawrence Marshall from last year 's squad, and was already thin to begin with. He noted Aug. 9 that he's cherish- ing every moment during his final season in Ann Arbor, and is even try- ing to persuade the young players to do the same. "I realize it's my senior year and my main mindset has been just to win," he began. "I won't ever get today's practice back, nor will I get another camp next year. "I'm realizing I won't get these op- portunities again, and I'm trying to make it translate and make every rep count. I've been trying to stress how important every practice is to the younger guys, too. I know they get long and repetitive, but these reps are so important because they translate over to the field. "I've also become more confident and that allows me to play freely and with no restrictions. I see my keys now and I just go — there's no waiting to see how things play out at the line of scrimmage. I've watched some of the past great defensive line- men we've had here, like Mo Hurst and what made him so successful. "I've tried to mimic it in every way possible and keep going. It's about be- ing confident and telling yourself you can play this position, even though it might be new to me in terms of how long I've been playing it." Though the Wolverines' defense was dominant in 2018, after it fin- ished No. 2 nationally in yards al- lowed per game, its interior pressure lagged at times, and that was never more evident than in the 62-39 loss at Ohio State, when the unit tallied no sacks and only four tackles for loss. Kemp noted that creating more pressure from the middle has been an emphasis during fall camp. "I'm just trying to do whatever Coach [Jim Harbaugh] asks of me," the senior said. "He thinks that's where we need to improve and I agree with him. I played the interior last year and didn't think I did a very good job. I realize I can make this team better if I do my part — it's not for myself, but for my teammates. "If we don't do our job, it puts a lot of stress on the linebackers and we need to help them in any way we can." Junior fullback Ben Mason was brought over from the offensive side of the ball this offseason to play de- fensive tackle, and Kemp admitted he has loved having the veteran, now listed at 6-3 and 270 pounds, along- side him. "It's been fun having Ben Mason," Kemp said with a smile. "When you look up a football player, his face is what pops up on any Google search. You can plug him in anywhere, and he'll be good at it. Having him brings a whole new kind of energy and gives us a physical guy that we had at fullback the last two seasons. "It's been fun seeing him attack now that he's on the good side of the football." — Austin Fox Kemp is cherishing every moment during his final season in Ann Arbor and is even trying to persuade the young players to do the same. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN