The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2020 BY JOHN BORTON D on Brown continues turning out defenses ranking among the nation's elite, statistically. But a pothole emerged in the drive to a championship, and it's more like a fully developed sinkhole. The issue, of course, involves Ohio State and its 118 points against Michi- gan the past two seasons. Only four years after coming one play (or one call) from beating the Buckeyes in Co- lumbus, 17-14 in regulation, U-M seeks to slow down the runaway OSU train. Not that it's alone in that effort. The Buckeyes ranked third in the na- tion in scoring last fall, averaging 46.9 points per game. They were sec- ond in 2018, averaging 42.4. Michigan All-American and two- time captain Jon Jansen insists this isn't just a challenge to the defense. When it comes to changing that game — and others against elite offenses — the Wolverines need all hands on deck, he stressed. "This is a conversation that in- cludes both sides of the ball," Jansen cautioned. "Don's defense has been a really good defense when our offense is productive. Our offense has to be able to hit open receivers. "You look at the first couple of drives against Alabama. We had missed opportunity after missed op- portunity to change the course of that game offensively. That then changes everything that Alabama is doing on offense and that Don Brown is able to do on defense. "It goes the other way, too. When Don Brown's defense plays well, it allows Josh Gattis to do things on of- fense. It has to be complementary, on both sides of the ball." Jim Harbaugh continues to seek the defensive combination to not only dominate most of the regular season, but hold its own in the big- gest games. This year's additions in- volve veteran coach Bob Shoop han- dling safeties and Brian Jean-Mary coaching linebackers. Shoop has seen it all, serving as defensive coordinator at Mississippi State the past two seasons. He held the DC spot at Tennessee before that, as well as at Penn State and Vander- bilt, and has served as an assistant at a host of other venues. "This is where I think the hiring of a guy like Bob Shoop is a big ad- dition," Jansen said. "He is one of Don's disciples. They were together when Don was at Yale. Bob went off to take all he learned from Don, and he's had stops in the SEC, in a couple of different areas, where they've had to make the adjustments to the speed of really fast receivers and really high-octane offenses. "Him coming back and bringing some of that insight will be of great assistance and improvement." Jansen says the Wolverines carry substantial defensive potential enter- ing 2020, and it begins up front. "The base of Don's defense, I still believe in," Jansen said. "When you've got guys like [junior defen- sive end] Aidan Hutchinson and [se- nior defensive end] Kwity Paye, and the ability to rush the passer, that is complementary to what he is trying to do on the back end — high-pres- sure, man-to-man coverage. We also saw a lot of times this year where he did implement zone." H u t c h i n s o n b e g a n s e r i o u s l y emerging last season, and appears ready for more. "I think he is going to be a special, special player," Jansen offered. "He's got size, he's got speed, he's got the determination. He understands how good he can be, and he wants to be that player. "I think he is going to have a break- out, dominant season. At times we saw it last year. He is another year stronger, another year wiser and is going to be an elite player." Paye and Hutchinson shared Michi- gan's award as best defensive linemen last season, but U-M's biggest issues in- volved depth up the middle. Fifth-year GOOD , STRIVING FOR GREAT Michigan's Defense Looks To Take The Next Step 2020 FOOTBALL ANALYSIS.