The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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90 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW to their goals, to the Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff. It's about the showdown at the end of November. "Obviously, there's an emphasis on the 11 games beforehand," Kemp said. "All those games are hard fought, and you play very good teams in the Big Ten. But when it comes to that final game, everyone's men- tality, everyone's preparation, everyone's demeanor is heightened. "That's the game we talk about. I'm not from Michigan or from the Midwest. But you go to Michigan, you learn pretty quickly, you take this game to heart. When you're at Michigan your whole career, you embody that Michigan spirit and know the importance of that game. "Even though I didn't grow up in the ri- valry, this rivalry is all I think about. It's be- come such a staple in my life, how important it will be to win that last game." Kemp does more than talk about The Game's importance. He lived it last November. Michigan, through injury and attrition, became very short on experienced defensive tackles last season. Kemp himself numbered among the walking wounded, but only his teammates and coaches knew it. Senior defensive end Kwity Paye pulled back the curtain a bit following OSU's deci- sive victory. Some Wolverines were trying to stop the Buckeyes' All-American run- ning back J.K. Dobbins with barely a leg to stand on. "I think a lot of it, we were playing with injuries that game," Paye said during the bowl preparation for Alabama. "Not to make any excuses or anything like that. Carlo is a dog, he's a warrior. He could barely walk. He was in boots. His feet are destroyed and he's play- ing in that game, giving us everything he had. "He was playing injured and that's our captain. He wasn't able to play his best game because of the injuries." Even now, Kemp won't reveal the extent to which he battled through to even be on the field that day. "You get to the end of the season and all of us have that wear and tear on our bodies," Kemp said. "Playing that game, I was healthy enough to play, healthy enough to go. That's a game you think about the entire year. "When you go into that game, you want to be at your healthiest and be at your best. That's just not going to be the case when you get to games late November." So he trains again, for another chance. All the while, Kemp thinks about that game. He insists Michigan players do throughout the season as well. Throughout practices and games from September until late November, there's al- ways a measuring stick for any given mo- ment's performance. "It's those subtle reminders of, would this get it done in the biggest game?" Kemp mused. "It's always striving to be as close to perfect as possible. It's a lot of players talking to other players about how we're going to do it, remem- bering what we're trying to accomplish. "Being at Michigan, we know how impor- tant that game is to all of us." Last year underscored the fact that Kemp needs help in the middle of Michigan's de- fensive line, and plenty of it. There's 600- plus pounds of it coming in the form of sophomore Chris Hinton and redshirt fresh- man Mazi Smith. Both played last season, but regardless of high school credentials it's a different level, one that takes some getting used to. That's especially true in the middle of the melee. "That first year is definitely tough," Kemp said. "There are a whole bunch of things changing. Your body is changing, you're go- ing through college workouts, college prac- tices — and you've got the University of Michigan to attend, too, which is one of the best schools in the country. "You've got to do a lot of work that fresh- man year and try to figure it out. The thing with those guys, Chris and Mazi, is that they want to do it. They've done it at a really high level ever since they've been here, taking care of their schoolwork, taking care of their on-the-field work. Kemp comes from a football family — his grandfather, Sam Pagano, is a Colorado Sports Hall of Fame high school coach whose sons, Chuck and John, both coach in the NFL. Kemp's brother Mariano plays running back at Colorado State-Pueblo. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL