The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 95 DEFENSIVE LINE going to be a guy to come out and contend, that's even better. On defensive line, you've got to be a savage. You've got to find who is going to be your front-line infantry guys against the wall. Having 15 guys compete for four spots is great. If it can be 20, great." Vilain saw action in seven games in 2019, averaging a tackle per appearance after bat- tling injuries in the early part of his career. He also tallied his first sack and forced fum- ble in the fourth quarter versus Notre Dame. "Football is a tough game," Van Bergen said. "There are so many times an injury occurs and you can't admit it to yourself, but you're just not 100 percent of what you were. Derrick Rose is a great basketball player now, but he's not where he was before he got injured. "We're all kind of waiting … is [Vilain] going to completely come back, and if so, is he going to be 100 percent? I've seen film of what he was in high school, and he was almost a five-star recruit. He's very explo- sive. He's got that Uche, Kwity Paye-type quick burst. "But with two knee surgeries in a span of 18 months, he may not have that fast twitch. It may not come back. I hope that's not the case for him, but it's kind of a now-or-never situation for him." Overall, Van Bergen stressed, Michigan's development up the middle will determine its situation. The Wolverines feature plenty of parts, but they're not all proven against the best competition on a consistent basis. They'll get tested quickly enough, the for- mer U-M lineman assured. "Carlo Kemp is going to be ready," Van Bergen insisted. "He's going to be at least some level of All-Big Ten. Chris Hinton, if he's decided that this is my spot and my time, is another guy that could be an All-Big Ten performer. "Aidan and Kwity Paye could also be on that list. All four guys on the defensive line, that doesn't happen very often. Everybody's got one or two, but not four, at least, in contention. "That's saying a lot. That's saying Chris Hinton just comes out and slays it, earns that spot outright. It's saying Carlo Kemp, Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson continue on the trajectory they were on." If all that happens, look out, Van Bergen noted. "I do feel like they're going to be a strength," he stressed. "If you are, your line- backers are going to be better off, your DBs will be better off. They need the develop- ment of the defensive tackles. If we don't de- velop a defensive tackle, it's going to cost us a game or two, and that's almost a guarantee. "We need Hinton, we need Jeter, we need Mazi — we need two of the three to come up and say, I want to be All-Big Ten something, and show they can do it. If they don't, we're not so good." ❑ Kemp Likes This Line's Unselfishness Carlo Kemp has heard it all before. The fifth- year senior defensive tackle and 2019 captain insists it's a familiar refrain: Michigan's defen- sive ends will be very good, but … "Every year I've been here, a lot of the ques- tions were, how is the D-line going to be?" Kemp mused. "How are they going to perform? There's always a lot of talk about the D-line be- ing a concern, and especially inside. "We just try, every single day, to go out there and do everything in our power to help our team be successful. That's the mentality we took. Just help the team as much as possible." Kemp likes what he sees, regarding the talent around him. There's no question Michigan's ends — senior Kwity Paye and junior Aidan Hutchinson — tend to grab the headlines, the stalwart veteran observed. At the same time, Kemp sees them as team players and feels the same about the Wolverines up and down the defensive line. They want to see team numbers, rather than individual ones, Kemp insisted. "On our team, guys aren't worried about how many tackles they get, how many sacks they get, how much time they get on the field," Kemp noted. "That's never been a real concern here. That reflects how close we are in our D-line room. We're more excited for the other guys' success and how well they're doing. "It would make any one of our D-linemen more happy to see one of his friends successful. That's just our mentality on our D-line." They'll get a chance to prove it while finding a rotation that rises up for 2020. — John Borton The Wolverines have plenty of defensive tackles that were highly touted recruits in former four-stars Donovan Jeter (above) and Mazi Smith, plus five-star Christopher Hinton, but none of those three have proven much on the college level yet. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY ROSTER No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Elig. Hometown (High School) 57 Joey George* 6-0 283 Jr. So. Walled Lake, Mich. (Walled Lake Western) — Jaylen Harrell 6-4 235 Fr. Fr. Tampa, Fla. (Berkeley Prep) 15 Christopher Hinton 6-4 303 So. So. Johns Creek, Ga. (Greater Atlanta Christian School) 97 Aidan Hutchinson 6-6 278 Jr. Jr. Plymouth, Mich. (Divine Child) — Kris Jenkins 6-4 239 Fr. Fr. Olney, Md. (Our Lady Of Good Counsel) 95 Donovan Jeter 6-3 290 Sr. Jr. Beaver Falls, Pa. (Beaver Falls) 2 Carlo Kemp 6-3 286 5th Sr. Boulder, Colo. (Fairview) — Aaron Lewis 6-5 235 Fr. Fr. Williamstown, N.J. (Williamstown) — Braiden McGregor 6-5 248 Fr. Fr. Port Huron, Mich. (Port Huron Northern) 80 Mike Morris 6-6 262 So. Fr. Belle Glade, Fla. (American Heritage) 99 Gabe Newburg 6-5 250 So. Fr. Clayton, Ohio (Northmont) 71 David Ojabo 6-5 245 So. Fr. Aberdeen, Scotland (Blair Academy [N.J.]) 92 Phillip Paea 6-4 302 Sr. Jr. Berrien Springs, Mich. (Berrien Springs) 19 Kwity Paye 6-4 277 Sr. Sr. Providence, R.I. (Bishop Hendricken) 58 Mazi Smith 6-3 305 So. Fr. Grand Rapids, Mich. (East Kentwood) 67 Jess Speight^ 6-5 288 Sr. Jr. Richmond, Va. (The Collegiate School) 91 Taylor Upshaw 6-4 240 Jr. So. Bradenton, Fla. (Braden River) 18 Luiji Vilain 6-4 244 Sr. Jr. Ottawa, Ontario (Episcopal [Va.]) 96 Julius Welschof 6-6 278 Jr. So. Miesbach, Bavaria, Germany (FOS Altoetting) * Walk-on; ^ former walk-on