The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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24 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2020 Harbaugh has noted Michigan's young cornerbacks have often been in position in the early going, but strug- gled to make plays on the football. He insisted after the Indiana game that he sees the plays made in practice and that a transition to similar efforts in game situations appears close. "We're seeing it in practice, seeing what guys are capable of doing," the coach said. "Getting into the games, making those game plays, trusting their technique, trusting their funda- mentals, trusting their talent and trust- ing their innate abilities and translat- ing that into the game plan is what we're learning to do as a football team "I'm just continually, all of us coaches, trying to speed that up as much as possible. We feel like we're going to get there. You play good teams every week. We've got to get there fast. We've got to get there faster. "As a coach, you're out there liv- ing every play with those guys. You know they have it in them. We want them to make that connection to do- ing it and trusting themselves, trust- ing their abilities." Michigan's safeties echo the coach's comment, regarding having the abil- ity to get things done. They're also getting accustomed to mixing in more zone defense, which Brown did last year and has enhanced this season. One play at Indiana seemed to characterize the struggles, even when they are in position. Hill sat under one deep Penix throw, waiting for it to hit him right in the numbers, with no Hoosiers close by. Hawkins slashed in front, trying to make a play and knocked the ball away. "It wasn't a miscommunication," Hill said. "He was trying to play the ball and get the defense off the field. We were trying to play the ball at the same time. I think he misjudged it." Hawkins backed the notion that Michigan's behind-the-scenes efforts are still waiting to be fully demon- strated on game day. "The plays we make in practice are the ones we have to make in games," Hawkins affirmed. "The opportuni- ties that come our way have to be made, like interceptions. It's about communication and believing in each other, moving forward and never looking back. "You're going to go through adver- sity in football, and we happen to be going through it right now. We want to keep pushing forward. I don't have a particular cause for it. "We have to catch the ball when it comes our way in games, just like in practice — it's that simple. We have to make it happen and make the play." Linebackers Grade: C- Michigan's linebackers are also look- ing to shore up the coverage portion of the game. Indiana's wide receivers did most of the damage in that loss, but tailback Stevie Scott made three catches while piling up 97 yards and two scores on the ground in 24 tries. That effort occurred a week after Michigan State running back Connor Heyward snagged a pair of touchdown passes against the Wolverines. Wis- consin jet-swept, end-arounded and short-passed U-M into oblivion, when it wasn't running over the Wolverines. Ross acknowledged the unit is still polishing up defending the short passing game by opponents. "We definitely want to improve on the coverage piece, especially in man-to-man situations and in goal- line situations," he said. Michigan dropped a safety back high against the Hoosiers, but Indi- ana responded by doing plenty of damage in firing short passes that went for significant yardage. Through the first four games, Michi- gan's defensive backs and linebackers hadn't made a single interception. Bar- rett caused the only one in that open- ing quartet, destroying Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan on a blitz. The ball popped into the air and was secured by redshirt junior defen- sive tackle Donovan Jeter, who ran it in for a touchdown. The good news there involved a turnover resulting in points, something in short supply for the Wolverines this season. The bad news is that gave the de- fensive line more interceptions than collectively secured by Michigan's defensive backs and linebackers combined over the first 240 minutes of football on the season. Michigan gave up an average of 178.5 yards on the ground through its first four contests, which was tied for No. 74 nationally. The sobering realization is that opponents threw so effectively in the first part of the season, they didn't even focus on running the ball as much. McGrone clearly stood out for the Wolverines in 2019, stepping up as a redshirt freshman and playing sol- idly through the last two-thirds of the season. He battled early with his hand encased in a protective device, after getting injured in the initial stages of the 2020 campaign. It all adds up to a linebacking crew that knows it can improve, along with the rest of the Michigan defense. Ross sounded a familiar refrain re- garding player solidarity and shut- ting out criticism from beyond the walls of Schembechler Hall. "Us as players, we're all we've got," he said. "We've emphasized that to each other. We're going to keep pushing forward, and we're going to bounce back stronger than ever. "Nobody's on our side but us. We've got to keep pushing and fight- ing and bounce back. And we will bounce back." Ross noted Brown has remained calm through the storm. "He's handled it the best he possibly can," Ross noted. "As players, we've just got to correct all the mistakes." The Wisconsin debacle at home only added to the mental challenge. "There are similarities," Ross said, harkening back to the 2019 thump- Senior Brad Hawkins leads the Wolverines with 31 stops in four contests, but it's not usually a good sign when a safety is the defense's top tackler. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL