The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2021 future ahead of him. He's a very good player … strong, physical, knows the game really well. He's got very high potential. He's going to be a great player." But they need a handful more to round out the two-deep up front, and while there's some experience here, there's also plenty on which to im- prove. Sophomore Christopher Hin- ton had his moments a year ago, but he played too high at times. The 6-4, 305-pounder notched two tackles for loss and a sack but still has work to do to live up to his five-star prep status. "Chris Hinton has always been a great player for us, even when he was young as a freshman," Kemp said. "Now, coming into his third year, he demands and expects a lot out of his play. I think we all do too, because that's the type of caliber he is and the type of player we all think he can be — and we know he can be. "It's a big accomplishment, some- thing a lot of people have got to re- member, to come in and play D-line at any school as a freshman. It's a huge thing, and we all got to see Chris do that, and he had a great sophomore year." Smith "looks great," according to Kemp — these two will be the build- ing blocks up front, along with red- shirt junior Donovan Jeter. He's got potential, but he still plays too high too often and needs to better hold his ground. CAN THE INSIDE LINEBACKERS HOLD UP? All the talk heading into last year was about how good the lineback- ers could be, with both Cameron McGrone (departed for his NFL shot after the 2020 season) and redshirt ju- nior Josh Ross both predicted to have big years. Instead, that group was one of the biggest disappointments on a defense that relinquished a gaudy 34.5 points per game. McGrone admitted he'd made up his mind that 2020 would be his last collegiate campaign before he even took the field, and frankly, he played like his mind was elsewhere at times. He often overran plays and didn't live up to the hype. Ross, meanwhile, notched a team- high 53 tackles, including 1.5 for loss and a sack, but after a solid per- formance against Minnesota in the opener in which he notched his only pick, he struggled to get off blocks and find the ball. "Last year was not good enough for myself, not good enough for our team," he admitted. "I felt I had to come back, and we had to prove something and have a chip on our shoulder and go get it. That was my main reason [for returning]." But he wasn't projected as an NFL Draft pick, either, so he wasn't in a position similar to McGrone. "We wanted to build our football knowledge because last year wasn't good enough. I had to come back, and there was no other option, to be honest," he admitted. The biggest question here, though, is what to expect from redshirt soph- omore linebacker Michael Barrett. The 6-0, 227-pounder isn't big, one of the reasons he played the hybrid safety/linebacker viper position last year, and he, too, was relatively quiet 1. The viper position is no more The hybrid linebacker/safety position was a staple of for- mer coordinator Don Brown's defense, and it was a big part of the pass-rushing packages. The Wolverines recruited sev- eral undersized linebackers (or 'tweeners') to fit it as a result, and now it's tough to find a spot for them. "No, no, no — no more viper," redshirt junior inside line- backer Josh Ross confirmed in early April. As a result, the transfer portal (out) is open. Freshman Wil- liam Mohan announced his planned transfer April 5, and others could well follow. 2. There will be much more flexibility in the secondary Brown adapted and played more zone in later years, but the cornerbacks in particular were on an island an awful lot. U-M's starters lost their confidence by the end of last year. "They had a system down that they felt strong about and playing a lot more man-oriented, and that's definitely going to be a part of what we do," secondary coach and co-defen- sive coordinator Maurice Linguist told FiveThirtyEight.com. "But there are layers to having a great defense and just the perspective that we're going to be bringing in — you don't have to just live in one thing to be successful." 3. Aidan Hutchinson is the unequivocal leader of the defense He's the player the Wolverines need to build the defense around, and he also happens to be one of the most talented. He's going to be playing more of an outside linebacker-type position in this defense — "think J.J. Watt [with the Houston Texans]," one of our insiders told us recently — and he's got the athleticism to do it. "I'm assuming he probably [will] receive that [captain] role next year because of what he does for this team, what he means to this team and all the players' relationships with him," departed defensive tackle Carlo Kemp said. The U-M legacy cares, understands Michigan as well as anyone on the team and is the guy the new coaches will build around. 4. Safety is the strongest position group — on paper This is true at least among the starters, where fifth-year senior Brad Hawkins and sophomore Daxton Hill provide experience (Hawkins) and elite athleticism (Hill) to form a solid 1-2 punch. Hawkins has had a great spring, by all accounts, while Hill is someone new coordinator Mike Mac- donald can utilize at a number of different positions. He's an outstanding cover guy, could play corner if need be and has incredible speed. The key is to develop depth behind them. Freshman Ma- kari Paige was thrown into the fire last year and had some rough moments, so he'll have to grow up quickly. 5. The offense is ahead of the defense heading out of spring It's not that Josh Gattis' group has been a well-oiled ma- chine. There's still plenty of work to do on that side of the ball, as well. But you don't install a brand-new defense in three or four weeks and expect everything to be humming by April. There are going to be some growing pains while the defensive players learn what they're being taught. — Chris Balas Five Certainties About The 2021 Defense