The Wolverine

2021 Michigan Football Preview

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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THE WOLVERINE 2021 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 97 [ D E F E N S I V E L I N E ] PRESEASON ANALYSIS: STARTERS This ranking is inflated by Aidan Hutchin- son's possible All-America status. There's plenty of potential here, especially inside with Chris Hinton and Mazi Smith, but other than flashes neither has proven him- self yet as someone who can be counted on in the middle of the defense. Veteran Donovan Jeter has been inconsistent at best the last two seasons and really needs to emerge as someone capable of at least holding his ground up front. DEPTH ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This is where the Wolverines are lacking up front and have been for a few years. Walk-on Jess Speight has seen time the past few years, and while he's a hard worker, there simply aren't enough schol- arship contributors here. Julius Welschof, Taylor Upshaw and others all need to be much better to provide the necessary, ca- pable depth up front. Mike Morris' emer- gence should help, but he has to prove he can do it in games. OVERALL ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Injuries negated what should have been a team strength last year — defensive end — and there's even more pressure now on Hutchinson to have a dominant season. Some have projected him as a first-round NFL Draft pick, and he needs to play like it. But the middle remains the key. Smith and Hinton need to play to their lofty prep rankings — both were top-150 recruits nationally — and not take plays off to help prevent the front seven from being a weakness some believe it will be. Freshman offensive guard Zak Zinter, too, singled Smith out as one of the toughest guys on the team to block, having gone head to head with him for much of spring and last fall. "Mazi I wouldn't say is young — he's been here a couple years now — but he's probably the guy that's stood out a lot," Nua said, noting Smith and Hinton both needed to up their games. "I'm looking for them to make plays … get out there and be leaders. "They are ready to take over that leadership role and take over games. I look for them to dominate each day while we are waiting for game day to start." Conditioning has been the one concern about Smith his first few years, and it's something he's continuing to work on. He's played in seven games, including five last year in which he notched three tackles (one for loss). "Mazi needs to find ways to stay on the field more than a few plays at a time if they are going to reach their potential." Skene said. "But if you're going to design an odd front, he's the kind of guy you want to do it with — someone with his strength. "You need that or a mountain of a man in the middle who's got an incredible lower body that you just can't move very easily." Former Michigan All-American lineman Jon Jansen even quipped they should find a Smith type and add 40 pounds to him so he can take up two gaps on size alone. In a sense, they did that when they landed 6-1, 358-pound defensive tackle Jordan Whittley as a transfer from Oregon State. Though he didn't play last season for the Beavers after announcing in the summer he had a tumor near his heart, he was cleared to participate this spring but chose not to. Whittley signed with Oregon State in 2019 after two years at Laney College, a junior college in California. He notched 14 tackles (3.5 for loss) in 14 games for the Beavers with one start and graded out favorably per Pro Football Focus, posting an above-average 76.0 in 237 snaps that year, which ranked 82nd nationally among interior defensive linemen with at least 200 snaps. However, he is more of a wild card than a sure bet at this point. Hinton, though, is the exact opposite, a man who is expected to and needs to have a big year in his third season wearing the uniform. He appeared in all six games with four starts last year, notched 13 tackles with two for loss, one sack and two passes broken up. He had dominant stretches at times last season, including a triple- overtime win at Rutgers in which he notched two tackles for loss and a sack among his four stops to earn U-M's Defensive Lineman of the Game honors, and could have a breakout season. Michigan has now featured at least one defensive lineman taken in the NFL Draft for seven straight seasons. In addition, end Kwity Paye became the fifth edge defender taken in the first or second round during Jim Harbaugh's tenure when he went to Indianapolis in the first round (No. 21 overall). Both numbers should increase by one next year if Aidan Hutchinson has the kind of year many expect and declares. Three of the linemen — Chris Hinton, Taylor Upshaw and Kris Jenkins — have fathers who played multiple years in the NFL. Chris Hinton Sr., a former first-round pick out of Northwest- ern, was a seven-time Pro Bowler and is a member of the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor. Regan Upshaw was an All-American defensive tackle at Cal and a first-round pick who played for five teams during a nine-year NFL career, while Kris Jenkins Sr. was a second-round pick out of Maryland and a 10-year pro that made four Pro Bowls. Michigan finished 89th in total defense (434.3 yards allowed per game) a year ago, after fin- ishing 11th the previous season. The Wolverines were 101st out of 127 teams in third-down defense (46.2 percent) and ranked 119th in tackles for loss per game (4.2). The nine former four- and five-star recruits per Rivals.com the Wolverines have in the trenches rank second among all position groups on the team, while the five former top-250 prospects are tied for second. Both numbers trail only the offensive line (11 and seven, respectively). [ F Y I ] THE WOLVERINE 2021 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 97 [ D E F E N S I V E L I N E ] YEAR-BY-YEAR RUSH- ING YARDS ALLOWED Rushing Yards Rushing Yards Yards Year Allowed Per Game Per Carry 2020* 1,073 178.8 4.2 2019 1,582 121.7 3.2 2018 1,656 127.4 3.7 2017 1,572 120.9 3.5 2016 1,550 119.2 3.2 2015 1,589 122.2 3.6 2014 1,412 117.7 3.2 2013 1,822 140.2 3.8 2012 1,957 150.5 3.8 2011 1,712 131.7 4.0 * Only played six games due to COVID-19

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