The Wolverine

September 2021

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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SEPTEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 23 BY CHRIS BALAS A fter five years with Don 'Dr. Blitz' Brown calling the shots for the Michigan defense, Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh decided to go a different direction. Brown fielded some outstanding units in his tenure, but difficulties in big games — Ohio State, particularly — and last year 's collapse (34.5 points per game allowed, which ranked 12th in the Big Ten and 95th nationally) convinced Harbaugh to make a change. Enter Baltimore Ravens assistant Mike Macdonald, who will be calling the defense for the first time in his career. He got started in the spring, basing his fall install schedule on what his group accomplished in those 15 practices. Macdonald planned to spend the first 10 to 12 days imple- menting the new defensive schemes. After day four or five, he said, all the concepts were set. "It's not like you're in a hurry to get all that stuff done. You're just trying to introduce those things that you can build on over time," he explained. "We feel good about it." And while he'll take a lot from the Ravens defense he helped build, it's not nearly as complicated as everyone believes, he insisted. "I think that's the misconception — you look at the Ravens defense and what Wink [coordinator Don Mar- tindale] has been able to do and the rest of our staff the last few years," he said. "You're like, 'Man — guys are flying all over the place.' That's kind of what we're trying to create here. "I think the secret sauce is that it's really not that complicated. Again, just different concepts layered to- gether. We're trying to create com- plexity to an offense, really trying to make the offensive [coordinator's] life a living nightmare." He'll get his chance, starting with the Sept. 4 opener against Western Michigan. Here's how the defense was taking shape halfway through fall camp. DEFENSIVE LINE In the era of wide-open offenses and "speed in space," the game is still often won and lost in the trenches. That's a somewhat disconcerting thought heading into the season given how thin the Wolverines appear on the defensive line, at least on paper, but Harbaugh insisted he felt good about the group a week into fall camp. One player in particular, redshirt junior Donovan Jeter, came back with a purpose, Harbaugh reported, while redshirt freshman Mazi Smith re- turned in the best shape of his life at 326 pounds. "Donovan Jeter is having his best, best months ever," Harbaugh said. "His best offseason … off to his best [start in] camp. The level of consis- tency from him is outstanding." Jeter's received his share of praise in previous camps, but he has yet to meet the hype. He's intent on prov- ing himself on the field this season, and he needs to. In 23 games, Jeter has notched only 14 tackles, none of which have come behind the line of scrimmage, one pass breakup and one fumble recovery. His career Pro Football Focus grade of 67.4 is considered average. "The compliments from Coach are always alright, but I've been getting compliments since 2019, so the big- gest part now is going, week in and week out, throughout the season," Jeter said. "It's always nice to get a compliment from the head coach, but I've really just got to go out and show it on Satur- days in The Big House. " [ D e f e n s i v e l i n e ] C o a c h [ S h a u n ] N u a was just talking about how compli- ments are probably one of the worst things that can happen to you if you want to be an elite, successful player. I feel like some people take them and get complacent — 'I did good,' or 'I did this.' Since I was a kid, it started with my dad saying, 'Let's work on this. Let's keep working on things,' instead of resting on your laurels." Smith is in a similar position, but he's expected to be the leader of this group. He notched the first three tack- les of his career last year, yet he un- derstands his importance as the nose tackle in U-M's 3-4 base defense. Though he still needs to be more consistent and bring it on every down, Smith has put himself in position to be a difference-maker in 2021. "He's in a great state of mind," Macdonald said. "Talking to him, I think he's ready to roll. We're count- ing on him to have a great year for us. "He had a great spring — you could see it take off. He has a great trajectory to him." Another who needs to follow his lead is former five-star and current sophomore Chris Hinton. Hinton played in all six games last year with mixed results, and the coaches believe the light is going on. "I forget what the hiccup was in the spring, but toward the end of spring, he started to catch on. Things are a lit- tle foreign to him — the things we're trying to teach him to do, and train him," Macdonald said. "But he's a Redshirt junior defensive lineman Donovan Jeter, who earned praise in fall camp from head coach Jim Harbaugh, said, "It's always nice to get a compliment from the head coach, but I've really just got to go out and show it on Saturdays in The Big House." PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL CAMP UPDATE: DEFENSE DEFENSE Mike Macdonald's First U-M Unit Is Ready To Surprise Macdonald "We're trying to create complexity to an offense, really trying to make the offensive [coordinator's] life a living nightmare."

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