The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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32 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2021 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL And he was picked out of the crowd and had his guitar pick. "That analogy stuck because we are doing everything we possibly can to get in the game, but we're not expecting to get in the game. We're just knowing that we're ready no matter what. We've got our guitar pick in our pocket and we'll be ready to go when our number is called." — Anthony Broome MICHIGAN LINEBACKER DETAILS IMPROVED COMMUNICATION WITH DEFENSIVE STAFF Second-year freshman linebacker Kalel Mullings went through normal growing pains during his first year on campus last season, but the new defensive staff under coordinator Mike Macdonald has done wonders for his football IQ. "My understanding of the game and [how to play] defense [has improved], Mullings said. "Coming out of high school, I focused a lot more on offense. Linebacker was somewhat new to me — learning more coverages and different ways to play the position and ways to do different things. I know a lot more about what everyone else is doing, what's going on and why things are working than I did last year. "Last year was a lot of memorization. This year, I understand what's going on with the defense as a whole. That's the biggest thing." Mullings feels a lot more knowledge and purpose is flowing through defen- sive meetings this year, which has made it easier to make in-game adjustments. "They teach that a lot," he said. "When we are installing new coverages or blitzes or things like that, we're given the why and what's going on. Or how else it could be played if we wanted to. So it just makes it easier to adjust to certain things because we understand the meaning behind the call. If there's anything that needs to be adjusted mid-game or during the week, we can do that easily because we understand why we were doing it in the first place." On top of an increased emphasis on teaching the ins and outs of what Michi- gan will run, Mullings revealed the staff also gives players a voice in what they work on. "When we feel like stuff might not be working or want to change something, we go to them or they ask us, and our feedback is heard and taken into con- sideration," he said. "That's another big thing — the communication level be- tween the players and coaches. We're able to adjust and do things the way we want to as well." Michigan's players being as involved in the process as they have been in 2021 has helped the defense feel like the game plan belongs to them, which has aided in developing a rebooted identity. "We feel like as players that this is our defense as much as it is the coaches' [de- fense]," Mullings said. "We want to pro- tect our image and make people fear us. We do that by going out every day know- ing that what we're playing is just as much us as it is the coaches. We take pride in that. It creates a level of ownership, for sure." — Anthony Broome OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 85 Daylen Baldwin 6-2 219 R-Jr. 14 Roman Wilson 6-0 180 Fr. LT 76 Ryan Hayes 6-7 307 R-So. 52 Karsen Barnhart 6-4 307 R-Fr. LG 77 Trevor Keegan 6-6 324 R-Fr. 52 Karsen Barnhart 6-4 307 R-Fr. C 68 Andrew Vastardis 6-3 294 6th-Sr. 51 Greg Crippen 6-4 290 Fr. RG 65 Zak Zinter 6-6 320 Fr. 66 Chuck Filiaga 6-6 337 R-Jr. RT 71 Andrew Stueber 6-7 338 R-Jr. 53 Trente Jones 6-4 307 R-So. TE 83 Erick All 6-4 245 So. 86 Luke Schoonmaker 6-5 250 R-So. WR 6 Cornelius Johnson 6-3 211 So. 1 Andrel Anthony 6-2 185 Fr. WR 5 Mike Sainristil 5-10 185 So. 3 A.J. Henning 5-10 185 Fr. QB 12 Cade McNamara 6-1 212 R-Fr. 9 J.J. McCarthy 6-3 197 Fr. RB 25 Hassan Haskins 6-1 220 R-So. 2 Blake Corum 5-8 200 Fr. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 97 Aidan Hutchinson 6-6 265 Jr. 91 Taylor Upshaw 6-4 262 R-So. DT 15 Chris Hinton 6-4 310 So. 95 Donovan Jeter 6-3 325 R-Jr. NT 58 Mazi Smith 6-3 326 R-Fr. 95 Donovan Jeter 6-3 325 R-Jr. DE 94 Kris Jenkins 6-3 275 Fr. OR 90 Mike Morris 6-6 278 R-Fr. SAM 55 David Ojabo 6-5 250 R-Fr. 32 Jaylen Harrell 6-4 242 Fr. WILL 41 Nikhai Hill-Green 6-1 220 Fr. OR 25 Junior Colson 6-2 225 Fr. MIKE 12 Josh Ross 6-2 224 R-Jr. 20 Kalel Mullings 6-1 236 Fr. CB 4 Vincent Gray 6-2 192 R-So. 5 DJ Turner 6-0 181 R-Fr. FS 30 Daxton Hill 6-0 192 So. 6 R.J. Moten 6-0 221 Fr. SS 2 Brad Hawkins 6-1 221 5th-Sr. 19 Rod Moore 6-0 173 Fr. CB 22 Gemon Green 6-2 181 R-So. OR 5 DJ Turner 6-0 181 R-Fr. MICHIGAN'S UNOFFICIAL DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PK 13 Jake Moody 6-1 211 Jr. 19 Tommy Doman 6-5 190 Fr. P 91 Brad Robbins 6-1 203 R-Jr. 19 Tommy Doman 6-5 190 Fr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 49 William Wagner 6-1 247 R-Fr. 45 Greg Tarr 6-2 207 Fr. KR 2 Blake Corum 5-8 200 Fr. 5 Mike Sainristil 5-10 185 So. PR 3 A.J. Henning 5-10 185 Fr. 35 Caden Kolesar 5-10 196 R-So. SPECIAL TEAMS McCarthy has appeared in five of the Wolverines' first seven games, complet- ing 12 of 19 passes for 212 yards and two scores, while also rushing 10 times for 53 yards and a touchdown. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL