The Wolverine

January 2022

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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JANUARY 2022 THE WOLVERINE 35   MICHIGAN FOOTBALL much. I like to refine the details and work at perfecting what I do naturally. "But you can look at any team in the NFL and go off what they do. See what is working for them and what's not work- ing. Then, you try it yourself. Coach [Jay Harbaugh] has done a great job with having a great kickoff unit. When it's not fair caught or not in the end zone, we are usually tackling them inside the 25-yard line. We have done a great job this year of having a good kickoff unit." The numbers bear out that assess- ment. Opponents only returned 12 kick- offs against the Wolverines, who led the country by allowing just 12.08 yards per return. — Anthony Broome Five Best Players 1. Junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson He's racked up an abundance of awards and been named a first-team All-American for a reason. The catalyst for Michigan's special championship season, Hutchinson is third on the de- fense with 58 tackles, and leads the team with 15.5 stops for loss and 12 quarterback hurries. The team captain's 14 sacks mark a single-season program record and rank third in the country. Pro Football Focus' highest-graded edge defender (94.7), Hutchinson is tied for third in the country with 73 pressures. 2. Redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins The third-team AP All-American has accu- mulated 1,288 rushing yards, which stands as the most by a Michigan running back since his position coach, Mike Hart, did so in three of his four years from 2004-07. When second-year freshman back Blake Corum went out with an injury early in the Nov. 6 game against Indiana (before returning for the final two contests but playing a limited role), Haskins had to shoulder even more of the load, averaging 24.6 rushes for 125.4 yards per game over the last five tilts. 3. Redshirt freshman outside linebacker David Ojabo Michigan's top breakout star had played just 26 career snaps entering the 2021 cam- paign, before turning himself into a sec- ond-team AP All-American and one of the country's top edge defenders along with Hutchinson this year. Ojabo has registered 35 tackles, 12 stops for loss and 11 sacks, with eight quarterback hurries and a Michi- gan-record five forced fumbles. He's pressured the quarterback 41 times on 281 pass-rushing snaps. 4. Redshirt junior right tackle Andrew Stueber One of the team's unsung heroes, Stueber is a pass protector extraordinaire, slotting 43rd nationally in PFF pass-blocking grade (80.9) and yielding just nine pressures, a low among the team's starting offensive linemen, and no sacks. The first-team All-Big Ten standout has been the top performer on a Wol- verine offensive line that has given up just 27 tackles for loss, which is 13 fewer than any other team in the country, and only 10 sacks, which tops the Big Ten and slots second nationally. 5. Redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara The Reno, Nev., native hasn't put up gaudy numbers, but he manages the offense and makes few mistakes, with his four interceptions checking in tied with two others for the fewest among Big Ten signal-callers who have attempted 150 or more passes. McNamara has completed 199 of his 308 passes for 2,470 yards and 15 touchdowns, plus one rushing score, while leading the nation's fifth-most efficient offense, per ESPN.com's Football Power Index. The 6-1, 212-pounder threw for multiple scores in four of his last six outings. Key Moment Head coach Jim Harbaugh gathered his team in the visitors' locker room at Spartan Stadium following a 37-33 loss to Michi- gan State Oct. 30, and told his heartbroken group of Wolverines they had to get back in the championship race. With one loss, the margin for error was reduced to zero, and Michigan had to win out in order to capture its first Big Ten championship since 2004. It turns out, the Maize and Blue were up to the task. With a mentality that "someone else has to pay," Michigan ran through their final five opponents, including a thrilling 21- 17 triumph at Penn State, a 42-27 signature win over Ohio State and a 42-3 thumping of Iowa in the title game. Best Highlight With just over five and a half minutes to play in the first quarter of Michigan's win over Iowa in Indianapolis and the Wolverines holding a 7-0 lead, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis dipped into his bag of tricks. On the first play of the team's third possession, McNamara quickly threw a backwards swing pass to freshman running back Donovan Edwards, who had flared out to the right. Edwards took a few steps forward before stopping and winding up to throw. He deliv- ered a dime to a streaking second-year freshman wide receiver Roman Wilson in stride at the Iowa 35-yard line, before Wilson ran it in for the 75-yard score. Bold Prediction Michigan will run for 150 or more yards on Georgia's defense, something only one team — Florida (161) — has done this season. The Bulldogs rank third in the country, allowing 81.7 rushing yards per game. Their front seven is highlighted by first-team All-Americans Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean at tackle and linebacker, respectively. It won't come easy for the Wolverines, but they've remained committed to the run game, notching 150-plus rushing yards in nine of 13 tilts and averag- ing 223.8 yards per outing on the ground (10th nationally). The Maize and Blue lead the country with eight rushing gains of 50-plus yards, and a big play or two would really help the cause. — Clayton Sayfie Superlatives For Michigan's First 13 Games Wideout Roman Wilson (above) caught a trick-play pass from running back Donovan Edwards and took it 75 yards to the end zone to give the Wolverines a 14-0 lead in the Big Ten title game. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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