The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2022 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Revamped Defense More Than Held Its Own By Chris Balas The Michigan offense is loaded, featuring two quarter- backs that led the Wolverines to their first Big Ten title since 2004, an offensive line that could be even better than last year's and a running back in Blake Corum who ran for nearly 1,000 yards a year ago. Great tight ends, a future star run- ning back in Donovan Edwards, a loaded wide receiver room — they've got it all. And still, the defense had plenty of success against the of- fense this spring. There are several current or future stars on that side of the ball, too, led by defensive tackle Mazi Smith and linebacker Junior Colson. Both are strong All-Big Ten candidates this year. In the defensive backfield, D.J. Turner and converted wide receiver Mike Sainristil did their part to slow the passing game this spring, and safety R.J. Moten was one of the more improved players on the defense. While there were some big plays in the spring game, the defense did a good job both up front and in the secondary. We know the Michigan offense is going to be good this fall, but we were worried about the defense. Coordinator Jesse Minter's first crew was up to the task and looks well equipped to handle Big Ten offenses this coming fall. Offense Emerged Ahead Of The Defense By Clayton Sayfie The Michigan defense had to replace its coordinator and top five players — a really tough task. While the offense lost Josh Gattis, co-coordinators Sherrone Moore and Matt Weiss add a high level of continuity, as do the eight returning start- ers. It's plug and play, and picking up where they left off, for an offense that returns 87 percent of its production from last season, per ESPN.com, and has extremely high expectations. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Cade McNamara has set the tone, and most of his playmakers are back. Wideouts such as sophomores Andrel Anthony and Roman Wilson have taken steps forward, and the running back duo of sopho- mores Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards should prove to be stellar. The offensive line is replacing two starters — center Andrew Vastardis and right tackle Andrew Stueber — but the early returns on Virginia graduate transfer Olu Oluwatimi are spectacular, and redshirt sophomore Trente Jones has stepped in nicely at right tackle. On the defensive side, there's talk of manufacturing a pass rush and needing players to step up in the secondary. On offense, where U-M is strongest heading into the summer, Weiss says the Wolverines have 'rich people problems' in that they'll have to figure out a way to spread the ball around to their abundance of talented weapons. Under the watchful eye of head man Jim Harbaugh, the Blue team won the day (and the steak dinner) at the spring game April 2. The Wolverines displayed strong units on both sides of the ball. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT WHICH SIDE OF THE BALL WAS BETTER THIS SPRING FOR MICHIGAN FOOTBALL?