The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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[ D E F E N S I V E L I N E ] 88 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW and strength. He was at a self-reported 277 pounds this spring, wants to be 285 or 290 by the time fall camp rolls around and has the potential to be a solid combination of run stopper and pass rusher. Some close to it believe his motor and "want to" will ensure there's no drop-off at the position in 2022. "Kris Jenkins really stepped up in spring," junior right guard Zak Zinter said. "He's very good and strong. He's got the pass rush moves. He's twitchy." Jenkins' emergence last year — and some good fortune in that the Wolverines avoided significant injuries on the line — contributed to a better-than-expected season for the men up front. He'll be asked to play a bigger role this year. "He just needs to use his size, his length," Jansen said. "Some guys, you look at them and think, 'Wow — this guy should be a monster.' I look at Kris and think exactly that. He's got long arms, and he needs to utilize that length to his advantage, create some separation and then just discard play- ers to make plays. "He just needs to be a little quicker with his feet, a little quicker side to side in stunts and pass rush and a little bit more defined so he doesn't leave anything questionable for the linebackers filling behind him, or a defensive end that might be looping around." While they were still looking for a bit more depth in the transfer portal this spring, the coaches seem to feel better about the position overall this year. They found some help in Central Florida transfer Cameron Goode (6-2, 315), who notched 24 tackles in 13 games (three starts) last year. He's a good interior rusher who finished 12th in the nation with 4 forced fumbles. He'll have work to do to play ahead of sophomore Rayshaun Benny (6-5, 292). The former four-star prep standout came a long way this spring and was noticeable in the spring game, too. He notched 3 tackles after getting his feet wet in three games last year. The floor for a bad play from Benny is much higher than it used to be, Harbaugh praised this spring. He made consistently good plays and was much better getting off blocks and getting to the passer. "Rayshaun Benny is going to be a re- ally good player, I predict," Harbaugh said — and Jansen agreed. "I really expect Rayshaun Benny to take a monster step forward," he said. "A lot of that is he got in the weight room with [strength coach] Ben Herbert and his staff, and he started to change his body. "One aspect I loved about them doing spring ball earlier is you get a bigger chunk of time from the end of spring ball to the start of fall camp. I think that's going to be very important for him and his progression." Sophomore George Rooks (6-5, 270) is another who turned some heads all spring with his interior pass rush. Harbaugh said he still needs to be more consistent, but he notched 7 tackles (4 solo), a half tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry in the spring game and showed potential. The biggest surprise was true freshman Mason Graham (6-3, 292). The early en- rollee held up against experienced competi- tion up front and was an eye-opener in the spring game. He'll be in the rotation this year, though Jansen cautioned not to expect too much, too soon. "I fell in love with Mason Graham's game in the spring," Jansen said. "But I caution fans when they hear me talk about him. They're going to hear Mike Elston talk about him, Jim Harbaugh talk about him, but they still have to understand he's a freshman. "What he was able to do in the spring game was outstanding, and it's the rare occa- sion you would come out of the spring game talking about an early enrollee freshman on the D-line. He's got some things going X-FACTOR X-FACTOR There will be plenty of opportunities for someone to emerge on the two-deep from an edge rusher perspective. Look for true freshman DERRICK MOORE to skip the line and find a role in his first season in Ann Arbor. U-M feels like it has a versatile piece with the On3 Consensus top-40 prospect. Enrolling early for the spring semester gave him a chance to get his feet wet at the col- lege level, and he is older than most freshmen at 19. He will see the field in 2022. Junior Kris Jenkins is expected to step into one of the open starting roles along the defen- sive line this season. He made 22 tackles a year ago, including a half sack. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL