The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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20 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2023 BY JOHN BORTON C ome into the Big Ten as a prep superstar wide receiver, run- ning back or defensive back, you just might have a shot at some early playing time. Edge rusher even, if you're cheetah fast and quicker than an OSU fan's fourth-quarter misery. But try to carve out some time as a true freshman defensive tackle amid the fierce trench warfare … well, good luck with that. The landmines are legion. They weigh 300-350 pounds, bend the unsuspect- ing into human pretzels and have gen- erally been at it for three or four years, forcing their man-mountain skill and savvy onto those desperately trying to catch up. Men versus boys. Mason Graham is no boy when it comes to slugging it out up front. The rising sophomore defensive tackle proved it a year ago, stepping into all 14 Michigan games with a pair of starts for the Wolverines. How good was he, in his first crack with the Brute Squad? Well, he came away as a Pro Football Focus Freshman All-American and shared Michigan's Defensive Freshman of the Year plau- dits. Graham notched 2.5 sacks among his 27 tackles, broke up a pass, recorded a QB hurry and laid the foundation for significant mayhem in the not-so-dis- tant future. He also managed to highly impress a former two-time Michigan captain, national champion and veteran of more than a decade of NFL wars. Jon Jansen delivers the analysis for Michigan foot- ball on the radio these days, and he in- sists this Mason has some stones. "I love him because, first of all, he's a good person," Jansen assessed. "Also, he works his butt off. Coming in, knowing you're going to play as a freshman, you earned that, but you use it as motiva- tion. Some guys will use it as, well, I'm good enough to play, so why do I have to get any better? "He used it as motivation. It was like, if I'm good enough to play, and good enough using what I did in high school, but I want to improve and be the best at what I do, I'm going to work my butt off. He did that, all season and all offseason. "Just being around him, some guys — you can tell — just love the game of football. They eat, sleep, breathe, drink football. They do everything around it. That's him, and I love guys that love the game of football." So does Jim Harbaugh. The Michigan head coach had scribes guessing when he referred to a "gift from the football gods" in the Big Ten football meetings in Indianapolis last summer. Harbaugh later confirmed he was talking about Graham and mammoth rising sophomore defensive tackle Ken- neth Grant. Graham emerged as the most impactful gift as a true freshman, while both figure to serve as defensive line anchors for a long while. Like Jansen noted, Graham stands far removed from any satisfaction with early success. For starters, the Wolver- ines watched the national championship game last winter, knowing an extra play or two could have thrust them into the title showdown against Georgia. Second, Graham finds himself driven by the desire to become all he can be in his sport of choice. He's been locked into that mission for many years. NO STRANGER TO TOP TALENT Graham wasn't beating up 5-foot- 5, 140-pounders in his prep days. The 6-foot-3, 317-pound native of Ana- heim, Calif., performed for Southern EARLY IMPACT Defensive Lineman Mason Graham Set To Build On A Strong Start