The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1508023
OCTOBER 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 35 nest Hausmann — were the top three tacklers, led by Colson's 16 stops, includ- ing 2 tackles for loss. "Scoring defense, No. 1 [nationally]. Total defense, No. 2 [222.3 yards per game]," Harbaugh continued. "Other cool stats, a bunch of them … 10 tackles for loss in each of the past two games. Seventeen players have contributed to 24 tackles for loss, and eight guys part of the 9 sacks. And less than 250 yards [allowed] in all three games. Continued really great, great play." And of the yardage accumulated by opponents, much of it came in the fourth quarter when Michigan coaches went deep into the bench. Add it up, Harbaugh said, and there's a lot to like, even after a lackluster win over Bowling Green. Acting head coach Sher- rone Moore was certainly grateful for the defense after the offense struggled, run- ning only 44 plays and turning the ball over four times. The Wolverines gave up 235 yards and a field goal in the opener with ECU, 229 and 7 points to UNLV, and 205 and 6 to the Falcons. Only the latter scored on the first-team defense — in fact, many of the yards gained against came in the final quarters of games. "Those guys just played their tails off. This is, I think, the third straight game under 250 yards [for opponents]," Moore said after the Bowling Green game. "Ten tackles for loss again. That's extremely important, because the rec- ipe for winning around here has been you've got to play great defense. "For us to be what we want to be, we've got to continue to do that. Those guys are doing an outstanding job. The other phases have to keep building to get to their level." FRONT SEVEN HAS BEEN DOMINANT It starts in the front seven, one defen- sive line coach Mike Elston said in mid- September was the best he's coached in two-plus decades. U-M's first three opponents averaged 2.6 yards per rush and 81.7 yards on the ground, but 173 of the 245 yards rushing came in the fourth quarter against the backups. That means teams ran for 72 yards in nine quarters against the Michigan regulars … and in some cases, the backups were in at the end of the third quarter. Jenkins, Graham and Grant have been dominant in clogging the middle. Jenkins is "the mutant," while Graham and Grant were what Harbaugh called "gifts from the football gods" when they arrived last year. Elston and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter have gotten creative in find- ing different ways to use them. "Kenneth will be more on the inte- rior from a zero to a one — in layman's terms, more on the center and the guard — while Mason can move out a little wider," Elston said. "You see him over the tackle, maybe sometimes outside the tackle. We don't put Kenneth in that position. Mason, maybe a little quicker off the ball, maybe a little twitched up, per se, with movements. I think Kenneth can get there, but that's not his game right now. "Kenneth is more inside, and Mason is a little wider. If they're both in the game together, Kenneth will be in the in- side and Mason will be on the outside. If Mason or Kris are together, we can move Mason inside and now Kris is on the outside. There's a lot of flexibility with Mason. The furthest we'd move Kenneth out would be over the guard. That's what the difference would be right now." They've been working extremely well with the edges to keep quarterbacks in the pocket while providing heat on quarterbacks from all angles. "We do a lot of things together, espe- cially when you're putting in pressures and different things," Elston continued. "The right hand knows what the left hand is doing. You want to make sure that if we have a bomb coming off on the right side, something that is aggres- sive to the right that the left end knows, 'OK — where is the quarterback going to flush?' He's going to flush to your side, so make sure you're high. "We're trying to just be more consis- tent with meeting together and doing things together, so everybody hears what everybody is doing and kind of break off and coach it that way." Harbaugh said before the Big Ten opener with Rutgers the entire front seven could have gotten a game ball for their play against Bowling Green, add- ing, "I want to have the No. 1 front seven in all of football — want to have the best team, as well." But the back end had also been im- pressive, especially considering they were missing two key pieces during the nonconference slate in sophomore cor- ner Will Johnson and junior safety Rod Moore. Both had been nursing injuries, and only Johnson had played … and only a few snaps in Game 2 against UNLV. The backups had played well, Har- baugh noted — grad Quinten Johnson got a game ball and had a pick against Bowling Green, while grad Mike Sain- ristil did a great job quarterbacking the secondary — but they'll need to be at full strength to reach their goals. Even so, Moore was pleased with the defensive backs against the Falcons. "Those guys have played outstanding … the defense just as a whole, second- ary, up front, is just playing outstanding, and they'll continue to progress and get even better," he said. "You see starters aren't even in the game, so the depth we're building for the future is really good. "I'm just super excited what they've done, how Coach Clink, Coach Jay, and Jesse have really prepared that group." There's more work to do and tougher tests to come, but they're off to a great start. ❑ Senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins (94) intercepted a pass on Bowling Green's first offensive play of the third quarter and returned it to the 2-yard line, setting up an immediate touchdown for the Michigan offense and a turning point in the game. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL