The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/152358
"Sometimes, Des is one of these kids that you've got to tell him to back off a little bit, because he kind of beats himself up too much," Smith said. "He's a physical, tough kid. I don't have any reservations at all about him playing in the middle." Meanwhile, Bolden isn't about to accept backup status without a battle. The 6-3, 225-pounder saw considerable action as a true freshman, and he carries the type of attitude to build on what he absorbed. "Joe is a kid that is driven to play," Smith noted. "When you've got that kind of competitive nature about you, he's not going to take no for an answer. That's a good thing. Whether it ends up being him or Desmond, or whoever, that's what makes your players better — competition. They don't feel comfortable. I've been real happy with Joe." At the weakside linebacker, sophomore James Ross III is also coming off seeing the field extensively as a true freshman. He has a clear path to the starting job, looking like a potential big-play performer in the Michigan defense. If the 6-1, 220-pounder delivers on that promise, it's largely because of how he applies what he learned last season, his position coach pointed out. "Experience makes you better in anything you do," Smith said. "Just having that exposure and experience to game situations in Michigan Stadium, he's so much more comfortable about the whole thing he's asked to do. "That's where you see a major im- provement with James. A year ago, you could say, 'Okay, what are you supposed to do?' and he understood that. Well, what's the guy in front of you supposed to do? 'I don't know.' "Well, it matters. It ties in together, whether he's inside, outside, wide, deep … he has a much better working knowledge of the whole surroundings, rather than just my little world." Sophomore Royce Jenkins-Stone also learned a lot in his first season wearing the uniform, although his contributions were predominantly on special teams. Jenkins-Stone insists he's much better at reading keys, moving his feet properly, etc., and Brady Hoke singled him out for praise on Michigan's media day, regarding his improvement. "Royce has made great strides, as they all have," Smith said. "In the same light, are we as good as we can be yet? No, and Royce knows that. That's the case with all of them. They all have room to improve." Michigan's outside linebackers face the unenviable task of stepping in for rehabilitating All-Big Ten performer Jake Ryan. The redshirt junior will be missed, but a combination of junior Brennen Beyer and fifth-year senior Cam Gordon will have the chance to shore up the spot. "Hopefully, they're both playing their best football come Aug. 31," coach Roy Manning said. "One of the things Greg [Mattison] really believes in is that you have to have great depth on the team, specifically the defense. We want to have the first unit, and what we call our second first unit.