The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 29 best, if not the best tight end in the coun- try, and Marlin and Hogan, those guys are learning from him and doing a really good job. We definitely need those wide receivers to step up, but it's been great for the tight ends to be a weapon." DEFENSIVE LINE — A- This group had a tough game against Texas, held in check for the most part. Otherwise, they've been stellar. Junior Mason Graham has been everything people expected of the preseason All- American — he took over the Minnesota game for the second straight year with 2 sacks — and has notched 3.5 sacks among his 21 tackles. Senior edge Jo- saiah Stewart has also been a menace for opposing offensive lines, Michigan's best pass rusher through six games with 5 sacks to lead the Big Ten. He's cur- rently the FBS active leader with 26.5 career sacks. "I figured with the work I put in, the results would show," Stewart said. "But I'm not really too worried about the media or the outside attention. I'm just worried about what's going on in this building." His leadership has been on display. And while junior Derrick Moore has been somewhat quiet on the sack front, he's gotten good pressure on the quar- terback at times. Junior Kenneth Grant hasn't been as dominant as expected, but he had 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, and 4 pass breakups to go with 12 total stops, while senior Rayshaun Benny had played well with 21 tackles, including 2.5 for loss. Senior edge TJ Guy, meanwhile, started the Minnesota and Washington games and notched 1.5 sacks versus the Huskies and 1 against the Golden Go- phers in continuing his solid year. LINEBACKERS — C- Many expected this group to be on par with last year's veteran duo of Ju- nior Colson and Michael Barrett, but they've struggled to find consistency in the first half of the year. Maryland trans- fer Jaishawn Barham plays hard, but he's been out of control at times. Still, he's managed 30 tackles, second on the team, and 3 quarterback hurries. "The biggest thing with him … he's starting to really kind of find his way in our defense," linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said during the bye week. "I thought early on, his biggest struggle was trying to see how he fit with some of the moving parts of what we do on defense. Over the last two or three games, he's kind of gotten into a groove, especially in pass coverage where he's got a higher level of comfort on where he fits in." Junior Ernest Hausmann notched a huge pick in the Washington game, and he leads the Wolverines with 40 total tackles, including 28 solo stops and 2.5 for loss. Junior Jimmy Rolder has been good when he's been able to stay on the field, a very solid third option with 15 tackles in five games. SECONDARY — C- This group suffered a devastating loss when senior safety Rod Moore went down with a preseason knee injury, and it cost the team more than expected. The Wol- verines ranked 65th nationally in pass efficiency defense and 114th in passing yards allowed (259.8 per game) through six games and had been victimized by too many big plays in the passing game. Despite having outstanding cornerback Will Johnson on one side, Michigan had given up 71 pass plays of 10 yards or more, which ranked second to last (133rd) in the country. Johnson had two pick sixes in five games, missing one with injury, but he'd also given up some plays, including a big pass-interference call late in the Wash- ington game. "The pass defense has to improve, and that's a collective group thing. That's not just Will, that's not just the DBs, but it's the pass rush, [too]," Moore said. "It's all the things tied together to make sure that we're aligned in the pass game. We defi- nitely have to improve there." Sophomore cornerback Jyaire Hill has taken his lumps and been picked on as a first-year starter, while veteran safety Makari Paige had a rough first half of the season. He'll need to pick it up on the back end, including not letting the ball get over his head. "We just have to look at the things we do from a coverage standpoint, from a pressure standpoint to make sure that we support our players that need assistance or help at any point in time," Moore said. "Just be better at all phases." SPECIAL TEAMS — B- Junior Dominic Zvada has been ev- erything hoped for and more, making all eight of his field goals, four of them from 50-plus yards. He's on pace to be a Lou Groza Award finalist. The remainder of special teams has been a mixed bag, however, starting with punter Tommy Doman. The senior was Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after the USC game in which he really helped with field position, playing a huge role in the win. Overall, though, he's av- eraged 42.8 per kick and been short on several this year, not where the Wolver- ines need him to be (though his kickoffs remain very good, long and deep — 20 touchbacks on 30 kicks). The Wolverines haven't gotten much from their return game since the opener, when Mullings was back deep against Fresno State and returned 3 kicks for a 24.7-yard average. They also relinquished a 60-yard punt return against Minne- sota that set up a touchdown and gave the Golden Gophers momentum in a game they almost stole (though they blocked a punt to set up a score, too). Other than Zvada, the Wolverines have a lot to improve on special teams. ❏ Junior defensive linemen Mason Graham (above) and Kenneth Grant continue to be a disruptive force for opposing offenses. Through six games, Graham had 21 tackles (including 3.5 sacks) and a blocked kick, while Grant had added 12 tackles (2 sacks). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL