The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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two times by the same guy that's a good day for him." Gordon has continued to play well, recording eight tackles in four games while proving he can play in space, capable of picking up tight ends or running backs in coverage. He's working to master his pass-rushing attack, and with his effort, is accelerating his learning curve. "Cam was mostly on his feet a year ago and not really called upon to be a pass rusher. That's been his big challenge, and I've been hammering him on it since the spring," Manning said. "I told him, if you want to be a complete player, you have to become a better pass rusher, and he had a great training camp in terms of that. I thought he improved. "He has a long way to go, but I think he's improving." Humble by nature, Gordon will not praise his own play this season, always pointing to the areas of his game he needs to develop, always arguing he can be even more consistent. But he admits he is enjoying this season with a greater number of snaps. "I feel comfortable — making plays, flying around out there is just fun," he said, before quickly returning to selfinspection. "Every time we go into the meeting room, the coaches harp on us. Sometimes you feel you did something good, but it's always about improving." Beyer Emerging With His Hand On The Ground The 6-3, 250-pound Beyer has been, perhaps, the biggest surprise of the new season so far. The junior shares the team lead in sacks with two, among a team-high four tackles for loss, and has an additional three quarterback hurries, showing a greater ability than any other defender at harassing opposing signal-callers. A strongside linebacker in 2011 — Ryan's primary backup while Gordon battled a back injury — and a starter at rush end in 2012, Beyer notched 0.5 tackles for loss in his first two seasons and was thought to be a liability with his hand on the ground. This season, though, he has blossomed in that role and credits Gordon for bringing out his best. "We've been pushing each other a lot in practice and working on our technique. It is fun to see it all come together on game day," said Beyer. "We've been working on pass rush and getting to the quarterback, and we are both able to do that." While Beyer excels in passing situations where he can pin his ears back and get after the quarterback, he has, inversely to Gordon, struggled in the past to grasp the nuances of playing standing up, but a summer committed to turning weakness into strength is paying off. "When you're on your hand a lot you're not up in space moving around, and you kind of saw in the spring he wasn't fluid in his movements," Manning said. "If you see him now, he looks more comfortable. He dropped some weight over the summer and improved his flexibility." Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison has always been a fan of Beyer's, and with each strong outing from the junior, he's giving him greater run at