The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/230001
season wore on, he, Bolden and Morgan rotated through the two interior linebacker positions. Ross led the Maize and Blue with 81 tackles (despite missing the final one and half games), but had only five tackles for loss. More was expected of him, especially in the absence of Ryan to start the year. "I think this is another instance of expecting too much too soon," Ezeh said. "When you're young you learn something new every week, but when you're learning it on Saturday because you have to play, you learn it the hard way. "People want to see you execute everything perfectly, and accelerate your learning curve to be this great player, but — and I know fans hate to hear this — it does take time." Overall, Ezeh would have given the linebackers a B grade, but they have to get better. "You expect that they're going to improve, and I think they will because you'll have two seniors and two juniors in the regular rotation," he said. "Desmond Morgan has gotten better every year and I would expect him to take another step. Jake Ryan will have a full year and a half since his injury and he'll have a chance of being the player he was two years ago, or hopefully better than that." SECONDARY CAN TAKE A BIG STEP FORWARD NEXT SEASON The Wolverines picked off 11 passes this year during conference play, second best in the Big Ten. At the same time, Michigan's last line of defense endured plenty of rough patches along the way. U-M gave up late drives against Penn State, Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio State, all of which ultimately led to one-score losses. Michigan's secondary factored heavily into those drives, to the chagrin of former All-Big Ten U-M safety Marcus Ray (1995-98). "I don't think our secondary was very physical," he said. "There were times where I saw [senior] Thomas Gordon use his body and try to torpedo into offensive players, but those were times he should have wrapped his arms. "We don't have any of what I'd call head-busters or killers back there. Some of that stuff you can't coach. You either have it or you don't. That's why teams really didn't fear throwing the ball across the middle or even going vertical, because there was no price to pay." Gordon started 10 games at strong safety, lending experience to the position, while sophomore Jarrod Wilson earned the first seven starts of his career at the free safety post. The Wolverines also rotated (and started) senior Courtney Avery — a converted nickel back — and rarely used redshirt junior Josh Furman. "I don't think they made enough open-field tackles in space," Ray said. "Nowadays, you have all these wideopen offenses, and everyone wants to get the ball out on the perimeter. I just saw too many times where, whether it was a pass or a big run, too many big plays where defensive backs had chances to make plays and didn't. "I know they're young and inexperi-