The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/230001
In the regular season, sophomore linebacker Joe Bolden notched 25 solo hits and 25 assists for 50 total tackles, which ranked fourth on the Wolverines, and he also posted three tackles for loss and one sack. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL ent and the coaches used that to their advantage," Ezeh said. "Beyer is obviously a strong kid and he was great against the run, and I think that's why he ultimately moved back to strongside defensive end. "Cam Gordon is an explosive guy, and I think in terms of what we wanted to do blitzing the quarterback and using our Sams as pass rushers, he's hard to account for because he can come at you from a lot of different angles and with different speeds." Ryan returned in week six against Penn State, just six months removed from his torn ACL, and while he picked up four tackles for loss among 26 total stops in the last seven games, he was never the dominant player he was in 2012. "The expectations were so high on him," Ezeh said. "I think [Minnesota Vikings tailback] Adrian Peterson really screwed everyone up because he came back from an ACL and then rushed for 2,000 yards, and we started expecting every athlete to come back from ACLs not just the same but better. "But it's a major injury, and when a guy comes back he's going to take some time to get comfortable. Jake had a pretty good first game in terms of being around the ball, and making some plays, so everyone thought it was just going to be so easy for him, but I think we saw him really experience some inconsistencies, which is perfectly understandable." Inside, many were hoping Morgan would become Michigan's version of MSU standout Max Bullough. He didn't reach that level, but he was an anchor in the middle with 73 tackles. Ross started at the Will, and as the