The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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"The pass coverage is different," Ryan said. "And I didn't have to fit a gap. I would always just be coming in off the edge when I was at Sam line- backer. It is different, but I am getting the feel of it. "I would read the tight end at Sam, and now I am reading the back. It's not that big of a difference. It's just a different key. Coach Mattison is going over everything, and he's helping me out a lot." ROSS, MORGAN HAVE ROLES TO PLAY The shift from Mike to Will should not be a difficult one for Morgan — he played there each of his first two sea- sons, racking up 144 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss — and he has plenty of incentive to have his best year yet, with sophomore Ben Gedeon eager to unseat the veteran. The move back to the weakside, and the arrival of Ryan in the middle, could be good for the 6-1, 232-pound Morgan because it will free him from feeling he has to do too much. "Desmond is still a guy who is very important to our defense, who makes plays, fills holes and always knows where the right gap is to be," said for- mer defensive tackle and current ana- lyst Will Heininger (2008-11). "He's sort of like Obi. He knows so much, and he tries to help his teammates. He wants everyone to succeed so badly. He wants to make plays, so he some- James Ross III was second in tackles on the Wolverines in 2013, recording 85 total hits, including 46 solo stops, along with 5.5 tackles for loss. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL