The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/382426
Five Top Defenders In The Early Going Five guys who earned praise for their play through the first three games: • Jarrod Wilson: The junior free safety hasn't picked off any passes, but he's been the quarterback of the secondary and seems to be making the right checks to put guys in position to make plays. Head coach Brady Hoke called him "very solid, very good" through two games, though he didn't dress for the Miami (Ohio) contest. • Willie Henry: A redshirt sophomore defensive tackle, Henry continues to impress. He'd notched seven tackles, including a half tackle for loss, through three games and was probably the Wolverines' most disruptive defensive line- man. "Willie may have had the most production in there [against Notre Dame]," Hoke said. "And that's a physical line." • Raymon Taylor: Taylor played one of his best games in a Michigan uniform in the opener against Appalachian State, Hoke said, and the senior cornerback was missed when he left early against Notre Dame with an apparent knee in- jury. His confidence is at an all-time high. • Ryan Glasgow: The redshirt sophomore had only two tackles in the first three games, but that's not his job. He's supposed to plug the middle from his nose guard position and help eliminate the run game, and he did it well against the Irish. Notre Dame managed only 54 yards on 31 carries. • J a ke R y a n : T h e fifth-year senior l i n e b a c k e r shook off a s h a k y p e r- f o r m a n c e against Ap - palachian State and was a presence against the Irish, Hoke noted. He notched 20 tackles (second on the team), a tackle for loss and three quarterback hur- ries through his first three games at middle linebacker, and was continuing to improve. — Chris Balas Fifth-year senior linebacker Jake Ryan ranked second on the Wolverines in tackles through three games in 2014, with 20 stops, including one tackle for loss. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN