The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/480355
MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Sitting Down With Senior Linebacker Joe Bolden One of Michigan's four senior linebackers, Joe Bolden is the Wolverines' top returning tackler with 102 stops in 2014. He is being asked to be more than a solid on-field performer, though, this season, thrust into a greater leadership role. For now, he is just one of many trying to learn his coaches' personalities and expec- tations, and the intricacies of how to run both 4-3 and 3-4 defenses. How seamless has this transi- tion been with the new staff? Bolden: "I would say it's gone significantly smoother than I thought it would. You know who Coach [Jim] Harbaugh is, but you don't know how he does things. I don't know if nerve wracking is the right word, but it's new, and it takes some adjusting. You're not going to snap into it the first day. "Going off of that, with him com- ing in, I think it was fairly smooth from my perspective, with weight lifting and running, and meet- ings, introducing yourself to the coaches — they're very person- able individuals." The coaches have discussed running both a 3-4 and a 4-3; how will that work? Bolden: "I wouldn't say we're doing the most of either way. If there is a de- fense where that fits a scheme and that scheme exposes something in the of- fense, we're going to play it. Coach [D.J.] Durkin is throwing a whole bunch at us, and we're just learning the playbook. "Getting out on the field, some plays we'll be in 3-4 and other plays it will be 4-3. It just depends on the personnel and what they plan on running. When it comes down to it in the fall, it will be the scouting reports that really determine how we're going to play, a 3-4 or a 4-3. Bolden, one of four senior linebackers on U-M, is the Wolverines' top returning tackler after posting a total of 102 stops in 2014. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL