The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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finger on the pulse of the defense. Defensive coordinator D.J. Dur- kin's crew works closely with the offense, Henry noted, following the iron-sharpens-iron dictum. "He congratulates us during prac- tice," Henry said of Harbaugh. "If we beat the offense during practice, he'll tell the defense, 'Great job. The offense has to pick it up.' Or you'll hear him talking to Coach Durkin, and Coach Durkin will say, 'Hey, it's time for us to step it up. The offense is feeling a little good. Go out there and turn it up a little more.' "It's a great deal. He doesn't spend a lot of time with us, but you can definitely see he acknowledges the defense during practice." Henry admitted ratcheting up his effort level over the past year, in ad- dition to garnering a deeper set of techniques that have made him suc- cessful. "I increased my work ethic and playing with my hands," he said. "My hands are a lot better. Work- ing on technique after practice, doing the little things Coach Carr told me would help me, that I need to step up. It's doing the extra when no one is watching." And sometimes, it's doing extra when they are. Jenkins-Stone noticed Henry's improvement during some marathon spring practice sessions. "When you're out there for four hours, you can do nothing but get better," Jenkins-Stone said. "He picked it up right then and there, and was ready for the season. "He worked at what he needed to work at … and he went on from there. He's been making big plays ever since." While Durkin's arrival marked a big change, those Henry goes against in practice aren't sure that's what flipped the switch for "Big Earl." Make no mistake, though, they say the switch flipped. "Willie has always been a great player, and this year he has just turned it on," redshirt junior guard Kyle Kalis noted. "It's evident in practices too. "He's playing really well. He's def- initely on a different level mentally this year than he has been before. I don't know if that's because he's more focused or what his drive is, but he's coming out with an intention and energy I've never seen before." That makes for some intense prac- tice sessions, Kalis added. "It's really fun, and it's also a way to get me a lot better, and it gets him a lot better. Ever since we were fresh- men, Willie and I have been banging heads. It's really fun to see both of us coming on and playing well." Fellow redshirt junior offensive lineman Erik Magnuson said: "Willie has been a really good player since he got here, but I'd say the biggest way he's developed is that he's more consistent. He's always been really hard to move and explosive off the ball. He's been gifted with tremen- dous ability that you can't practice." Consistency, and a different level mentally, both arise through a con- scious decision to work at one's craft, whether prodded or not. There's no question the 2015 Wolverines have been pushed to excel, and Henry