The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS will use the winter and spring months to prepare himself physically and men‑ tally for Big Ten ball. He's a game‑ready player whose only shortcoming won't likely change by sitting a year. No amount of working out or game knowledge will make him taller than 6‑0, so there's nothing to be gained in preparation by holding him out beyond the beginning of the 2016 season. His position group loses three starters — inside linebackers Desmond Morgan and Joe Bolden, and Sam linebacker James Ross III — in stark contrast to the depth chart that Gary is looking up at. Even more opportunity is provided at linebacker by the fact that just one of the returning players, Ben Gedeon, has any significant game experience. If he's everything the staff expects him to be, Bush should be a starter from his first game in Michigan Stadium. Getting a lion's share of the playing time at a position that often includes the top two or three tacklers on a team makes him the top performer in 2016. Rashan Gary By Tim Sullivan "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity," and there is no 2016 prospect in the country more prepared than defensive lineman Rashan Gary. The opportunity isn't quite as apparent as the one in front of Devin Bush Jr., but the sheer talent the big man possesses will render that moot. While linemen often have to take a year to redshirt to get their bodies into shape for the next level, Gary should have no such issue. He's already 6‑5, 293, and his versatility should see him find a place up front. Despite returning much of an impressive defensive line, U‑M has nobody like Gary. He can line up anywhere along the front line, with the possible exception of nose tackle, and even if he doesn't draw a starting role from his first day on campus, he will likely be the top backup in multiple spots. That should give him starter's minutes, even if he's not truly the starter at any of those spots. The quality of the returning players on the line may seem like a negative for Gary's being more productive than Bush in the 2016 season, but it's actually the opposite. The line should be so good, and so deep, that the linebackers won't be called upon to make many plays except in a supporting role to the big uglies up front. If Gary is tackling running backs and quarterbacks before Bush's presence is even necessary, he has the chance to really make life easier for his classmate. Michigan's top four players in tackles for loss last year were defensive linemen, and amping that up with another talented player makes for a ferocious group — and one that limits linebacker production (or liability, at a position that's mentally tougher than the one Gary will be in). There's a reason this was the No. 1 player in the country, and he'll show it soon on fall Saturdays.