The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Rashan is you can watch a highlight tape and then you can watch entire games, and it's the same," the coach said. "This young man is really con- sistent on trying to play the way you want him to play. He's very intel- ligent, very high character." The 6-5, 293-pound Gary, who had 27.5 sacks his final two seasons at Paramus (N.J.) Catholic High School, will begin his career at defensive end with the chance to move inside if necessary. "He has the size and strength to do both," Mattison said. "It's wherever he plays the best and wherever we need him." Glasgow did not participate in spring drills while recovering from the pectoral muscle injury that side- lined him in week nine against Rut- gers and Michigan's four subsequent games. U-M was allowing just 74.7 rush- ing yards per game through eight contests before Glasgow went down. The Wolverines staggered down the stretch, yielding 992 yards rushing in their last five contests (198.4 per game), including against the Scarlet Knights. Indiana (307) and Ohio State (369) both eclipsed 300 rushing yards. However, everyone is expected back to full strength by training camp, and the defensive line in 2016 could be even deeper and more tal- ented than the 2015 group. "This is a very deep group of guys that have played a lot of winning football," said Mattison, who under- stands the hype but has made it clear to his linemen that they still have much to prove. "Let's just show it on the field, let's not talk about it. Let somebody else decide that. "We're going to go out there and play the best we can, and when it's all done and the season is over with then let's judge this defensive line." ❏ RANKING MICHIGAN'S BEST DEFENSIVE LINES Over the last 25 years, five defensive lines have held opponents to fewer than 100.0 rushing yards per game and accumulated 25 sacks — totals that the 2016 line aspires to meet. Using a formula that rewarded the top performer in each of three categories — rush defense, tackles for loss and QB sacks — with a value of 'one' going to the top team, a 'two' to the second-best team and so on, we have an unofficial ranking of the top U-M defensive lines during the last quarter century. Rk. Year Rush Defense TFL* Sacks* T1. 1995 93.2 YPG 70 33 T1. 1997 89.0 YPG 50 27 3. 2001 89.1 YPG 49 29.5 4. 2006 43.4 YPG 39.5 27 5. 1992 90.8 YPG 40 26 * Recorded by players that spent majority of their season along the line.