The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 97 DEFENSIVE LINE a good portion of the spring until his group proved to him they'd be able to stifle the opponents' ground game. He turned them loose with the pass-rushing drills at the end of the session, and several started their summers by tak- ing what they'd learned and working on it on their own. Two of the candidates moved after getting a look at linebacker. Early enrollee Carlo Kemp (6-3, 250) out of Boulder, Colo., played the linebacker position well at times over the spring, but he is best suited for end, the veteran mentor explained. "He has a lot of ability," Mattison praised. "He's very athletic, has good strength, and the big thing when a guy comes early, sometimes there's that learning curve of, 'Wow, these are big guys — they're men.' He did a really good job, I thought, working through that. "We tried him at linebacker, but found out the best position for him is with his hand on ground. He's going to be another guy that's got a lot of ability to rush the passer." So does redshirt freshman Reuben Jones (6-4, 222). Defensive coordinator Don Brown also tried the Floridian at linebacker before moving him to end halfway through spring. "You always want to see if a guy has that there, but it's better for him to play with his hand on the ground, too," Mattison said. "He can give you a lot of speed on that edge also. "He showed why we recruited him as an end. He played with great effort and has very good speed for that position. He's just got to continue to work on his technique and strength and weight, try to get bigger and keep that speed." His Sunshine State class- mate, Shelton Johnson (6- 5, 212), is another to watch there. "He needs to work on his strength, but he's got the height and speed," Mattison said. "He needs to gain a little weight and strength with that weight. He showed the same thing as the others — why we were excited about them when we recruited them — as spring went on. That's a good sign." They've been relentless workers from the top down, Mattison said, and many of them have been together for three or four years. It's a very close group that has trained together and played together, and they're ready to earn their place among the best lines Mattison has ever coached. "When I was at Florida we had two first-round picks, a second and a fourth," Mattison noted. "It all depends on the amount of work they put in this summer and the mindset they have when camp starts. "One thing the great ones all have is they are very hungry and want to prove why they are where they are. You never know until you get to that situation." Early returns are positive, however, that this could be the best group Michigan has seen in at least a decade. ❏ In the years since recruiting services became common and the internet made follow- ing prep players' recruitments a sport in itself, Michigan had never landed the nation's consensus No. 1 recruit. That changed on National Signing Day 2016, when Paramus (N.J.) Catholic's Rashan Gary pledged to the Wolverines over Clemson and signed with the Wolverines in one of head coach Jim Harbaugh's biggest recruiting coups of his career. The 2015 USA Today Defensive Player of the Year, Gary notched 55 tackles, 13.5 sacks and four forced fumbles as a senior. He's ready to live up to the hype that preceded his arrival at U-M, and defensive line coach Greg Mattison believes he can. "You've got a guy that's 6-4, 295 pounds, that plays with great technique and great effort," Mattison said. "The thing that separates the really, really good ones that have the size is how they play every down. "One thing I've been very impressed with watching film is Rashan understands how we play here … that is, don't take plays off. Another thing he's done a great job of that's different than many freshmen is he's worked extremely hard from the time he signed with us on his technique, doing the techniques that we do and working on those in the spring at his high school. "I think you're going to see a guy come in who doesn't look like a freshman." If he's as good as advertised, he'll have a great opportunity to contribute, maybe even start, at the strongside end position, potentially bumping fifth-year senior Chris Wormley inside if it gives the Wolverines their strongest four up front. Somewhat lost in the Gary excitement were two more outstanding defensive additions up front. One, Camden (N.J.) High's Ron Johnson, could be better than his ranking, Mat - tison said; he comes to Michigan as Rivals.com's No. 20 weakside defensive end prospect. "He could be the underrated one nobody really knows about," Mattison said. "He was about 220 when we recruited him, and he's up to 245 now [at 6-4]. He also has the ability to rush the passer and run for his size." Inside, the Wolverines added another plugger in 6-2, 310-pounder Michael Dwumfour of Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic. He might have a harder time seeing the field early, but he's got plenty of ability. "He's a big body that has that explosion, another guy that we always look for — inside players that are disruptors that are also strong," Mattison said. "Some guys run around blocks, and that's not what you want. He shows on film that he can be very disruptive at the point of attack. I think he's got a lot of talent." — Chris Balas Rushing Yds Rushing Yds Yards Year Allowed Per Game Per Carry 2015 1,589 122.2 3.6 2014 1,412 117.7 3.2 2013 1,822 140.2 3.8 2012 1,957 150.5 3.8 2011 1,712 131.7 4.0 Rushing Yds Rushing Yds Yards Year Allowed Per Game Per Carry 2010 2,456 188.9 4.4 2009 2,063 171.9 4.4 2008 1,643 136.9 3.6 2007 2,039 156.8 4.0 2006 564 43.4 1.9 Year-By-Year Rushing Yards Allowed After his senior year, Rashan Gary was named a first-team All-Ameri- can by USA Today and MaxPreps, while also earning the Bobby Dodd National High School Lineman of the Year award. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN New Jersey Trio Adds To Defensive Line Riches