The Wolverine

April 2012

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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given. It doesn't matter what you've done the game before, the week be- fore, whatever. You've got to earn it. If you're not earning it, somebody else has got to go in and play." competition mantra here, even though he returns intact the secondary that started the Sugar Bowl. Fifth-year se- nior cornerback J.T. Floyd, sophomore cornerback Blake Countess, fifth-year senior strong safety Jordan Kovacs and redshirt junior free safety Thomas Gordon will all be ready to go, but they'll be challenged, Hoke promised. "When you look at the corner posi- Defensive Backs Hoke will be sounding the same tion, [sophomore] Raymon Taylor is a guy that can do that," Hoke said. "[Junior] Courtney Avery will push. [Sophomore] Delonte Hollowell is really a good football player and a tough little guy. He's something. You watch him compete out here, with his toughness and being able to change direction. "[Junior] Terrence Talbott's a guy who pulled a hamstring in the first kickoff of the Notre Dame game. He was making some strides, and he's got ability. It will be fun to see what he does." Gordon share some of the leadership effort with Kovacs. "Kovacs has been the leader back Meanwhile, Hoke is anxious to see Linebacker Kenny Demens (left) and safety Jordan Kovacs (right) were U-M's top two tacklers in 2011, with 94 and 75 stops, respectively. three sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. He should take a strong step forward this spring, Hoke projected. Redshirt junior Cam Gordon also returns at the Sam, following an injury-hampered 2011 campaign. Bolden is also a possibility at the po- sition, according to the head coach. At weakside (Will) linebacker, soph- omore Desmond Morgan returns, af- ter a surprising true freshman cam- paign that saw him start seven games and finish fifth on the team with 63 tackles. Those included a sack among four tackles for loss, along with a fum- ble recovery. Senior Brandin Hawthorne will also compete at that spot, after some routine offseason surgery. 22 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2012 be a good football player," Hoke said. "Brandin Hawthorne had a shoulder that was bothering him most of the year, and he got that taken care of. He's a guy who can run and he made some plays. His consistency has to be better — I can say that about every- body, coaches included." All of the above have between the "Desmond is a guy who is going to March 17 kickoff of spring ball and the April 14 spring game to demon- strate the strides they've made. Once fall camp rolls around, the rest of a highly regarded class of linebackers rolls into town, and the battles ramp up again. "The competition at those posi- PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN there," Hoke noted. "We'd like to see Thomas [Gordon] take some of that responsibility, with getting guys lined up. Jordan is such a student of the game. He really works hard in that effort." Michigan's third early enrollee is 6-2, 190-pound safety Jarrod Wilson out of Ohio. He'll get to show what he can do, along with other safety candidates. "Wilson is a guy who will compete, along with [junior free safety Josh] Furman," Hoke said. [Junior] Marvin [Robinson], we'll see where he's at. He's coming off having a shoulder repaired and some concussions." Overall, Hoke promised, Michigan should be better on defense simply because most of the principals — in- cluding the coaches — have been to- gether for a year now. "Working together as a staff, and tions … as you know, we compete every day," Hoke said. "Nothing is being together, that continuity is im- portant," he said. "That's helping us. The guys understanding the expec-

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