The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/763983
JANUARY 2017 THE WOLVERINE 23 Stribling's four. Stribling and Lewis accounted for 12 and 10 passes bro- ken up, respectively. Another impressive statistic for this group — it helped the Michi- gan defense lead the nation in fewest opponent "long passing plays" of 10 yards or more, allowing only 66. That indicates the safeties were doing their jobs and doing them well. U-M also was second in passing plays of more than 20 yards allowed (23). Lewis was named the Tatum- Woodson Defensive Back of the Year. He was targeted 31 times, allowing only eight receptions for 74 yards — with 14 total yards after catch and 0.36 yards per snap in coverage — all year. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, while Stribling (unani- mous) and Hill (coaches) made the second team and Thomas garnered honorable mention acclaim (unani- mous). All in all, this was one of the best secondary performances in recent memory. Best Player: CB Jourdan Lewis Most Improved: CB Channing Stribling Who To Watch In 2017: S Tyree Kinnel and CB Lavert Hill OFFENSIVE LINE: B- Reason For The Grade: Many in this group got better as their careers Linemen Chris Wormley (No. 43), Ryan Glasgow (No. 96), Taco Charlton (No. 33) and Maurice Hurst (No. 73) led a stout defensive front that made it hard for opponents to find running room or time to pass. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN