The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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mens said. He's looking to follow their lead. "That leadership and staying healthy, playing a bigger role than just being prepared, being a leader on this defensive side of the ball … at first I forced myself to become a leader, but after all the leadership meetings with Coach [Aaron] Well- man and Hoke, the California trip [for seniors], I found myself naturally caring about the others and the team as a whole," Demens said. "It just started coming naturally. "This is my senior year. You realize how important it is and how much you want it in your last year. I put in extra reps, have been watching film early, doing extra work with [fellow senior] Brandin Hawthorne. "Whatever I did last year, I want to year in a Michigan uniform, finishing with 93 solo tackles and 127 stops overall. He also notched three games with multiple tackles for loss on his way to 12 for the season, adding three sacks. Sword finished with 377 career stops, placing him eighth on Michigan's all-time tackles list. Steve Morrison, 1994: A rare five-year letter winner, Morrison tallied 124 tack- By Fifth-Year Seniors In Recent History Sam Sword, 1998: Sword notched seven double-digit tackle games in his final Top Linebacker Performances top that." He also wants to mentor the young linebackers behind him. The fresh- man class has already shown signs of great athleticism and work ethic. Fel- low middle linebacker Joe Bolden ar- rived in the spring and went through several practices, proving to be a fast learner and one to watch. "It's healthy for the team to have that competition. However I can help him out, I'll do that," Demens said. "When he's on the field, if I see he took the wrong step or wrong read, I'll make sure when he comes off I fix it for him." The tutelage isn't exclusive to De- mens, Smith said, but it is a positive sign. "All the seniors have that urgency. I've been very happy with all of them," Smith said. "I've only got two seniors in my room, Kenny and Bran- din Hawthorne. When I look at them as a whole, they've done a great job of being accountable — of being true seniors. "I see a lot of growth in Kenny from a maturity standpoint, trying to take a leadership role as much as he can. He's come to work every day, just like a lot of kids have." Together, Demens said, the defense les (75 solo) as a fifth-year senior, notching double digits in tackles seven times. Morrison still ranks tied for seventh all time with 15 double-digit tackle games and is 10th on the Wolverines' all-time tackles list (360). Andy Moeller, 1986: Moeller eclipsed double figures in tackles in six of 12 games in his last year, notching 13 in three of his last four games (including a victory at Ohio State). He capped off his last year with 72 solo tackles among 109 total stops and still ranks 12th on Michigan's all-time tackles list (326). Erick Anderson, 1991: Anderson earned the Butkus Award in 1991 after fin- ishing with 102 tackles, 86 solo, in Michigan's 11-2 campaign. His total included an incredible 17-tackle game (16 solo) against Ohio State in a 31-3 blowout win and four other double-digit tackle performances. The Glenview, Ill., native finished second on the Wolverines' all-time tackles list (428) and still ranks third in the annals. Mike Mallory, 1985: Mallory notched 62 solo tackles among his 101 stops in his last year to finish fifth on U-M's all-time tackles list, earning All-Big Ten honors for his efforts. The 1985 Michigan defense went down as one of the stingiest of all time, helping the Wolverines to a No. 2 national finish after a Fiesta Bowl win over Nebraska. Jarrett Irons, 1996: Irons started the 1996 campaign with a 15-tackle game in a win over Illinois and finished the regular season with 16 in a victory at Ohio State, capping the year with 100 total tackles (70 solo). He notched 440 tackles in his career, second all time to only the great Ron Simpkins (516, 1976-79). Victor Hobson, 2002: Hobson notched 74 solo stops among his 99 tackles, and recorded 13 tackles for loss (60 yards) and five sacks in his last year. The 2002 cap- tain finished his career with 277 total tackles, 41 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks. David Harris, 2006: Harris anchored the best Michigan defense of the 2000s and one of the best in the country that year with a 96-tackle season, 73 of them solo. He notched 14 tackles for loss and three sacks, eclipsing double digits four times in his last year, including 14 solo stops in a win over Ball State. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in his last season and has become one of the NFL's top linebackers. — Chris Balas has shown it has the tools to be even better than last year's. "It's not as much thinking," he said. "That's huge. You want to get in a rhythm; you want to feel comfort- able. We have Coach Mattison back, our defense back, a lot of the same guys, a lot of young guys. We're just ready to roll." ❑ Jarrett Irons recorded 100 tackles as a fifth-year senior in 1996, part of his career total of 440 stops, which ranks second all-time at Michigan. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN SEPTEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 29