The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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football," Smith said. "Every senior should play their best football, and it's imperative for a guy who has played that much that he does play well and leads by example. "Some of the things we put in last "It's time for him to play his best year we had to talk about the first time through it, but now you don't have to hit it as hard. You never want to skip the basics or the fundamen- tals of what it takes to play a call or a position, but it's much easier the second year around. The third and fourth years will be even better. I think you'll see a system develop." Demens and the other seniors, in- cluding fellow linebacker Brandin Hawthorne, won't be around to see it. What they do this year, however, sets the bar for the future classes, a point Smith and Mattison both emphasized to him in the offseason. The early returns have been en- Demens (No. 25) won the Roger Zatkoff Award as Michigan's best linebacker in 2011, after notching 94 tackles, including five stops for loss and three sacks. ally probably wouldn't understand what the strength of the defense was, or the weakness of the defense, and what you're trying to accomplish," Hoke said. Demens and his teammates made huge strides in that respect during spring ball, he added. "From a conceptual standpoint, they better understand the concepts of why you call certain things," Hoke said. tain things beyond just knowing what they're supposed to be doing is key, linebackers coach Mark Smith said during Michigan's annual me- dia day. It's not just about knowing their own assignments, but the jobs of the guys behind and in front of them and why they're asked to fill a responsibility. What they're doing in practice Knowing why they're doing cer- SECOND NATURE isn't much different than what they were asked to do last fall and dur- ing spring ball, Demens said. Now, 28 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2012 couraging. Smith noted the zone cov- erage by all of his linebackers was "100 percent better that last year, but only 50 percent of what it needs to be." Hoke, meanwhile, added De- mens' play had been a bright spot in the early going. "Kenny is a guy who is more com- PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL though, it's like second nature. "I know what to expect," he said. "We came out with the right mindset and we weren't just guessing. It's the same if you have any scheme for the first year and you're kind of hesitant, doing too much thinking about it. The next year when you come back you're not thinking as much. You're reacting faster, and you know what to expect." Demens has always had the in- stincts — what's been lacking is con- sistency. He wasn't playing the best football of the season at the end of the year in 2011, a sore spot with a coaching staff that had higher expec- tations. Smith spent the early part of fall two-a-days experimenting with a number of different combinations, moving freshmen and others be- tween the middle and outside line- backer positions. Though Demens seems likely to keep his spot, he'll have to earn it against some tough competition, veterans and young- sters alike. mitted, probably understands more about the team and accountability," Hoke said after four practices. "I think he's done a nice job with that. He's playing a little more consistently than he did. "Some guys after a year kind of get it and mature, some guys it takes three years, some guys four years. When you may be playing the last games of football you ever play, it always affects a senior." tance, though, the coaches stress it's more about him than his position. Yes, they need their middle linebacker to make plays and take charge, be more authoritative with his calls and make tackles — to play sideline to sideline, get off blocks and become a better blitzer. What they really expect, how- ever, is that he provide the leadership expected of a kid who has been in the program for so many years. Last year's group of seniors — in- When it comes to Demens' impor- LEADERSHIP IS KEY cluding defensive linemen Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen and Will Heininger, and tight end Kevin Ko- ger, among others — set the bar, De-