The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BY JOHN BORTON M ichigan's defensive line situation looks akin to los- ing Dustin Johnson as your partner in a Thursday night golf league and having Jordan Spieth come along and request to partner up. Yes, the recent NFL Combine was peppered with Wolverine standouts from the stingiest defense in college football in 2016. Taco Charlton, Chris Wormley, Ryan Glasgow and Matt Go- din proved a consistent force for Don Brown's front wall, making it tough on the best of opponents. Brown's cupboard isn't even close to empty, though. He'll field an experi- enced defensive line, thanks to a deep rotation up front last year. Those trot- ting out onto the field could start for a number of teams in the Big Ten. "Obviously, Mo Hurst will be back," noted Jon Jansen, former Michigan All- American and a member of Michigan's radio broadcast team. "Bryan Mone, if he can step up and finally have a healthy year … he may have been the best guy up front. He just wasn't able to play that much. "Everybody is going to be watching Rashan Gary and how he develops, what he can do now that he's got some experience and another year of weight training. He's going to be a very spe- cial player, and I'm excited to see him develop." There is plenty of anticipation re- garding development, given the talent level among the defensive linemen. Creating depth might be job one for Brown and defensive line coach Greg Mattison, and even there the Wolver- ines fared extremely well in the pro- curement department the past couple of years. Many thought Hurst, who will be a fifth-year senior in 2017, might fol- low the mass exodus of defensive tal- ent out the door following the Orange Bowl, opting for a shot at the NFL. Instead, he announced his return to Michigan, putting a major building block in place for a reconstructed line. Hurst proved adept at putting the heat on quarterbacks all season long. Of his 34 tackles, 11.5 of them were behind the line of scrimmage, and he recorded 4.5 sacks. Throw in one pass broken up, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble, and it becomes evident that the veteran Wolverine should be a disruptive force up front. Putting the 6-2, 282-pound Hurst next to 6-4, 310-pound nose tackle Mone, the Wolverines might feature the toughest tackle combination in the Big Ten, and one of the best in the na- tion. But as Jansen noted, Mone has to be ready to operate without mechani- cal breakdowns. He broke a bone in his leg two seasons ago, missing the entire year. Last season, he got hurt in the opener against Hawai'i and missed the re- mainder of the non-conference season. Mone wound up notching 12 tackles on the season, including one for loss, with a fumble recovery and a pass bro- ken up. Mone's health and effectiveness are crucial for Michigan to be all it wants to be on the defensive line. The Wol- verines have defensive ends ready to roll, flanking the middle with both tal- ent and experience. Gary, a 6-5, 287-pound sophomore with incredible mobility for his size, stood in the Orange Bowl locker room and soaked up the disappointment of the moment. He talked about the let- down of not sending Michigan's se- niors — his mentors and self-described "big brothers" when it came to Worm- ley and Charlton — out with a victory. Gary felt his own disappointment, like every Wolverine, because of drop- ping three of the final four games. Michigan was that close to winning all three but didn't, and Gary acknowl- edged that the 2017 Wolverines would be peppered with questions about all the talent headed out the door. He and the other returning players will start addressing those issues, with- out a word, on the March 24 start to spring football. Gary will certainly play a role in Michigan trying to match an effort that produced 46 sacks a year ago, fourth-best in the nation. The No. 1 2017 SPRING FOOTBALL PREVIEW ONWARD Michigan's Defensive Line Lost Plenty, But Retains Some Standouts Rashan Gary played in every game during his true freshman campaign and totaled 27 tackles with five coming behind the line of scrimmage. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN 34 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2017