The Wolverine

the coaches like to move him around, to defensive end. But Ryan thrives under the pres- sure. "Just the atmosphere you're in, I feel like I can't get tired, I can't wear down, I have to keep going until ev- erything is out of me," he said. His tireless motor got him on the field as a redshirt freshman last year, when head coach Brady Hoke described his playing style as "un- orthodox." He may not have always known exactly where he was sup- posed to be or what keys he was sup- posed to read, but Ryan simply made plays. there was definitely a little bit of con- fusion sometimes," he said. "But just going off my instincts, I could find the ball quickly. "It was my first year playing, and Sophomore weakside linebacker Desmond Morgan ranked fourth on the Wolverines with 22 tackles through the non-conference portion of U-M's schedule. in and tallied 10 tackles. Through four games, he had 12 total tackles, including a tackle for loss and a sack. "The depth has been awesome," Smith said. "It's a marathon and par- ticularly, when you're playing line- backer the way you're supposed to play linebacker, you're going to get beat up a little bit." Ryan added about the freshmen. "Be- ing freshmen, it's huge they're on the field, and they have been a big help." The coaches got to see Bolden, who "They know what they're doing," enrolled in school last winter, in ac- tion through spring practice, and they have continued to be impressed with his work ethic and general un- derstanding of defensive football. Smith praised Bolden as a "student of the game" — and he means that literally. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Every week, Smith gives the line- backing corps a written test, which consists of scheme packages, oppo- nents' offensive keys and plays, and proper technique. He says all the linebackers usually do well on the tests, but Bolden, the rookie, has consistently turned in the best test, week in and week out. "I'm always impressed, just with how he describes everything," Smith said. "The detail he puts into it is out- standing. The other guys know what they're doing and will give correct an- swers, but he is so meticulous about it. I want all the guys to be that way." 38 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2012 "The young guys haven't been per- fect, but Joe Bolden and James Ross have given us a spark and made some plays," defensive coordinator Greg Mattison added. "Now there were some things they didn't do perfectly, but that's young guys. But they keep getting better and better. And yes they're definitely in the mix." Morgan, who ranked fourth on the team with 22 tackles and led the Wolverines with two tackles for loss through four games, has also had the benefit of a rookie backup. Ross, who did not enroll early like Bolden, turned heads in fall camp, enough to earn playing time. He had tallied seven tackles, including 1.5 for loss. "James, in my opinion, is a very instinctive football player," Smith said. "He has some natural farmer strength to him. It seems like when he hits something, he's got some pretty good meat behind him. That's not always the case. Sometimes, it takes a couple years. But James has some natural pop." JAKE RYAN SETTLING IN One player who hasn't had the luxury of a platoon system is Ryan, who like last year has been asked to shoulder a big load at strongside out- side linebacker. Redshirt junior Cam Gordon has spelled Ryan at times, but Ryan was the lone player to log time at the spot against Notre Dame — and when he's not playing there, "By the end of last year, by the end of the season, I started to grow into the position. Then coming into this year, I felt that I had gotten a lot bet- ter at it. I can tell what's going to happen right before the snap and know what I need to do." Through four games, Ryan ranked third on the team in tackles (25), be- hind only Kovacs (30) and redshirt junior safety Thomas Gordon (28). The coaching staff has lauded Ryan for his increased understanding of the defense this season. And a big part of that progression happened far away from the lights of The Big House. In 2011, Smith was responsible for coaching all three linebacker positions. Weakside linebacker and middle linebacker have similar re- sponsibilities. But Ryan's strongside position is very different, from where he lines up on the field to what keys he reads to how he is supposed to react. ordinator Greg Mattison made the decision to split the responsibilities. Ryan and the other strongside line- backers now work exclusively with Mattison — and the dividends have been obvious. "As a Sam [strongside linebacker], This year, Smith and defensive co- you're playing up on the line of scrimmage a lot. You're not really a linebacker, off the line," Smith said. "It's much more up on the line of scrimmage, or you're walked out wide. It's harder for one coach to coach two different concepts like

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