The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/888498
NOVEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 23 to telling the whole story about his productivity. Hurst is ESPN.com draft expert Todd McShay's top-ranked defensive tackle and No. 10 overall player in the 2018 draft class with a 91 grade. He's also the second-ranked senior prospect on McShay's big board. "Hurst is a quick and powerful one-gap penetrator who is highly disruptive against the run," McShay wrote. "He has a powerful upper body and disengages quickly." 2. CB Lavert Hill The sophomore cornerback got beat deep twice in the opener with Florida, and he's been on fire since. Opposing quar- terbacks have a quarter- back rating of just 18.6 against him, per PFF, and he's had two intercep- tions, including a pick-six in a Sept. 9 win over Cincinnati. He also notched a fourth-quarter, highlight-reel pick in the 27-20 win over Indiana, high pointing the ball down the sideline. "I knew he was running a vertical route, because of the way he lined up. I just played the technique my coaches taught me. I just went and caught the ball," he said. He's helped the Wolverines rank third nationally in pass defense, al- lowing an average of just 138 yards against. 3. DE Chase Winovich The redshirt junior has been one of the pleasant surprises of the 2017 team. Most thought he'd play well, but few would have guessed he'd lead the team in sacks (5.5) and tack- les for loss (8) through six games. Both numbers rank among the top five in the Big Ten, including tied for first in quarterback takedowns. It also seems like he's hurried the quarterback more than the four times he is credited with on Michigan's official statistics. 4. LB Devin Bush Jr. The sophomore has brought an element of speed to the defense and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He led the team in tack- les through six games (50) as well as passes broken up (6), proving he's a multi-talented athlete. He's also gotten home 4.5 times on the blitz for sacks. "He's a quality blitzer," defensive coordinator Don Brown said of his linebacker. "Some guys are fast but don't play fast. This guy is fast and plays fast. He's very cerebral. "We found out in the spring that he can handle a lot of concepts. He's coupled with [fifth-year senior] Mike McCray next to him, and Mike's got a ton of experience now. Anything that comes up they can work their way through." 5. DE Rashan Gary Gary's numbers have been solid — five tackles for loss, two sacks, a team-high five quarterback hur- ries, plus a forced fumble — but they don't do justice to the contributions he's made. The sophomore end has been asked to handle many duties in this defense, and he's done them all very well. "He's being very unselfish and team-oriented," position coach Greg Mattison said. "He knows when he's supposed to play the run first. When you're playing the run, there are a lot of times where you have to react as you step as a D-lineman and that's what he's doing. "We could get all our guys to come sprinting off the football, but I don't think you'd be happy with the out- come of that. "I'm very proud of Rashan because he continues to try to work on his technique and do what the defense asks him to do. Great things are go- ing to happen because of that." TOP TRUE FRESHMAN Receiver Tarik Black was on his way to Rookie of the Year honors in a landslide before breaking his foot against Air Force. Fellow frosh receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones is now the guy, hav- ing emerged as a solid receiving and punt-return threat. He caught seven passes for 94 yards through six games, and it would have been more had his quarterbacks been more ac- curate. He also returned a punt 79 yards for a score in a win over Air Force and had rushed twice for 50 yards.