The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/917835
40 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2018 M ichigan fifth-year senior defen- sive tackle Maurice Hurst had a monster season, and he is being re- warded accordingly. He is the most decorated of the 20 Wolverines who received postseason honors, earning consensus All-America honors after notching a career-best 59 tackles this year, one of three Michigan defensive linemen with 50 o r more stops. He registered single-season career highs of five sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss, bringing him to 33.5 career tackles for loss in his career, which is 20th best all time at Michigan. Hurst graded out as the top-ranked player on either side of the ball in the entire country for the season by Pro Football Focus (PFF), which was among the several outlets to list him to its first-team All-America squad. His 45 quarterback pressures were the most among all Football Bowl Subdivi- sion (FBS) defensive tackles, according to PFF. "If any of our guys had Heisman votes, he would certainly be No. 2 behind [Oklahoma quarterback and winner] Baker Mayfield," analyst Josh Liskiewitz said. The Big Ten, however, snubbed him in favor of Ohio State sophomore de- fensive end Nick Bosa for the league's Defensive Lineman of the Year honor. "To be honest, you can make a very strong statistical argument that even [Michigan redshirt junior defensive end] Chase Winovich has been every bit [as good], if not better, than Bosa. Obviously, the Ohio State name and his name in general helps Bosa — and not to take away from him as a player — but Hurst has, by far, been the most dominant player," Liskiewitz said. Hurst was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches, media and Associated Press (AP). He'll play in the Reese's Senior Bowl in Jan- uary, but hasn't determined whether or not he'll play in the Outback Bowl. Sophomore linebacker Devin Bush Jr. was the only other Wolverine to earn All-America honors, garnering second-team recognition from the Wal- ter Camp Football Foundation and third-team status from the AP. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches, earning second-team laurels from the media and the AP, and was a finalist for the Dick Butkus Award (given to the nation's top linebacker). Bush finished the season as the team leader in tackles (94) in 2017, notching 36 solo stops, and added a career-best five sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss along with one interception and a team-best eight passes broken up. Winovich and sophomore defen- sive end Rashan Gary were the only other two Wolverines to earn first- team all-conference distinctions from the coaches and/or the Big Ten media. Gary earned first-team honors from the coaches and second from the me- dia, while Winovich was named first team by the media and second team by the coaches. Winovich notched a career-best 74 tackles, while his 17.0 tackles for loss led Michigan and the Big Ten, and is tied for 11th in a single season in pro- gram history. His eight sacks are also tied for tops in the league. He was also named to PFF's first-team all-confer- ence squad and the AP's second-team unit. Gary notched a career-best 62 tack- les, 11 tackles for loss and five sacks en route to second-team All-Big Ten honors from the AP. Other Michigan honors at line- backer: • Khaleke Hudson: The sophomore viper linebacker was named second- team All-Big Ten by the AP, third team by the coaches and an honorable men- tion by the media, but PFF bestowed him first-team distinctions after fin- ishing tied for second in the Big Ten to Winovich with 16.5 tackles for loss among his 72 total stops. • Mike McCray: The fifth-year se- nior captain earned honorable mention All-Big Ten from both the coaches and media after notching 75 tackles, one shy of his career-high mark from 2016, and 13 tackles for loss, which ranked seventh in the Big Ten. That and his five sacks are career bests. Michigan's secondary helped the unit become the nation's top-ranked pass defense, allowing only 142.7 yards per game through the air. The four starters all earned honors in com- bining for 12 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks while intercepting six passes and returning one for a touchdown, with 23 additional passes broken up. • Lavert Hill: The sophomore cor- nerback earned PFF first-team All-Big Ten honors, was named to the coaches' and AP second team, and was a media honorable mention. • David Long: The sophomore cor- nerback earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from the media. • Tyree Kinnel: The junior safety earned honorable mention honors from both the coaches and the media. • Josh Metellus: The sophomore MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Several Wolverines Earn Postseason Honors Sophomore defensive end Rashan Gary was named second-team All-Big Ten by the media and Associated Press. His 11 tackles for loss included five sacks. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN 2017 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time (ET)/TV Sept. 2 vs. Florida* W, 33-17 Sept. 9 Cincinnati W, 36-14 Sept. 16 Air Force W, 29-13 Sep. 23 at Purdue W, 28-10 Oct. 7 Michigan State L, 14-10 Oct. 14 at Indiana W, 27-20 (OT) Oct. 21 at Penn State L, 42-13 Oct. 28 Rutgers W, 35-14 Nov. 4 Minnesota W, 33-10 Nov. 11 at Maryland W, 35-10 Nov. 18 at Wisconsin L, 24-10 Nov. 25 Ohio State L, 31-20 Outback Bowl Jan. 2 vs. South Carolina# Noon/FOX * at Arlington, Texas; #Tampa, Fla.