The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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40 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2018 2018 SPRING FOOTBALL PREVIEW. DEFENSIVE LINE BY THE NUMBERS 1st Michigan's national ranking in third-down conversion de- fense, with opponents moving the chains a meager 26.1 per- cent of the time. 1.4 Tackles for loss per game av- eraged a year ago by fifth-year senior Chase Winovich, good for a tie for No. 13 nationally. 7th U-M's national ranking in av- erage sacks per game in 2017. The Wolverines had a clip of 3.23 per outing, just .15 fewer than national leader Miami. 120.9 Average rushing yards per game allowed by the Wolver- ines in 2017, good for No. 18 nationally. WHO'S GONE MAURICE HURST The consensus All-American and team MVP proved one of the most disruptive forces in college football in 2017, his 61 tackles including five sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss. WHO'S BACK JUNIOR DEFENSIVE END RASHAN GARY The former No. 1 recruit earned All-Big Ten first-team honors by the league's coaches and captured Michi- gan's Richard Katcher Award as the top defensive line- man. With 66 tackles, six sacks and a dozen tackles for loss in 2017, he's on to bigger and better things. FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR DEFENSIVE END CHASE WINOVICH Winovich captured All-Big Ten first-team notice from the media, along with Michigan's Blue Collar award in 2017. He led the team in sacks (eight) and was second in TFLs (18), and made the decision to go one more year in a winged helmet. FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR DEFENSIVE TACKLE BRYAN MONE The three-time letterwinner will once again be counted on where the traffic gets heavy, after he per- formed in all 13 games a year ago — his first fully healthy season since he was a true freshman in 2014. SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE TACKLE AUBREY SOLOMON The former five-star prospect jumped right into ac- tion as a true freshman, playing in all 13 Michigan games and drawing four starts. TOP NEWCOMERS REDSHIRT FRESHMAN LUIJI VILAIN Vilain became the talk of the freshman class ap- proaching the 2017 season, but an injury never let the outside rusher show his skills. He'll have a chance to rectify that situation. REDSHIRT FRESHMAN DONOVAN JETER Another highly touted rookie sidelined by injury before the 2017 season began, Jeter has a year at Michigan un- der his belt and should be ready to contribute. FRESHMAN AIDAN HUTCHINSON The son of former Michigan All-American Chris Hutchin- son went from three-star status as a junior to a four-star prospect ranked as the No. 129 player and No. 8 strong- side defensive end nationally in his final season. "The two guys you're going to talk most about are Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich. Those guys are game-changers. Rashan Gary — and you saw it a couple of times during the season — when he wants to be the baddest dude on the field, he is. Now he's going to decide whether he's going to be the baddest dude on the field on every play. When that happens, he'll be unstoppable." — U-M All-American Jon Jansen QUOTABLE POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH Maurice Hurst is gone, but it's not like there's no one to stand in for the departed All-Ameri- can. The only question is how the Wolverines will deploy in the middle of the defensive line. Aubrey Solomon will certainly have a role, and so will Bryan Mone. Someone like redshirt sophomore tackle Michael Dwumfour could challenge for snaps, after getting into nine games as a reserve a year ago. Another name to watch is that of fifth-year senior Lawrence Marshall, who could break through for bigger and better accomplishments in his final year in a winged helmet. BY JOHN BORTON T his spot is loaded, period. Yes, losing Maurice Hurst hurts, but Michigan has waves of talent returning. The Wolverines should be able to feature a rotation as deep as it did up front two seasons ago, a prospect which makes defensive line coach Greg Mattison smile. Plus, it has star power off the edges. Junior defensive end Rashan Gary has All- America potential, after becoming a first-team All-Big Ten performer last year. Chase Winovich made the decision to return for a fifth year, after he finished second in the league for sacks (0.62 per game) and tackles for loss (1.38 per game). There are younger players developing and some who didn't get a chance to show what they could do a year ago because of injury setbacks. It all sets up for a torrent of defensive pressure to be unleashed by defensive coordinator Don Brown. RASHAN GARY PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN