Previewing The Michigan Defense: Can It Carry Them?
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Previewing The Michigan Defense: Can It Carry Them?

The UM defense is going to be very fun and very interesting to watch. DJ Durkin runs more of a 3-4 scheme, but with the current personnel and the injury to Bryan Mone, I would expect them to run a 4-3 hybrid with a sturdy mix of 3-4. It’s tough to know how the defensive line is going to look with all of the rotation and change of scheme that will happen on a play-to-play basis, but I’m guessing it will look something like this.

4-3 Alignment

  • SDE: Willie Henry, Taco Charlton
  • DT:Ryan Glasgow, Maurice Hurst Jr.
  • NT: Chris Wormley, Matt Godin
  • WDE: Mario Ojemudia, Royce Jenkins-Stone

3-4 Alignment

  • DE: Willie Henry, Chris Wormley
  • DT: Ryan Glasgow, Maurice Hurst Jr. 
  • DE: Taco Charlton, Matt Godin

In the 3-4, I would expect Mario Ojemudia to step in as the BUCK and be the rush LB on the weakside. I would also imagine that Wormley will spend some time playing DT and his versatility will help out with the rotation. I have high expectations for Taco Charlton who did a good job when he was able to get on the field last year. Willie Henry, Maurice Hurst and Ryan Glasgow will be the three men that see the most time in the middle and they’re going to have to utilize their strength to close the gaps. Henry showed good burst off the line last year and was able to get into the backfield on occasion with three sacks last year. Losing Bryan Mone hurts, but it definitely isn’t the end of the world. There is some depth on the line and changing schemes can help offset the loss.

Linebacker is going to be another strength for this team and I think they will rely heavily on the front seven to create pressure to help out the secondary. Durkin likes to use a lot of man coverage, so they’re going to have to attack the quarterback so the secondary doesn’t get picked apart. Having a starting trio of Joe Bolden, Desmond Morgan and James Ross is going to be huge. They’re all very experienced and it says a lot that Bolden was elected as one of the two captains. He’s been very steady since arriving on campus and aside from some blown coverage assignments, he had a pretty good season. Morgan and Bolden are both more of inside linebackers, which would fit perfectly in a 3-4 to let Ojemudia stand up and rush as the BUCK. I would expect Ben Gedeon and Royce Jenkins-Stone to be the two primary backups, and like Taco, I expect some big things out of Gedeon. He was very good last year when he was on the field and I really think that he should have played more. Mike McCray is another young guy to keep an eye on as a redshirt sophomore and I liked the flashes he showed last year.

The secondary has a ton of talent but is another wildcard. Getting Wayne Lyons as a transfer is a huge help and should offset losing Blake Countess, though I would expect Lyons to play more safety than corner as the year progresses. I would also expect Jourdan Lewis to retain his starting spot with Channing Stribling or Jeremy Clark playing on the other side to start. This would leave Jarrod Wilson at his spot at strong safety (theoretically). Now you’re probably asking, why haven’t I mentioned Jabrill Peppers? I fully expect Peppers to play multiple positions. He’ll likely be the starter at free safety and then will slide to the nickel when the situation calls for it. It also wouldn’t shock me to see him starting opposite Lewis on the outside. He’s going to play a lot and a lot of different positions. In terms of depth, you have multiple guys working both sides of the ball, so Freddy Canteen, Brandon Watson, Terry Richardson could all get reps at corner. If they decide not to redshirt Tyree Kinnel, you can throw him onto that list as well. As for safety, Delano Hill has been drawing major praise for his performance in camp, and may be one of the team’s best defensive players. Again, there are a lot of talented players here, and a lot of ways they could choose to go in terms of personnel and positioning.


 

Special Teams

It’s either Kenny Allen or Kyle Sechel at placekicker:

At punter, Blake O’Neil or Kenny Allen:

Now as for returners, special teams coach John Baxter said this:

I would expect Peppers to be your starting punt returner and kick returner, but he may not do it full-time. You don’t want to run him into the ground early on in the season. But as you can see, it’s really anybody’s guess at this point.

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