chase winovich well i mean chases you

A series covering Michigan's 2010s. Previously: QBs, RBs, and WRs, TEs, FBs, and OL, best blocks, the aughts.

Methodology: The staff decided these together and split the writeups. Considering individual years but a player can only be nominated once.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE: Maurice Hurst Jr. (2017)

The spread age means defensive material gets moved away from the box, simplifying the game by taking away most of the defense's opportunity to surprise. You can't bring pressure from everywhere if your OLBs and safeties have to split out with slot receivers. RPOs, quick passing games, receiver running backs, cross-motion, run-threat QBs, and read-based rushing offenses nerf the effectiveness of even the elite edge rushers until passing downs take those options away. But the one thing spread offenses have no answer for is a penetrating defensive tackle who won't get doubled and won't get out of his damn lane.

Into this math stepped Mo Hurst, and oh was that first step unholy quick.

The spread has no answer for that.

Hurst was the son of an NFL father who'd left only his name, from a fancy Massachusetts private school his mom had to Mom Out to pay for, and a first step looking to be attached to a football player.

Why Mike Martin? Two words: snap explosion.

Martin was a bit higher rated—consensus four star outside the top 100, IIRC—and an ever-growing slab of pulsating muscle from day one. Hurst isn't going to be quite as ripped, but he is a kid who can get off the ball in a flash, bury himself in the chest of the opponent, and then rip through the dude before he knows what's going on.

We were hype, with distant future caveats. The burst came in 2015, first as a passing down sub for Ryan Glasgow, then a cycler with the aforementioned and Willie Henry. Hurst made his mark on the season with quick flashes into the backfield, but got exposed for his youth when Glasgow was out and Kevin Wilson's fast-paced Indiana stretched him to death.

By 2016 the MGoBlog love for the wrecking ball responsible for Michigan's second line (Gary/Hurst/Mone/Winovich) matching the starters (Wormley/Godin/Glasgow/Taco) in production was expressed in UFR (+84.5/-20) then surpassed by Pro Football Focus—then at the fulness of their scouting, and it was on. We called him the defensive MVP (over Peppers). They put him on the All-American team. We wrote a profile in and put him rubbing his belly on the cover of HTTV, they put him on the top of the top players returning for 2017. We created a maurice hurst is so good he is kind of boring tag. They put him in Heisman territory:

Congratulations to the 2017 PFF All-American 1st Team Defense pic.twitter.com/77eGJzxz1p

— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) December 6, 2017

This site wasn't far off—Hurst's senior season tape is the best by a DT or any other position in the history of the exercise. His +152/-27.5 is the standing record for UFR. The 3-3-5 they routinely deployed, because there wasn't a second line of Mo Hursts anymore, nerfed his statistical impact. This site was saying this after Game 2:

He is Mo Hurst. The end.

How far you want to go with the superlatives after that is up to you. The best player of the 2010s? There's an argument. The best DT in Michigan history? Depends how much film you want to watch. But if you want to know what's different about Michigan's last two defensive efforts against Ohio State and the two that gave wobby offenses a chance to win in 2016 and 2017, he is Mo Hurst. The end.

--Seth

[After THE JUMP: MGoBlog and the mid-teens were good for one thing]

Things Discussed

• The defense nearly shutting out Penn State
• Michigan rubbing it in and running up the score
• The team's identity
• Dylan McCaffrey's injury update
• The atmosphere
• Chris Webber's return

[After THE JUMP: Harbaugh takes a phone call]

There wasn't very much schematically to take away Maryland game—just a few little things.

1. Michigan added a center pull to the Power/Down G/Iso package.
2. Maryland had a novel response to Down G, having their edge guy stalk block the puller so the running back wouldn't know which gap to go through until the cavalry arrived. Michigan responded to it rather quickly by having Onwenu run through this idiot DE/OLB trying to stand in his way.
3. Michigan's Big Big Boys were blowing the Terps DTs off the line.
4. Once the Illinois transfer was booted for targeting the Maryland LBs were a disaster.
5. Shea's ability to escape unblocked pass rushers ruined a few perfect blitzes Maryland spent much of the game setting up.
6. Tru Wilson provided all kinds of value in blocking, heady running, and tenacity.
7. The Wolverine linebackers, especially Devin Bush, matched the speed of Maryland's backfield, defeating the whole purpose of Canada's schemes
8. I think Don Brown planned an option blitz scheme with Khaleke Hudson that Hudson paid off.

More than any X or O on Jimmy's white board, this game was won by Michigan's Joes performing much better than their counterparts. But if we're going to highlight the play of one particular player we should do the one who changes the entire approach of every opponent's offense.

We are watching a player having one of the greatest seasons in Michigan football history at a position where the competition includes guys like LaMarr Woodley and Bennie Oosterbaan. But because our guy plays with so many other good and great players in an excellent system, and because with Gary out this opponent could gameplan to keep Chase's UFR amplitude low, it would be too easy to let this week pass without giving Winovich his due.

So this Neck Sharpies there's no amazing new strategy. Let's just go through the tape and appreciate what's happening because Chase Winovich is on the field.

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Play 1: Maryland opens with an extra (ineligible) offensive tackle to Winovich's side and rolls the other way. Winovich splits both OTs and pressures.

Gfycat randomly named this one UltimateWindyAsiaticgreaterfreshwaterclam and that's not the 10th best label they applied so I'm going to share these as we go.

[After THE JUMP: An entire day of this]