Fox Sports Bruce Feldman: Michigan has the #1 DL in the country
1. Michigan: Former Wolverines head coach Brady Hoke, an old D-line guy, did not leave the cupboard bare. This is a young group that blossomed last year and should be special in 2016. New DC Don Brown comes from Boston College and inherits a huge, talented group up front. And that could be a scary mix. "What he does from a schematic standpoint because he's so outside the box with the way that he packages his pressures where they're bringing five, six every snap trying to get ready for all that stuff in one week's time is a bitch," one veteran offensive line coach said. "The scheme will definitely help their production."
Seven of the Wolverines' eight in their two-deep across the front could also weigh 280-plus with only back-up sophomore DE Chase Winovich being under that size. The headliner of the group at this point is a versatile -- and agile -- 6-5, 303-pound Chris Wormley, who had a breakout season in 2015, notching 14.5 TFLs. Maurice Hurst and 6-6 Taco Charlton are a pair of 285-pounders who combined for 15 TFLs in 2015. The most underrated of the group is 300-pound senior Ryan Glasgow, their anchorman who was a force in 2015 before going down with a shoulder injury the last month of the season. How valuable was Glasgow? The Wolverines allowed 2.42 yards per carry before he was hurt and 5.22 after he went down. "He's pretty salty," one Big Ten offensive line coach said. Glasgow, along with 315-pound sophomore Bryan Mone, who missed last season with a broken leg, will make it difficult to run against Michigan. The other name to remember is Rashan Gary, the 6-5, 295-pound uber recruit from New Jersey who several college coaches say is the best big D-lineman to come into college in a few years. Gary's size, agility and versatility should be a great fit for Michigan.
What magazine/site do you write for? I like your style.
you're going to see a lot of the subs play early on both sides of the ball because UM is going to have some pretty big leads. In the first 7 games outside of PSU and Wisky I don't see too many games where the contest might still be in doubt heading into the 4th quarter. The coaches might play the starters and rotation players a good bit to get them in 60 minute game shape, but there will still be games where a lot of players see the field.
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about how we shouldn't be optimistic about anything until we beat MSU and OSU this year.
I'm optimistic, but I don't care if we have the #1 DL in the country for 10 years running. If we don't beat either of those teams, what the hell does it matter?
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Until we beat MSU & OSU this year, we shouldn't be optimistic.
So, donn't be optimistic about things until after the fact? Sounds like a recipe for a very boring life.
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This defense is going to be fun to watch and has the star power to make it fill like '97 all over again. A LOT of 247 * * * * and * * * * * with A LOT of experience. We have not had that combination in quite a while. Stay healthy and watch the victories roll in.
Worm 4*, Gary 5*, Kemp 4*(when Gary moves inside)
Taco 4*, L. Marshall 4*, Winovich 4*
Glasgow (2**), Mone 4*
Hurst 4*, Godin 3*
Gedeon 4*, McCray 4*, Bush 4*
Peppers 5*, Furbush 3*, Wangler 3*
Lewis 4*, Watson 3*, Long 4*
Clark 3*, Stribling 3*, Lavert 4*
Delano 4*, Kinnel 4*
Dymonte 4*
This is one of what will be a long line of interesting articles that touch on Michigan in some form or another, because it appears that we actually have a good team. This brings me back to the good old days of the 90s and early 00s when I could count on something interesting to read about Michigan in a lot of pre-season stuff. It's fun. It doesn't mean anything. It does whet the appetite.
What will be noticeable about all this pre-season publicity is that is all focuses on our defense. Because our defense was great last season and should be great this season. There isn't yet a lot to be said about our offense, because our QB position is a questionmark and the rest of the roster, while good, doesn't blow anyone away.
But who knows, it might emerge as a surprising force anyway. Wouldn't be the first time.
The #1 ingredient of all National Champions: A dominant D Line.
Giggity.
Anyone else break out into an uncotrollable smile when reading this?
Sherlock Holmes is on the case!
...of the 2010 joke of a game against Illinois on the B1G Network. That's when our back seven were slow, undersized, and generally clueless (poorly coached). Our DL was respectable that year, but the rest were always two steps slow and out of position. Watching Shoelace improvise all game long was entertaining (in a scary kind of way), to be sure; and we had a really good receiving corps that year (Roundtree, Hemingway, Stonum, and Gallon). But I hope I never see a Michigan defense like that again in my lifetime!
Watching the defense was WAY more interesting than watching the offense. They were so attacking and aggressive, it was almost like they were the offense and the vanilla offense was more reactionary like a typical defense would be.
(and it wasn't like in 2008 where watching the defense was more fun because the offense was dog shit)
I think this team has chance to do that consistently this year. They showed flashes last year. They even had a game under Hoke @ Illinois where Mattison cried after the game because he was so proud of the defense (Jake Ryan and Kovacs were fucking INSANE that game). But to have it consistently over the course of the year where if your blatter is going to explode you'd rather take off a couple plays on offense than miss a single moment of the D. I think it's going to be THAT good.
I have no problem with the comparisons to '97, it's on the guys to back up that hype. The talent, experience, coaching and the roster is there...no Woodson, but Peppers and Lewis can most certainly be unreal playmakers for the defense this year.
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Agreed.
There's also something to be said about "peaking" at the right moment.
Don't forget the momentum couldn't have been going in more opposite directions.
Our D was chugging with the 3 shutouts, right in the very middle of the season, we were ranked what like #12 heading into MSU? We were in the national conversation as a legitimate dark-horse Playoff team, there was talk of a post-MSU win of being arguably in the #6-8 spot. Oue Defensive numbers were other-worldly. Then, well, we needn't go into what happened, then after that we had a few injuries, the next few games our defense looked mortal, some teams we comparatively should have stomped took us till the clock ran out, our defense even got exposed some, even taking us to the woodshed a little bit (couldn't stop Indiana--at least not like we were brick-walling other teams), and the exasperation of the earlier MSU loss, it all tooks it's toll and the hangover began. It was clear we had peaked pretty early, and alot of that unsustainable-yet-sustained crazy-town energy, from both the players and the fans in the middle of the season had clearly subsided.
Meanwhile OSU was coming off their season-long embarassing, lackluster, QB-less, leader-less, mediocre defending-champs run with their 2nd-to-last game culminating in that ugly, ugly loss in the rain-ruined game against State. Their own little player-coach spat/mutiny. Their repeat hopes (the clear favorite) were crushed, let alone their repeat Perfect 2nd season champ-run now impossible. They were pissed. Then the beast was awakened.
Less like pro-sports, narrative and momentum are huge in college football.
Besides our injuries, and Durkin's future, there was only a small amount of people talking about the inertial differences coming into the game.
And, in my opinion, it did end up being a strong factor.
So glad to see the depth! The lack of it really showed in the Ohio State game.