luigi vilain
A lot of this built off a Don Brown presser late last week. That presser has already become infamous for Brown saying the end of last season was the greatest disappointment he's ever felt (i.e. just like everyone else with a 4-8 zipcode), and critically underrated for Brown's "hoppy toads" metaphor.
Other unit-wide themes: Brown more or less admitted he went into the Ohio State game thinking his guys could just go talent-for-talent with the Buckeyes and that was stupid (score one for #SethTakes). Also the Florida game plan unraveled when the backups they'd coached up went out and they had to go vanilla with the backups to the backups (woo I'm on a roll). He did not say Northwestern basketball imploded despite all but one MGoBloggers' preseason prediction that Vic Law and Dererk Pardon were a tournament team [UPDATE: okay, everybody thought they'd be bad; I just thought it harder] but while we're here let's just credit me for that one too.
Fortunately my bracket turned into hoppy toad droppings over the weekend, so if I tell you a lot of what follows sounds like Michigan's defense is going to be less than elite for the first time since Greg Mattison was the coordinator, well, I'm not always right.
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Defensive Tackles
Same guy, different gap. [Patrick Barron]
What we want to hear: The Jeter hype isn't just about winter conditioning—I dunno, he uses his hands well or something—and they're so comfortable with him that he's already locking down a starting spot.
What we're hearing: Donovan Jeter is indeed this spring's official hype magnet.
Want me to go front to back? Start with this Donovan Jeter. Think we got ourselves a real inside guy.
"Donovan Jeter would be the first name that I would throw out there that is someone that has made a huge jump from last year to where he’s at right now," Harbaugh said of Jeter, who sustained a knee injury earlier in his career. "Tremendous winter program and strength. He’s really figuring it out. Playing explosive."
Lorenz did a segment (starts at 6:05) on Allen Trieu's podcast, observed that Harbaugh likes to name 110 guys so pay attention to the first one, and reiterated that they're all mentioning Donovan Jeter.
As for anointing Jeter the starter, well, somehow everybody missed the fact that Carlo Kemp is now at the position we all assumed Jeter was playing (it's best if you just watch this part):
Harbaugh said on his latest podcast that Jeter is first string at three-tech. Continuing on Brown's front-to-back trip through the roster:
Young Mazi Smith is a talent. Obviously he's been here for like two days so he's not ready to go, but he's a great kid, and a hard worker, and will do a great job for us.
We also got some clarity on Ben Mason's DL position, after Brown was surprised the press knew about it. It sounds like 3-tech/5-tech tweener:
He's an animal. Really excited the coaches will let us have him, to some degree. I would say it would be against my better judgement if this guy could play on the defensive line inside. Freak of nature. He comes off the ball exceptionally well. We can play him at tight end side/defensive end, we call it the anchor. Can’t play the open side, but he can play the three and there is a lot less learning there. It's 'on your mark, get set and [clap] and they got to block you. We will see. He likes it. He’s a tough guy and he can run.
Harbaugh also said anchor/three-tech via the Attack Each Day podcast (transcribed by Isaiah Hole):
McKeon said on Friday that he hadn’t yet gone up against him, but that he came across, when on the defensive line, as a more muscular Chase Winovich. Now, Winovich currently has two pounds on Mason, and played out at end. But Mason, according to Harbaugh, has been playing on the interior defensive line. And — you could say — it’s going well.
“Havoc – he’s causing havoc!” Harbaugh said. “He’s causing havoc at the 3-technique. He’s playing running back, and playing tight end and he’s causing havoc on the D-line.”
As for depth, well, this bit is from Harbaugh last week, and it's hard not to read it like a big "Help Wanted" sign at a certain position:
What led to you guys getting Mike Danna, and are you looking for more grad transfers?
“Um…yeah, we would—we would be…if they’re like Mike Danna, sure, yeah. At that position or others, we would potentially have room for grad transfers.
What it means: I'll reiterate what I said last time and said again on the podcast: spring is for hyping up the position that you're most concerned about. Last year it was Dwumfour, who turned out to be virtually unplayable against the run, though his first step is as advertised. Right now the only available tackle besides Kemp is Jeter, so we get Jeter, and not even at the position Jeter played a little last year. It doesn't mean ignore it, but account for bias—here's what information they can scrounge up and frame in such a way that you'll think everything's going to be okay—and adjust accordingly.
This starts to come off as a knock on Carlo Kemp, and at 290 he's only a little small to be playing nose the Glasgow/Martin/Renes way. The thing is those guys could generate pressure AND stand up to doubles. Mone could do the latter, and that was fine, and if you don't believe a low-built smaller guy can use leverage to win the battle in the A gaps, watch any Michigan football (minus the Will Carr/Jason Horn years) from the 20th century. The question on Kemp is can he generate pressure from nose, because he couldn't at three-tech. Michigan's ability/inability to generate pressure up the middle was the difference between shutting down the JT Barrett offenses and getting eviscerated by a guy who's perfect for the Giants.
Ben Mason immediately making the most noise of any three-tech is mostly about Ben Mason and the fact that Dwumfour's out. Not that we needed much confirmation but Jeter at the position Mason is challenging says the coaches think Kemp is the best thing they have inside, and you can adjust your Jeter thoughts from there. It's still possible they can string together a functional unit with Kemp and Dwumfour backed up by Jeter, Mason, and Don Brown stuff. It's also like losing Aubrey Solomon AND the very good coach who wasn't playing him was the worst possible outcome.
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[After THE JUMP: another position-switch nobody noticed]
On to the defense! Offense bits was last week and mentioned Chris Evans is an extremely good dude who did an extremely dumb thing. Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News caught up with Evans and got quite a bit more clarity on his status.
Not an insider article: I’ll reiterate my disclaimer about this feature: Football bits is about trying to gather what’s out there (mostly public information), triangulating from other information and heuristics, then guessing what it might mean. I get emails from insiders sometimes and will share what's believable, but if you want stuff from people who actually put some work into getting their own information, try Steve Lorenz and Sam Webb of 247/TheMichiganInsider (they’re having a three months-for-the-price-of-one special right now). Try Balas/Borton/Brown of TheWolverine (I missed an encouraging note about Onwenu($) from them last week). Try Isaiah Hole of WolverineWire/USAToday—he’s free. I have way too much respect for those guys to have my name erroneously included among them.
Defensive Tackle
Save us Jeter [Eric Upchurch]
What we want to hear: Mo Hurst but bigger, Donovan Jeter is the next big big thing, Mazi Smith impressing immediately, and a nice thing or two about Carlo Kemp.
What we’re hearing: Dwumfour had a foot injury he aggravated in the bowl game so he’s still out. :/ Jeter came out for a nice sentence when Harbaugh confused a reporter with which Donovan was injured (it’s DPJ). Carlo Kemp is getting the first mention at DT and Harbaugh went right from there to DEs and a fullback:
Donovan Jeter has really come on, has really stepped up and had a great winter. Looked really good in our first practice. Lot of excitement about him.
“Carlo Kemp has really turned himself into a strong, strong player. Inside player all the way now. Playing a 3-technique to 2, and it’s interesting: he came as a tweener between a linebacker and a defensive end. More of a linebacker— you know, body type. And he’s gone from that linebacker—really, we thought inside linebacker. We thought maybe traditional inside linebacker, then thought of him as an outside linebacker, then he moved to end, and now he is a strong—one of our strongest guys on the team.
“Excited about that position as well. There’s some real good players right there. Kwity Paye has continued to get better and better and he’s just doing a heck of a job. Aidan Hutchinson is outstanding, Carlo Kemp is outstanding, Ben Mason is gonna add in there, Donovan Jeter’s really doing a good job, so there’s…
It’s unclear from that sentence if they’re working Ben Mason at anchor or tackle. Chase Winovich was in town for his Pro Day and didn’t know, but told WolverineWire’s Isaiah Hole that Kwity’s a “dawg,” Hutchinson is going to be the “next G.O.A.T.” and Kemp/Dwumfour didn’t really know where they were last year:
“And then, inside – you’ve got Carlo Kemp (and) Michael Dwumfour. The list goes on. Those guys are gonna take on a big leap this next year. I just think Carlo was pretty confused – he was playing anchor, he was playing this. I think once he gets settled into his role – and same thing with Michael Dwumfour.”
Also this bit from Harbaugh’s presser (context: Nua’s coaching) will be relevant in a moment:
They are runnin’. There’s a real emphasis on running, getting out of the box, making the tackle, playing not sideline to sideline but at least middle of the field to sideline or numbers to numbers, and they’re looking good and athletic.
So the one downer bit I got from three different inside people is Mazi Smith came in super strong but also super-large. He’s a true freshman so he didn’t get to go through all of winter conditioning, and it’s showing in the sprints. On the other hand, according to the guy who emails me and Borton($), Mazi benched 9 reps of 395 lbs. That should be fine if they need him to be a planet for a few snaps per game; I worry because I worry, and because I don’t think Michigan feels comfortable playing a guy who can get tired if locked on the field.
What it means: Brace yourselves. Last year’s DT production was merely fair, Dwumfour is still mostly ceiling and needs reps, and unless they get an instant star out of Hinton it sounds like it’s last year’s rotation minus Aubrey if Mone’s a true freshman. A lot of spring left, but a long way’s to go here. I get trying to find ways to get Ben Mason Destructo on the field, but this is your tea leaves post, and one of our heuristics is position-switches are bad news for the position, more so the further the position was from what he played previously. When it was Vince Helmuth going from fullback to DT it was bad for Helmuth; in this case I think it’s an ominous sign for the position; if he’s competing at DT that means someone else isn’t.
[After THE JUMP: It gets a lot happier, and then suddenly silence.]
Jim Harbaugh, Picky Shopper
NOPE
Maize n Brew's Brandon Justice penned an article on four-star CA C Brett Neilon for the Detroit News that contains what I believe is the first food-related Harbaughism that isn't about red meat:
A conversation Neilon had with Harbaugh earlier this month may have placed Michigan at the top of Neilon’s list among schools he is considering.
The topic: blueberries.
“He told me, if you buy a pack of 30 blueberries and one is moldy, it will affect the others, and that’s why he doesn’t recruit moldy blueberries,” Neilon said, laughing, recalling his talk with Harbaugh. “(Harbaugh) thinks I will fit perfectly at Michigan.”
While Neilon won't cop to having a leader, he acknowledged Michigan is recruiting him harder than any other school. USC and Washington are M's primary competition. Notably, the California native says distance from home won't play a factor.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
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