3 things we love about Michigan football's defense

It's Valentine's Day evening so why not talk love?
There is plenty to love about the loaded roster Michigan football returns in 2023. The Wolverines will enter 2023 with high expectations as they look to beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, and return to the playoff for a third straight season. Of course the next step is winning a playoff game and potentially a National Championship. Michigan has the potential to do it. These are three things we love about the Michigan defense.

The turnaround for the Michigan football program in 2021 was hard to peg on one thing. The culture, the refocus on the run game, Harbaugh ditching the khakis. An obvious piece of it has to be the defensive adjustment led by new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and EDGE rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo.

In 2022, all three were gone and many experts expected a drop off on the defensive side of the ball. What we saw was the opposite, the defense improved under new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. The hire of Minter was about continuity of scheme as much as anything. He referred to his first year as "year 2" of the Michigan defense. Building on what had been implemented and expanding with his own ideas and vision.

Michigan's multiple front defense, led by versatile EDGE defenders and big gap fillers on the line. Lockdown corners and physical safeties in the secondary. And do it all linebackers that can impact the game at every level. It is all here to stay. The best part? The roster is now full of players recruited for this style of defense. Can they improve again for a third consecutive year?

Michigan has recruited star players on the defensive side of the ball since Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor. So often though it felt those next great players didn't play much as freshmen, had limited roles their sophomore years and then after solid junior years were off to the NFL. Michigan fans have felt robbed in many ways, like they didn't get to see enough of these star players.

Not the case in 2023. Michigan fans got to see their star recruits on full display last season, with freshmen Mason Graham and Will Johnson not only playing often and well, but each grading out as top 4 defensive players overall. Graham is arguably the leader of the defensive front and there is no debate Will Johnson is CB1 in only their second year with the team.

Graham was part of a trio of physical freaks up front, as Kenneth Grant and Derrick Moore are expected to take big leaps in their sophomore seasons. A perfect combination of development and opportunity, both players have a chance to play major roles next season. Apparently their own freshmen stars weren't enough as Michigan added former Nebraska LB Ernest Hausmann in the portal as well. Hausmann had 54 tackles for the Huskers last season, but that was in only 5 games starting in the end of October.

After years of feeling like we didn't get to see enough, we have at least two years of defense led by Graham, Johnson, Grant, Moore, and Hausmann. I didn't even mention the crop of sophomores competing for starting roles and reps in the two deep!

The turnaround of the Michigan defense was awesome in 2021, but the missed opportunities to create turnovers still stuck out. An issue dating back a few season, Michigan simply wasn't getting enough takeaways. The coaching staff, primarily Steve Clinkscale, made it no secret they wanted this to improve in 2022.

Michigan came down with 14 interceptions last season, a big jump from 8 the previous year. Rod Moore led the way with 4 followed by previously mentioned Will Johnson with 3. Michael Barrett added 2 of his own, both in the game against Rutgers. 5 more players added an interception at every position on the field.

Arguably where Michigan felt the loss of EDGE players Hutchinson and Ojabo the most, was with fumbles. The two combined to force 7 fumbles in 2021 by getting to the quarterback and getting strip sacks. Michigan had 2 forced fumbles total in 2022, one each from Mazi Smith and Mike Morris. With those players gone the next crop of EDGE rushers and defense lineman will need to make it a priority to get to the quarterback and get the ball loose in 2023.

Because let's be honest, we love when the Detroit staple buffs come out.

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