Don Brown Praises Several Individuals on U-M Defense
Michigan’s defense turned in an epic performance on Saturday against Michigan State (held it to 94 yards), thanks in large part to the plan defensive coordinator Don Brown drew up.
He spoke about it this evening on the Inside Michigan Football radio show at the Pizza House in Ann Arbor, and talked about how proud he was of their efforts.
“We had a good plan going in,” he confirmed. “We felt like we could get into our speed group on third downs and create some problems. Sometimes things work and sometimes you have to adjust — we never adjusted, but stayed the course of what we had planned to do.
“We had a few specific calls we utilized on third downs when they were in a certain personnel group, and we knew what we were going to get. We stayed with our scheme all game, and that doesn’t happen too often.
“To single out someone is unfair, but [junior linebacker Josh] Uche had a big day. He impacts the game more than you realize, considering how few snaps he takes.
“[Fifth-year senior defensive end] Chase was Chase — complete madness. [Fifth-year senior defensive tackle] Bryan Mone had his best game since I’ve been here and was a physical force inside. The secondary was tremendous and has been all season long, with the exception of a few plays.
“We did the same thing to [Wisconsin redshirt junior quarterback Alex] Hornibrook and [Nebraska freshman quarterback Adrian] Martinez, so our guys have been playing at a high level all year. We had some things that bugged us last season that we had to fix and adjust, and it’s a technique and a fundamental issue and that’s how we approached it.
“Our secondary allows us to do what we do, and that’s be aggressive in the front seven. When you can dictate to opposing offenses how they're going to go about their business, it’s a big deal.”
Now 7-1 and 5-0 in conference play, Michigan has become a realistic candidate for the College Football Playoff and is arguably the Big Ten favorite.
Brown and the Wolverine defense aren’t thinking about that though.
“We don’t [talk about it],” he admitted. “We played an excellent Wisconsin team and followed it up with the Michigan State rivalry, and didn’t want to get caught looking ahead.
“We’ve got another good one with Penn State coming up, and they handed it to us last year. I did a poor job in that game, and the players felt the same way. I’ve had this one circled on my calendar, and wake up every morning thinking about it — honest.”
Penn State posted 42 points on Michigan last season and made its defense look silly, something that has not only drawn the ire of Brown, but of Winovich and junior linebacker Devin Bush as well.
Brown discussed what makes the veteran duo so special.
“If you want the full character, you’ve got it [in Chase],” he said. “He’s a physical guy — he relied on his finesse the first year before becoming a pass rush specialist. He took that next step last season as a full time guy, but has upped his physicality since.
“With that confidence has come some bravado. He and Devin Bush Jr. were fired up this weekend and were ready to go. I spend a lot of time with those two — Devin sits next to me during games, [junior viper] Khaleke Hudson is to my left and Chase is in front of me screaming most of the time. It’s an unbelievable group to coach and even better people to be around.
“Devin is the fastest, meanest guy on the field. I don’t know if that’s good enough for some people, but that’s what he is. He’s virtually responsible for everything — we give him all the calls and he has all the checks, and he wouldn’t want it any other way.”
One of the defensive veterans who hasn't played the last several games due to injury is junior defensive end Rashan Gary.
While they’re obviously hoping to get Gary back as soon as possible, his replacements have more than held their own in the meantime.
“[Sophomore defensive end] Kwity Paye has adopted that spot, and [freshman defensive end] Aidan Hutchinson has also gotten some time,” Brown observed. “Paye was a physical force on Saturday, and I can’t say enough about his development. He looks at you, hears you, digests it and goes about his business.
“He’s one big muscle and I’m afraid to get too loud because he might take his fist and pound me on the top of my head. We keep our fingers crossed on Rashan coming back.”
Devin Bush Happy With Performances of Both the Offense and Defense
After Bush stomped on the Spartan logo at midfield prior to Saturday’s game, he followed it up by putting on an impressive performance, helping limit MSU’s rushing attack to just 15 yards.
He admitted that even he and his teammates were impressed by how well the Maize and Blue defense played.
“We went back today and saw the stats, and had to congratulate ourselves,” he laughed. “We know how hard that is to do in college football, especially in a rivalry game.
“Once it was over, we let loose. We were so happy to get that win after all the work we had put in all week.”
U-M’s defense stole the headlines, but the offense did enough to win as well, posting 395 yards and 21 points.
“It gives us confidence when they do that,” Bush said. “When you have guys like [junior quarterback Shea] Patterson, [senior running back Karan] Higdon and the offensive linemen, you want to get them the ball and watch them perform.”
The offensive line play has perhaps been the biggest key to Michigan’s resurgence, and now has many viewing the Wolverines as the current Big Ten favorite.
“It’s hard to stop us once we get going,” Bush admitted.
“Why run till you puke and lift all those weights in the offseason if you’re not going to go for the gold?” Bush’s father, Devin Bush Sr., chimed in. “Why go out there if you’re going to set your sights low?”
Bush Sr., who is also on the U-M staff, has some familiar company with him on the team, as two other former pupils of his are current Wolverines.
“I coached [junior safety] Josh Metellus and [redshirt sophomore linebacker] Devin Gil in high school too,” he recalled. “I’ve actually been around Gil since he was eight or nine, so I’ve known him since he was a little kid.
“I got Metellus in high school. To see them earn scholarships and be a role model for kids back home has been incredible. It blows my mind that three guys I coached have gone on to play on the No. 1 defense in the nation.”
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