Jim Harbaugh Discusses Four 'Dominant' Michigan Defenders, More

Much of the talk following Michigan's 31-10 win over Washington Saturday night has centered around the offense's dominant rushing attack as it accumulated 343 yards on the ground. But the defense turned in a gem of a performance as well, led by four standouts who were "dominant," according to Harbaugh.

Redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross and junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson shared the team's Defensive Player of the Game honors.

Ross led the squad in tackles with 11, including one stop for loss, and also registered three quarterback hurries.

"He’s a tremendous football player," Harbaugh said of Ross while appearing on the Inside Michigan Football Radio show with fellow former Michigan All-American Jon Jansen, who asked if the new scheme under coordinator Mike Macdonald plays to Ross' strengths. "He’s prepared himself. There’s nobody that was better prepared than him going into the football game. He’d be good in whatever defense we’d be in, but he’s doing a heck of a job."

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Hutchinson generated 2.5 of the unit's four sacks, totaled four sacks and notched one hurry, one week after grading out on PFF as the nation's top edge defender in the opener against Western Michigan.

"Aidan Hutchinson was, again, really almost impossible to block," Harbaugh continued. "It took combinations of two to try to get him slowed down — the tackle and the back in combination or the tight end and the tackle in combination or the tight end and the back in combination.

"They were really trying all things to get him slowed down, but he still got to the quarterback, still got sacks, still applied pressure."

Those two are household names at this point. Harbaugh singled out another duo, this time emerging players who had big games — redshirt freshman outside linebacker David Ojabo and redshirt freshman defensive tackle Mazi Smith. The former posted two tackles and made the first sack of his career, while the latter had one tackle and was frequently blowing the opposing center off the ball.

"David Ojabo had a heck of a game," Harbaugh raved. "He really played well. He was right there. If you’re going to make the, who’s the third-most dominant player in the game? He’d be tied with Mazi Smith. Mazi had a heck of a ball game as well."

• On second-year freshman right guard Zak Zinter returning to the starting lineup and playing with a club on his right hand, which he broke in preseason practices: "He had a terrific game. He was pulling, he had some great double-team blocks with [sixth-year senior center Andrew] Vastardis and with [redshirt junior right tackle] Andrew Stueber. It didn’t look like he had a club on — unless … you could see it at times.

"When he first had a little bone broken in there and did a surgery, doctors and trainers were saying, this is probably a three- to four-week injury, and good chance he could be back for the Western Game. We just wanted to, let’s just dip the toe in the water here, and I absolutely have to know, for sure, that he cannot make that worse.

"Being assured from the hand surgeon and the doctors and trainers that if he was in the club it would not make him worse. That’s when we put him in as an extra offensive lineman, playing tight end. So he got some reps and got some, how’d it feel and look at the x-rays. It was good, so he went full time, started at right guard and did a heck of a job."

• On the wide receivers stepping up in the absence of junior Ronnie Bell, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Western Michigan: "That’s been [sophomore] Cornelius Johnson, [sophomore] Mike Sainristil. [Second-year freshman] Roman Wilson, he’s physically taken Ronnie’s spot as the starting ‘Z.’

"And then, other guys are [redshirt junior] Daylen Baldwin — in the mix; we saw him, he had a big catch in the Western Michigan game. [Second-year freshman] A.J. Henning, and I’m very high on [freshman] Andrel Anthony, as he continues to develop. [Freshman] Cristian Dixon, have seen flashes that he’s going to be ready to play and doing some good things in practice.

"That’s the group. We’ve always felt we’re as deep as we’ve been at wide receiver in quite a while. So those are the guys."

• On what aspects of the defense can be improved after the first two weeks: "The thing everybody is the proudest of and happy with is how hard we’re playing — playing hard, running to the ball, playing physical.

"What can be improved? There are some communication things that can be improved, particularly in our split-safety coverages. That’s something that’s new to our team, but has already been effective for us. We had a few times where we can play that coverage better and communicate better and have everybody in the right spots doing the right responsibility.

"And other things. Nobody plays the perfect game — you strive to, but you never do, and you keep chasing that excellence. We’re in it. There are a lot of things that we like that can be build on and be better, so we’re going to keep chasing those things."

• On how impressed he has been with Macdonald: "Super impressed with Coach Macdonald. He’s an outstanding coach. The players respond to him; they listen to him. There’s a tremendous energy. It’s translating from him, the other coaches on the defensive side of the ball, the players. It’s really good, but we’ve got to prove it every week.

"We’re back to work. And what I like to see, too, is, just as a whole team it’s like, ‘Yeah, let’s get back to work; it’s Monday,’ and the enthusiasm they went on the practice field today. Hey, let’s make darn sure that we have the same feeling and play really well and handle the mission this coming Saturday as well."

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