Michigan returned one of its star defensive players on Saturday when sophomore Mason Graham played for the first time since the non-conference finale against Bowling Green. Graham suffered a hand injury in that game against the Falcons. The injury required surgery, and he was forced to miss the first two weeks of Big Ten play.

The sophomore starter made his return to the field with a full club on his left hand on Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, and he didn't disappoint.

When players play with a club, there is potential for them to be a liability — after all, two hands are more useful than one — but for Graham, he was far from a liability on Saturday night.

In fact, he played arguably his best game as a Wolverine, leading the team with six tackles.

Graham also added a sack and two tackles for loss in the victory.

After Saturday's win, he spoke about his desire to get back on the field after missing two games.

"[I've] just been hungry to get back on the field with my guys, get back out on the defense with the team, so I was just waiting for my opportunity, and I guess today was the day," Graham said.

"I met with the doctor last week and just see how the progress was on my surgery, and he said I was good to go just as long as it's protected, so I wanted to get back on the field as soon as possible, so that's what I did."

Michigan players and coaches sang Graham's praises after the game.

"Dawg," J.J. McCarthy said of Graham. "I don't want to gas him up too much, but that dude is special."

"Yeah, one hand, two hands — he can do it all," Will Johnson added.

Graham seemingly spent the majority of the night in the Minnesota backfield, even beating two defenders on one play to tackle the Minnesota running back before he reached the line of scrimmage.

Johnson was impressed with Graham's ability to get back on the field so quickly after the surgery.

"Yeah, it just shows how good he is and shows his mindset to do whatever he can for the team," Johnson said. "He came back as soon as he could — had surgery only two weeks ago, and he's doing what he's doing, so it just shows how special of an athlete he is."

Jim Harbaugh spoke highly of Graham after the game, too.

"I think he really missed it — being out there," Harbaugh said. "Club, no club; he's a great football player. He had a great game tonight — really dominant."

Although Graham and the defense allowed double-digit points for the first time all season, it was still a dominant performance by defensive coordinator Jesse Minter's group.

The Wolverines gave up just 52 passing yards — 35 of which came on one play — and 117 rushing yards on 39 carries, for an average of just 3.0 yards per carry.

Graham and the defense will look to continue their dominant stretch next week when Michigan returns home to host Indiana at noon ET.

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