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Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown called his defense perhaps the fastest he's ever coached. Linebackers coach Al Washington took it a step further.
"I made the comparison of somebody dropping a steak in a tank of piranha," Washington said. "When you see the quarterback drop back, it’s overwhelming. The speed is lightning quick, they’re physical and they’re smart.
“That to me is probably the biggest thing. These guys get it. [Brown] had 10 new starters last year, so a lot of these kids are coming back and they know it. They have a mastery of it, so that just makes them even faster. They’re tough, they take pride in what they do. It’s a great group ... a special group.”
This isn't Washington's first go-round with Brown. The two coached together at Boston College, where Brown's defenses were also elite. There was one year they led the nation in total defense when the B.C. offense went three-and-out 40 percent of the time.
“I learned from him Boston College when I was on the offensive side,” Washington said. “And not just only how he goes about his day to day, but how he deals with kids. A lot of times there are agendas that aren’t always for the kids. Don is all about the kids, and that’s why they play hard for him. That’s why as a young coach, you look at him, you admire him, because he treated me kind of like that. He showed me love. He opened up to me.
“Don is a friend, a mentor. He’s on my Mount Rushmore of great coaches I want to be like one day.”
New Michigan wide receivers coach Jim McElwain concurred, having faced Brown many times in the past several years. Brown's defense did a number on his Florida offense last year in a 33-17 Michigan win.
McElwain figures to have a significant hand in the play calling and game planning this year, though he said he's learning from assistant Pep Hamilton right now.
"Every day’s an adventure," he said. "Actually, just for me personally, I was able to go against him when we were at Colorado State and he was at Boston College and obviously a couple times recently, and the guy’s really good.
"One of the great things about this game is the chess match, your ability to stay up late and try to figure out a way to simplify it for your guys. What his defense does is it really forces your guys to kind of step back and make sure you’re sound in everything that you do because if you’ve got an open gap, he’s going to find it."
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