Michigan Football: Gary, Lavert Hill Starting To Meet Their Star Potential
Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison said before U-M’s win over Indiana that stats didn’t effectively measure the effect sophomore defensive end Rashan Gary was having on games. They were asking him to essentially eliminate the opponents’ run game with his strength much of the time, and U-M’s elite standing in the statistical rankings showed just how effective he’d been.
His full arsenal was on display in an Oct. 14, 27-20 win at Indiana. He dominated in stretches, picking up seven tackles (2.d for loss) and a sack, was credited for two pressures on Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey and was much more disruptive than even those stats would indicate. He was a big reason the Hoosiers ended the game just short of the goal line in overtime due to a goal line stand.
“That just comes down to all the hard work we’ve been putting in,” Gary said. “On that last drive, the game is on us. We’ve got to do what we got to do. … Everybody had a chip on their shoulder at that point. Everybody was fired up and ready to go.”
Especially Gary, who shared defensive lineman of the week honors with fifth-year senior Maurice Hurst.
“Rashan, I can’t say enough. He left it all out there on the field,” Harbaugh said. “I was with him walking off the field, and that was the epitome of leaving it all on the field. He played great.
“He really helped, was very impactful in their quarterback rushing for only 14 yards. We were really worried about that. As an offense they got out for a 31 yarder, but they rushed in the 80s, and we took away something that’s been very effective for them.”
Gary was a big reason why. He dominated the edge, took on several blockers to force action away from where Ramsey wanted to run and sacrificed his body in a tempo game that wasn’t easy on the defense.
He’s been one of their most unselfish players all year, and Harbaugh backed that up.
“I’ve been saying it for a couple of weeks now,” he said. “Rashan’s been doubled, gotten chipped, gotten cut. Probably the ultimate compliment you can pay to a football player is to have that much concern about one guy that you have to game plan for him. He’s earning that kind of respect.”
Gary ranked fifth on the team in tackles through six games with 31 (13 solo) and had added five tackles for loss, two sacks and a team-high five quarterback hurries. He’d also forced a fumble.
Michigan sophomore cornerback Lavert Hill, meanwhile, is quickly becoming one of the Big Ten’s best cornerbacks. He was at six pass break-ups and two interceptions through six games and, according to Pro Football Focus, had allowed only eight catches the 21 times he had been targeted.
Quarterbacks had managed only an 18.8 QB rating against him, and it would have been lower had he not been called for a questionable pass interference on a pick at Indiana in a 27-20 win.
“[His play] has been pretty high all season, it really has,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Lavert’s been a really good player for us. I was going to say steady, but he’s been better than steady. He’s been playing at a really high level.
“He’s had some great defenses on the ball, pass breakups, interception in tight coverage. Really good. That’s why we brought him here.”
Hill’s leaping pick in the fourth quarter stalled a drive, and Harbaugh felt it should have been his second.
“I really felt like his other interception was a legal play. I didn’t think he interfered on that one,” he said.
The one that wasn’t called back was a highlight reel play ... something we're getting used to from the sophomore.
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