The first installment of the weekly “Inside Michigan Football Radio Show” took place at the Pizza House in Ann Arbor on Monday night, and Jim Harbaugh and defensive line coach Greg Mattison each made appearances on it.
Most of the national “experts” think Michigan’s defense will take a major step back in 2017, after losing so many key contributors from last year’s squad.
Mattison insists that just because several of the new defensive starters will be young and inexperienced, it’s not all doom and gloom.
“Our group last year was one of our really great groups,” he said. “They were similar to how this group is right now. They were also young at one time, but kept getting better and doing the things that we expect out of a Michigan defense. That’s the main reason we’re so excited about this group.”
It’s safe to assume the emergence of sophomore defensive end Rashan Gary is another reason Mattison is excited.
“I’ve been very proud of Rashan in the way he works every day, and the way he handled the offseason,” Mattison said. “We have some pretty good players next to him — we have [fifth-year senior defensive tackle] Mo Hurst, [redshirt junior defensive tackle] Bryan Mone and [redshirt junior defensive end] Chase Winovich — these are all guys who had very big roles last season, and were one of the biggest reasons last year’s seniors had the success they had.”
Gary isn’t the only youngster who has impressed the veteran defensive line coach though.
“Someone by the name of [freshman defensive end] Kwity Paye is showing some great signs,” he said. “[Freshman defensive end] Luiji Vilain has also shown some things, although he is a little nicked up right now. Another player who has had a great camp is [sophomore defensive end] Carlo Kemp — he’s played with a broken hand and you wouldn’t even know it. He goes out there every day with a big club on and doesn’t back down from anything.”
Mattison also worked under Brady Hoke and the previous regime at Michigan, but admitted he sees a difference in the players Harbaugh is bringing in.
“The last staff did a really good job of recruiting guys, but the group who is here now seems to have more speed and athleticism,” he explained. “They do it so naturally.
“We all had a very good practice today, and there was a lot of excitement now that it’s game week.
“Our receiving crew has really impressed me — I’m not going to name names, but they’ve really looked good.”
Mattison, who was sitting next to senior left tackle Mason Cole while doing the radio show, then had a little fun with the veteran captain.
“Our offensive line is also more athletic — I don’t like offensive linemen at all though,” Mattison laughed. “I only say that whenever I see Mason — but then I turn my eyes away and look somewhere else.”
After several laughs from the crowd, Mattison told a story about his time at Florida. He was actually the defensive coordinator of the 2007 team that lost in the Capital One Bowl to Michigan in what was Lloyd Carr’s last game.
“It’s a positive having played a team before, because you sometimes know how they feel about Michigan,” he explained. “I was at Florida when they played Michigan in Lloyd’s last game. We had just won the national championship the year before, and I’ll never forget telling our guys, ‘you’re playing Michigan, this is a different deal. They’re not going to just lay down, because they’re a tough, typical Michigan team.’
“Michigan did have a lot of injuries that year, but the kids wouldn’t believe it and were saying things like, ‘oh it’s just Michigan, it’s no big deal,’ — and Michigan won the game. It was the same thing two years ago in Jim’s first season. It was important to us — every game is important to us.”
Florida not taking Michigan seriously the last two meetings has gotten it nothing but two big L’s. Will the Gators make the same mistake on Saturday?
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