Michigan fifth-year senior defensive tackle Mo Hurst is widely considered not only one of the best players at his position in the Big Ten, but in the entire country as well.
His performance, along with the play of sophomore defensive end Rashan Gary, is a big reason many people feel Michigan’s defense won’t take much of a step back in 2017. Hurst touched on Gary and what makes the sophomore so special.
“Rashan has always been a guy who’s come in and worked his tail off every single day,” Hurst explained. “He’s someone who always gets better each and every practice, and he’s always trying to push himself to be the best player possible — his expectations are really high.”
Hurst also said the two’s friendship reaches beyond the football field.
“Me and Rashan hang out all the time,” the fifth-year senior said. “We both try to push each other through practices and we’re both hard on each other. We make sure we’re each playing up to our potential because we know we can be great players.
“Rashan is pretty self-motivated, but I’ll tell him if he’s not doing what he’s supposed to be. If you’re a great player though, you’ll always be tough on yourself and get down when you don’t meet those expectations.”
Hurst made it clear that the distractions won’t get to Gary’s head.
“He’s a high character guy and comes from a great family, so he’s able to put out those distractions and focus on what he wants.”
Both Gary and Hurst seem to be locks to start on Michigan’s defensive line, but the fifth-year senior explained there’s still some things to be worked out along the rest of it.
“I think we’re trying to find our four,” he said. “Most importantly, we’re trying to find guys who can rotate in and out, because it’s really hard to play just four d-linemen throughout a game.
“Me, [redshirt junior defensive tackle] Bryan [Mone], [sophomore defensive tackle] Mike [Dwumfour] and some of the freshmen are mainly who I’ve been working with. There are a lot of guys who are trying to compete for spots right now.”
Hurst touched on the importance of having the aforementioned Mone back from injury.
“It’s been great to have Bryan be a part of this group,” he said. “It’s tough seeing your friend go down. He missed some games last year, and having him back and playing great football is nice to have.”
Finally, Hurst touched on some of the freshmen who have impressed him.
“A lot of the receivers,” he said. “[Donovan] Peoples-Jones has been impressive, and Aubrey [Solomon] as a d-lineman.
“I’m pretty old now so I try to be an older figure for all the young guys — I have five years on most of them. I try to be someone they can talk to and communicate with.
“I just grab them all,” he concluded with a laugh.
With Hurst leading the charge, it’s easy to see why so many people believe Michigan’s defense will be among the nation’s best once again in 2017.
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