Written inside Rashan Gary’s locker is one simple phrase.
“Best defensive line in the country.”
It serves as a daily reminder to the Michigan junior defensive end, who has stated a number of times his intention to form the best defensive end pairing in the country with fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich. He’s now expanded idea that to the entire defensive line — and it’s something he set on achieving.
“To be the best in the country. That’s it. We come out here and push each other every day to be the best in the country,” Gary said. “We’re serious, that’s something really want.”
The message is in sharpie — something he admits might not have been allowed, but did anyway. The permanent note will remain for whoever gets his locker when his U-M playing days are over, but for now, he and his teammates see those six words every time Gary opens his locker.
He doesn’t need the reminder, but he likes seeing it every day. It allows him to stay focused.
The big man is 280 pounds on the dot right now, but looks leaner than ever. He says he wants to stay right in that range when the season comes.
“It’s all thanks to [Strength] Coach [Ben] Herbert, but we’re not done yet,” Gary said. “We’re still building.”
While he’s spent countless hours getting himself better this spring, on Saturday he was helping others get better — high school campers that spent the afternoon in Al Glick Fieldhouse learning from Michigan coaches and players.
He loved the experience and was fired up most of the time, encouraging players to finish drills and giving pointers.
“I can see why coaching is so fun,” Gary said. “Because from the beginning of the camp, you can see people that are really listening and taking in the fine details that you tell them. When it came to one-on-ones, I don’t know his name, but 276 [campers had numbers on their shirts] — no one was touching him because he paid attention to the fine detail I was telling him about. Seeing something like that makes me happy.”
Gary spent the month of May in Ann Arbor training, but did not go to Paris with the team. He said he needed a break and wanted to spend time with his mom and sister back home, so that’s what he did.
He knows he missed out on certain experiences, but said the time off was really good for him.
It’s quite possible this will be his last season in Ann Arbor. Gary is a potential top five pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, however, he says he hasn’t given it much thought.
“I’m focused on going to the Big Ten [championship game] and winning it, and going to the national championship and winning it,” Gary said. “I’m just focused on the season, I’m not even thinking about the NFL to be honest.”
He says he needs to taste that national championship feeling before he leaves.
“It’s right there,” Gary said. “We just have to go get it.”
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