Campanile On McGrone, Josh Ross' Return — It'll Be A 'Good Problem To Have'
One of the biggest stories surrounding the Michigan Wolverines’ football defense over the past several weeks has been the emergence of redshirt freshman linebacker Cam McGrone.
He saw his first extensive game action in the Sept. 21 loss at Wisconsin when junior linebacker Josh Ross left with injury, and has held onto the starting spot in Ross’ absence ever since.
McGrone racked up 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss in just his second career start in the Oct. 5 win over Iowa, before accumulating one sack, two TFLs and a forced fumble last Saturday at Illinois.
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First-year linebackers coach Anthony Campanile discussed McGrone’s progression this afternoon, and recalled when he first realized the young linebacker was making the appropriate strides.
“Cam is a talented guy,” Campanile began. “I know I said that in the summer as well, but he’s really come on. He’s done a great job with the reps we’re giving him, so we’re very excited about him.
“At some point in the summer and during camp, he was taking steps little by little and has been phenomenal with everything we’ve asked him to do up to this point.
“The reps Cam got in the Wisconsin game were invaluable to him, and were huge in terms of developing his confidence.
“He’s taken another step every week and from camp on, and has gotten progressively better. The confidence a player gets once they finally get into games is immeasurable.
“From the spring on, Cam has made strides and Coach [Don] Brown has done a tremendous job piecing it all together, giving him enough reps to develop that confidence.
“With confidence comes clarity, which means you can play fast. I said this a couple weeks ago, but you have a good idea of when guys are starting to see it because of how the eyes control the functions of the body.
“When guys’ feet start playing fast, you have a good idea as a coach that your guy is taking steps and entering another level of play.
“It has just kind of happened with Cam incrementally over time, but I thought he made plays and played with confidence at the end of the Wisconsin game.”
The linebacking unit hasn’t missed a beat in Ross’ absence, with most assuming that McGrone has earned the right to hold onto the starting job even when the veteran does return.
Campanile was asked about Ross’ impending comeback and how the personnel will then be handled.
“That’s a good problem to have,” he laughed. “It’s not an issue, but a great situation. We had that same situation in the summer, in that we had several guys who we felt like we could win with on Saturdays.
“It’s never a bad thing to have a lot of guys who can help you win.”
U-M’s linebacking unit will need to be at its best on Saturday night to stop what has been a very good Penn State offense (28th nationally in yards per game), led by redshirt sophomore quarterback Sean Clifford.
Clifford has exceeded expectations in his first season as a starter, as his 64.2 completion percentage checks in fourth in the Big Ten while his 13-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio is tied for second.
On top of all that, he is actually Penn State’s second leading rusher as well, with his 252 yards on the ground second only to freshman running back Noah Cain’s 310.
“I think they’ve done a good job developing him,” Campanile admitted. “He’s done good stuff throwing the ball, but has also made plays with his feet as well, so he’s a dually talented guy.
“He’s hurt a lot of people with his feet, so that’s definitely something we’ll be focused on. We have to be disciplined in our technique to stop him.”
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