This season will be linebacker coach Anthony Campanile’s first year with the Michigan Wolverines football team, and he’s more than impressed with the talent at his disposal. Replacing middle linebacker Devin Bush won’t be easy, but there are five players in the middle who have all risen to the occasion.
From veterans to first-year guys, several have stood out.
“Jordan Glasgow’s done a great job,” Campanile said of the fifth-year senior WILL (weakside) linebacker. “[Redshirt freshman] Cam McGrone has really done a good job. [Redshirt junior] Devin Gil … going down the line, pretty much everybody in there this summer has taken their game to another level. I’ve been really, really impressed in every which way; coverage, rushing the passer and fitting in the run game. Everyone has done a really good job.”
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To the point that any of the five could be staring inside during the opener, Campanile insisted.
Junior MIKE (middle) linebacker Josh Ross continues to lead the way.
“I should have mentioned Josh Ross earlier. He’s had an unbelievable camp,” he continued. “All those guys … they’ve all stepped up a little bit. The sense of urgency; I don’t think that’s just one guy. Everybody is in the boat on that. Everybody has been really, really aggressive about understanding the system, what can I do extra, how hard can we actually practice and having laser focus and detail in every drill that we do.
“Guys are flying around in practice. I think coach [Don] Brown’s defense, lots of cutting it up … guys have been really, really impressive. We had a practice last night where I thought our guys were flying around as good as they have all summer. [Senior SAM] Josh [Uche] is one of those guys. He’s rushing the passer, fitting the run game, covering tight ends.”
There will be many times Uche will be used in different ways, he continued.
“He’s there in terms of a guy who can play every down for us,” he said. “We don’t have any issue playing him every down of the game. He’s a great pass rusher, as people know, but he’s really stepped his game up in my opinion. As a linebacker fitting the box, playing on the tight end, doing some different things. He’s been able to move around like he did last year, but he’s really become a well-rounded player for us.”
Redshirt freshman Michael Barrett is the backup at SAM and VIPER behind senior Khaleke Hudson. Campanile saved some of his highest praise for Hudson, who appears to be a shoo-in as captain.
“He is an exceptional athlete. He’s a different type of guy, in my opinion,” Campanile said. I’ve coached a lot of really good football players, guys I have a high opinion of. He would certainly be up near the top of that, talking about guys who will continue to play after college.
… “I don’t know that I’ve been around somebody that practices that hard all the time. That’s probably the best compliment I could give somebody as a coach. I’ve coached some guys who practiced like maniacs, were awesome to coach, but you can turn on that tape and that guy's running. There’s no off switch. He’s got a motor that never stops. That’s been really, really impressive to me.”
Barrett, meanwhile, is close to putting himself in the two-deep.
“One of the guys that had a great summer here is Michael Barrett. He’s really stepped his game up a bunch,” Campanile said. “He’s really a guy that’s gotten better every day taking the workload seriously, taking a ton of reps, and is another guy who is just a student of the game.
“He’s become more physical … obviously, he was a very good athlete and great high school player, but a guy who has stepped up there and we feel good about him, as well.”
Finally, the three freshmen linebackers continue to impress, as well.
“I think Charles Thomas is a guy who is going to be a great player here. Joey Velazquez is practicing his tail off,” Campanile said. “He’s really getting better every day at the viper, SAM role. Anthony Solomon is an incredibly bright guy. He practices his tail off. Again, a high motor guy, high character person. He’s got a great way about him, too.
“All three of those guys we really, really like. We’re excited about them.”
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