Michigan Football's Defense ‘Hitting Its Stride’ Heading Into Game Week
The Michigan Wolverines football defense got the better of the offense in last week’s scrimmage, and for the defenders, it was fun to watch on film the next day.
Defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald spent the first week of fall camp implementing the defense and getting back to speed on what they taught in spring ball. Since then, the U-M defenders have taken the concepts and run, improving on a daily basis.
“One thing right now is we’re hitting our stride right as we’re going into Week One,” junior outside linebacker and captain Aidan Hutchinson said late last week. “That’s super crucial that you need from your team in camp.
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"I thought we just had our best practice in the stadium, another scrimmage, and we were flying around out there, executing, doing what we’ve got to do. We watched the film this morning. It was fun to watch us fly around, and I think we’re hitting our stride going into Week One.”
Western Michigan is the opponent, and the Broncos are slated for a nice season, expected to compete in the MAC West Division. Their offense should be a test, but they haven’t seen anything of U-M’s defense under Macdonald to know what to expect.
Hutchinson wasn’t going to give away any trade secrets, but he’s excited to show off what they’ve worked on all spring.
“It’s just different, because the schemes are pretty different,” he said. “It’s just a completely different feel in terms of my responsibility and everyone’s responsibility in the defense. It’s really fun when you can turn on that film and watch guys fly around like that, and just doing their jobs. It’s a fun defense to watch when we’re doing things right.”
It’s the same for his teammates, he added.
“One hundred percent. Buy in is at an all-time high,” he continued. “What I’ve seen with this defense, guys … we all love the coaches, we love what they’ve brought to Michigan and we’re all just ready to go. We just talked about it in there … we’re done talking about it. We just want to go out there and do what we do and play our best ball.”
That’s where his individual goals start in 2021, as well, likely his last season in a Michigan uniform. He was back to 100 percent in March after breaking his ankle last season, was held back as a precaution and brought great energy to the field every practice this fall.
“I feel like I came out of this camp 100 percent healthy,” he said. “I feel really good … now I just have to go out there and do it on Saturdays .
“That’s one thing I want to do is just keep playing my game, whether that be practice on a Tuesday or Ohio State on a Saturday. Keep playing my game.”
NOTES
• Hutchinson agreed that freshman linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green and redshirt junior tackle Donovan Jeter were two of the camp’s most pleasant surprises on defense.
“Those dudes are balling out,” he said. “Jete’s having his best camp, playing his best football since spring of 2019, probably. Nikhai has really come along, a young cat who is really playing his best ball right now and is going to be a really good player for us this season.”
• Macdonald is the new coach Hutchinson has bonded with most since the former Baltimore Ravens assistant arrived earlier this year.
“He’s always got something pretty interesting to say,” Hutchinson said. “I really learned a lot from him in terms of defense and just about little things, too, outside of football. He’s just a really cool person to talk to, and I’m grateful to have him on our staff.”
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