Michigan Football's Don Brown Updates All Defensive Positions
Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown talked Wednesday about “playing to our strengths” this season on defense, and it’s clear a few groups are stacked.
The front seven, in particular, is one of the potential best groups in the Big Ten if the interior linemen step up, and Brown believes they have and will.
“Up front, we have [veteran ends] Aidan Hutchinson, Kwity Paye,” Brown said. “But two guys who made the biggest improvement as football players on the line are Julius Welschof and Taylor Upshaw. Those two guys ...Taylor is much bigger, didn't have a butt a year ago. Now he has a butt, is big, fast and strong. Powerful. I’m really happy with the way he is playing.
“[Redshirt junior] Donovan Jeter is playing better than I ever anticipated he could play. He’s exceeded expectations. He and [fifth-year senior] Carlo Kemp inside, Jess Speight has done a really good job … we are probably eight to nine deep there. Last year we played more three-down stuff which we desperately needed to due to Josh Uche and a lack of total depth numbers on the D-line ... we're excited about how those guys are coming, for sure. When you can say you have Aidan on one side, Kwity the other, Jeter ...
"Oh, and [sophomore tackle] Chris Hinton is playing great, a guy I left out. He’s doing a really good job, as well. We’re really happy up front …. [and] I’m telling you; Jeter is a different dude. A flat-out different dude. You know the real respected names, Aidan, Kwity, Carlo. Those guys are there. That group has done well.”
Kemp has been better at “puncturing” the line, while Hutchinson is a freak athlete at 6-7, he noted.
U-M has a number of players vying for time at linebacker, but the group is deep and talented, Brown insisted.
“We have a good battle going on at viper between [junior] Michael Barrett and [redshirt frosh] Anthony Solomon,” Brown said. “We feel good about both of those guys’ ability. Their ability to run, cover, straight line blitz … but we also have [freshman William] Mohan, nickname ‘Apache.’ He's really got great, straight line pressure ability and has a knack for it, as well. It’s those three guys, for sure. At the SAM position, the guy that's probably been one of the biggest surprises in camp is former fullback Ben VanSumeren, he continued.
"He’s 250-plus pounds, runs 4.6, doesn't just do that on the clock,” Brown said. “Some guys run fast on the clock and that's great, but you really don't care in a football game what his clock time is unless it translates to the field. He will run and hit you … I’m happy with his progress. He still has a long way to go and needs time, but we’re happy.
“[Redshirt freshman] David Ojabo is getting some good work there, freshman Jaylen Harrell. We have a number of guys working at that position, but Ben is the slight leader in the clubhouse.”
Redshirt sophomore Cam McGrone, meanwhile, has picked up where he left off at middle linebacker.
“We’re very happy with his play, performance,” Brown said. “He’s really learned the defense. He really knows what we're doing and what everyone else is doing, as well. [Redshirt junior] Josh Ross is [also] unquestioned leader and playing at very high level.”
The freshmen behind them are young and talented, he added, including Nikhai Hill-Green and Cornell Wheeler, who has missed some time, as well as Kalel Mullings.
The big question mark remains at cornerback. Replacing Lavert Hill and Ambry Thomas won’t be easy, but several are in the mix. They’re led by Vincent Gray, the returning corner with the most experience as a redshirt sophomore.
“People are always asking, ‘what are you going to do? You’ve lost both corners,” Brown said. “We did with Lavert going to the NFL, but Vince Gray rotated and played all year. He’s playing at a very, very, very high level … playing really well. I’m very happy with the way he's playing.
“We’ve got a number of [other] guys at cornerback we’re looking at there. [Redshirt freshmen] DJ Turner, Jalen Perry, those are probably the two I'd say are the closest. But we really don't want to shut anybody out. We still have three solid weeks of work prior to game week. In essence, it’s almost like you're beginning preseason camp.”
He mentioned 5-11 walk-on Keshaun Harris as another he’d been happy with, while frosh Eamonn Dennis “can really fly and run,” though he’s “raw at the position.” Freshman Andre Seldon is talented but has been limited by injury, he added, while sophomore Daxton Hill will be utilized at nickel back in addition to safety.
"Gemon Green joins Turner and Perry as high-level players,” he added of the redshirt junior.
Hill, meanwhile, might be one of the best cover guys in the Big Ten, Brown praised. He’ll take over as a starting safety with senior Brad Hawkins but see action all over the field.
“With Dax, he can cover the slots, so let him do it. He can rush the edge ... let him do it,” Brown said. “Is he good internal blitzer? Eh. He can. But the guy can cover, and it's funny, some guys are just always around the ball no matter if you know what you’re doing or not.”
He makes it look easy, Brown praised.
“On the back end. Brad Hawkins is Brad Hawkins. He plays really well,” he said. “Dax is Dax. I think he has high, high ceiling … Sammy Faustin has improved dramatically.”
They’ll probably play more zone this year than last, when it was 51-49 compared to man-to-man, he noted. But they are constantly adapting, and he loves his personnel.
“We’ve still got some questions to answer,” he said: “To be quite honest with you, competition as you know breeds success, and it keeps everybody practicing the right way. We still have some significant practice time in front of us before we have to make any decisions.”
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