There were too many red flags to count heading into the season when it came to the Michigan football defense. The corners were supposedly shaky, the interior line a sieve and the linebackers — well, they were a huge question mark.

The Wolverines fan base's morale didn't get much of a boost when Brian Jean-Mary left for Tennessee, only to be replaced by little-known linebackers coach George Helow. He joined the staff in January after four years at Colorado State and one season as special teams coordinator and inside linebackers coach at the Maryland — a COVID-shortened season, at that.

But of all the new additions to head coach Jim Harbaugh's staff, Helow is proving to be one of the more under-appreciated. His group has improved dramatically, led by redshirt junior Josh Ross.

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"Josh has been a tremendous leader this year ... anybody that’s been watching knows that," Helow said. "He’s the heart of the defense, ties all the fronts and coverages together. He’s done a tremendous job. He’s infectious to the people around him.

" When you talk to [young guys] Kalel Mullings and Nikhai Hill-Green and Junior Colson, Mike Barrett, Joey Velazquez — whoever it is — they follow his leadership. The group’s coming together nicely. We’re chasing perfection every day, and that’s something that we talk about all the time, even though it’s not always the outcome, and Josh definitely sets the tone for the group.”

Ross had just spent a half hour in Helow's office before the coach met with the media. His knowledge of the defense and opposing offenses has made him faster this year, and it's shown.

"He understands the full picture, so he understands the scheme, what we’re trying to do, and how our packages utilize him and the people around him," Helow said. "Then he also understands the preparation that goes into it from the attention to detail that’s involved in the week-to-week stuff, watching film and then being able to make in-game adjustments on the field.

"... When you know what plays are coming based off whether it’s the alignment of the tight ends, the backfield sets, you can anticipate things happening. I don’t know if he’s faster right now than he physically was last year, but the way he reacts to stuff, the way he’s seeing the game and the way he’s playing sure looks faster to me.”

Freshman Junior Colson is getting better each week, too, and second-year frosh Nikhail Hill-Green has had his ups and downs, but he's also made huge strides. These two are the future, and they're playing well together.

“Nikhai, for his age — when Josh went down in the Rutgers game, we’re rolling in a bunch of 18-year olds," Helow continued. "Kalel just turned 19 on Monday. Just being a student of the game and knowing what to do and why it’s important to do it that way ... the way that he sits up and takes notes and asks questions and studies film is everything, and I think you’re starting to see he’s really playing comfortable out there.”

They'll need all of them are their best given the unique challenge facing them this week. Nebraska will run different varieties of option, and quarterback Adrian Martinez adds a dynamic to the offense U-M has yet to see this year.

“When you look at Nebraska, they do a lot on offense. You’ve got to be sound; you’ve got to be disciplined," Helow said. "You’ve got to put your eyes in the right spot, and you’ve got to be relentless — pursuit to the ball.

“As you’ve seen on tape, they’ve run some triple-option stuff out of the gun. You’ve got to play sound football across the board. That’s been a point of emphasis this week, as always. And the other thing you’ve got to do is you’ve got to tackle. On defense, it’s about running, getting 11 hats to the ball, and tackling well. When you’re getting some of those type plays, you’ve got to tackle to the perimeter. So it’s not only how you finish tackling, but it’s the entry angles you take to the ball."

He's confident in his group, however, because they've been well coached. Between Helow, new coordinator Mike Macdonald and secondary coaches Steve Clinkscale and Ron Bellamy, it's been a complete makeover on defense, one that's paid huge dividends.

NOTES

Backup linebacker Joey Velazquez has worked hard to crack the lineup, and he's made a few of the special teams. His fumble recovery on a muffed punt was a win for his whole group, Helow said.

"It was awesome," he said.l "Special teams, as everyone knows, it’s a third of the game. ... Joey’s a tremendous competitor. As you guys know, he’s a two-sport athlete. We challenge the guys in our room every week to be the player of the week on special teams. The past two weeks, it’s been Michael Barrett and it’s been Joey Velazquez that recovered that fumble — which was huge, really in the turnover point of the game.

"... Really happy for Joey. All he does is give 100 percent effort every day. He goes to the look squad. Early on in the year he was on the special teams look squad, earned a spot on a couple of the teams right now and continues to do a tremendous job, so it’s good to see.”

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