Senior captain and starting outside linebacker Khaleke Hudson has 77 tackles already this season, 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He has led U-M in tackles in five games so far. He has been named a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. The award recognizes some of the top leaders in college football, each of whom has demonstrated a record of exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship on and off the field.
Hudson has seen the defensive group progress throughout the season, particularly after the Wisconsin game. Going into the final three-game stretch of the season following a bye week, the Wolverines' defense will have to be stout if they want to finish on a high note.
"I feel like the defense really started clicking after the Wisconsin game," Hudson said Tuesday night. "I feel like that’s when we found our identity. We found out what we got to be, how we got to play and the things we have to focus on to be a better defense."
Part of that identity is trust in themselves and in the guys around them.
"Just trusting the person around you and executing your job" Hudson said. Those are the two most important things in our defense."
That trust plays a part in what U-M is preparing for in this week's game with MSU. The Spartans love to catch their opponents (especially U-M) off guard with trick plays. This week, Jim Harbaugh said the Wolverines are on "high alert."
"The easiest thing to stop the trick plays is executing our job," Hudson said. "If we execute our job, no trick play will work. We just got to be good with our eyes. We have to play hard and make sure we do everything we got to do. You have to trust the person next to you that he’s going to do what he’s supposed to do.
"Coach Brown throws some trick plays in there [in practice] just to keep us honest and make sure we're on our 'p's and q's.'"
There will be a lot of emotion in this game, making it even more important to stay grounded and focused. As a veteran, it's been increasingly easier for Hudson to play that way, but now it's his job to relay that message to the younger players on the U-M roster.
"It’s very chippy," Hudson said about games with MSU. "On the field, things are said, cheap shots are done and you can expect that in games like this. It’s part of the game. It’s fun and I can’t wait for them to come in here.
"We’ve been talking to [the younger players] a lot this week about [composure], about how important this game is and about how it will be out there when they get a chance to be on the field and show their talent. For me, it’s easy to keep my head. When I was young playing this game, I was hyped up, I was talking trash. I was only on kickoff and kick return, so there was only so much I could say."
Although MSU has struggled, coming in with a 4-5 record overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten, Hudson believes they are a quality opponent. The Spartans may elevate their game to another level, as they often have in this rivalry.
"I believe they’re a good team," he said. "I believe their record doesn’t show who they really are. They have some great players on their team. They have a great offense, a great defense.
"We know they’re going to give their best shot and we’re going to give our best shot also. We just have to go out there and out-work them and want to get the win more than they want to get the win. That’s how we’re going to come out with the victory."
Notes
• It was announced this week that running back Chris Evans will be reinstated to the team in January after an academic issue kept him off the team in 2019. Hudson is particularly happy for Evans, one of his roommates.
"I was super happy," Hudson said about hearing the news. "I actually knew before it came out because I stay with him. I was just telling him that I’m proud of him, how he handled everything, how he stayed strong and how he kept his head. Other players could really just get frustrated with themselves and start doing anything, but he stayed focused and did what he had to do. I’m just so proud of him and happy he’s back working out and stuff."
• Hudson was on the field pregame last year at Spartan Stadium when MSU players clotheslined several Wolverines (they let Hudson go) when they walked down the field with locked arms.
"I remember I was out there," Hudson said, recalling the incident. "It was pretty hyped up and Devin [Bush] got us hyped up and got us going when he came back in the locker room. He gave us a good speech about what had just happened and how we had to go out there and handle our business. That was probably the most intense thing I’ve been a part of.
"He was just saying, ‘It’s time to go. They don’t respect us.’ And, just telling everybody what happened and how we got to go out there and not give them a chance, just put our foots on their throats on them early and from start to finish and come out with the victory."
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