Michigan handled Western Michigan, 47-14, in the opener, but the defensive line really wasn’t tested. That will likely change against Washington, even though the Huskies were upset by FCS Montana in their first game.
The Washington offensive line averages around 325 pounds and was expected to be one of the best units in the country. U-M’s defensive line was a big question mark, and it still is after week one.
“We got the win, got the job done, but I think we’re far from where we want to be in terms of just proper execution and always effort,” defensive line coach Shaun Nua told former U-M All-American Jon Jansen on the Inside Michigan radio show Monday night. “But it was good enough to get the ‘W,’ and we’ve always got to learn from our mistakes. It’s harder to focus on those mistakes when you win, though. You have to dig deep and find everything you can do to fix it.
“It starts with us, the coaches, to look beyond the win. We’ve got to look into the film, see was our hand placement good? Was our first strike good? Our base good? Pad level good? You’ve got to look into those things as deep as you can so that way, the guys understand the real goal here is really perfection. Not to a point where it’s paralyzing us, but to a point where we understand, ‘wow, we really have to be better than that and consistent.’”
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They were in a good mood in Monday meetings, but they also understood they still had plenty to learn, Nua noted. That was a good sign for a group that seems to be anxious to improve. It started with the purported bell cows, Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton, who lined up together as full time starters for the first time.
Both acquitted themselves well, but each can play better, Nua said.
“It was awesome, because both are good young men, first and foremost,” he said. “To see the competitiveness of Mazi kick in when we told him he had to lose all that weight … he had to get in great, tip top shape for him to even smell the starting position, get some playing time. He spent a lot of time talking to nutritionists, learning what to eat, what not to eat, being with us coaches. Hs’s probably in the office more than we are.
“Same with Chris Hinton. He’s always wanting to perfect the craft. Just to see them out there was awesome.”
Outside linebacker/defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, meanwhile, was dominant in his role, the defensive player of the game along with safety Dax Hill.
“He’s really, really smart, even beyond sometimes what we think,” Nua said. “Just in playing the game … he understands the entire game, the situations we’re in, what we’re trying to call, how we’re trying to get into those money downs, even in his one-on-one battles with his guy he’s going against.
“He’s a complete player. I’m talking about on and off the field, but especially on the field. I’m so happy for him … very proud of him, and there’s more to come.”
The young guys, too, showed promise in their first significant taste of game action.
“Guys like Braiden McGregor, Kris Jenkins, all those guys were getting some experience because they really earned it through camp, and we wanted them to get that experience,” Nua continued. “It’s all fun and games in practice, but once you get in front of all those people, how dialed in are you? It’s in a good place where it was really good to see them out there.
“Mike Morris is a guy whose name stands out. Kris Jenkins. You know when they’re on the sidelines, the look in their eye … they have clear eyes. Okay … these guys are good. Braiden McGregor, too, even though he didn’t play a perfect game. You can tell those young guys are hungry. It was easy to tell.”
Providing hope heading into the meat of the schedule.
NOTES
Nua wasn’t pleased with end David Ojabo’s taunting penalty on Western Michigan’s first drive that gave the Broncos a first down instead of third and long. He insisted his freshman would learn from it.
“Winning makes a teaching moment a little bit easier. That’s what it was, because they drove down the field and scored,” he said. “Instead of us facing third and long, they got a first down and drove down and scored. That cannot happen.
“We want to be elite. We have to be so mentally tough that we’ve got to understand all of those situations — how to control our emotions; how to control the way we celebrate. So, that’s how competitive they are. We’ve just got to understand we’ve got to do it the right way.”
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