Michigan Wolverines football first-year defensive line coach Shaun Nua has helped turn junior Kwity Paye and sophomore Aidan Hutchinson into one of the best defensive end tandems in the Big Ten this season.
Although Paye played a significant role on last year’s club and Hutchinson saw the field occasionally as a freshman in 2018, not many expected the duo to develop so quickly into the force they’ve become.
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The two have racked up a combined 14 tackles for loss this season (eight for Paye and six for Hutchinson), which stands as one of the highest combined totals in the Big Ten among defensive ends.
“They’re competitors,” Nua exclaimed when asked about the two Wednesday afternoon, and the ‘Salt and Pepper’ nickname they’ve given themselves. “I’m just mad they didn’t give [fifth-year senior defensive end Mike] Danna a nickname. Adding him into that ‘Salt and Pepper’ thing will be the next challenge.
“They [Paye and Hutchinson] know exactly what the other is doing. When they flip tight ends, Aidan becomes the end and Kwity becomes the anchor, and it’s no big deal."
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Paye has posted an elite defensive grade of 86.5 so far this year. It ranks 13th in the land among edge rushers who have played at least 200 snaps through Oct. 21. Using the same parameters, Hutchinson ranks 34th (81.3), while senior linebacker Josh Uche is tied for 42nd (79.8) and Danna 45th (79.2). Michigan is the only team in the country with more than two in the top 50, and Nua has seen vast strides from his top two.
“Kwity is confident and doesn’t panic with all the RPOs [Run Pass Options] and fluff," the coach said. "He knows exactly when teams are trying to kick him out and when they’re not, and he’s always in his gaps with great pad level. You hardly ever see him on the ground. I noticed that when I first got here. Now it’s about stacking good games on top of one another, and he’s doing that.
“Aidan is a complete player too — he’s big and runs great for a guy his size. We’re always challenging him to make more plays. They’re making some, but we always want them to make more.
"Aidan is also always around the quarterback. Sometimes the ball comes out early, but I tell him that’s no excuse and he can still get there. He’s improved a lot, because he’s so hard on himself.”
However impressed Nua has been with his ends, he made it clear that the interior players have also played welll.
“That includes [senior defensive tackle] Carlo [Kemp] and Dwumy [redshirt junior defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour] in the middle," he said. “It’s a good group, which makes my job easy as a coach when you have guys who are experienced. I just have to let them go play."
Michigan's rush defense has been lights out since it gave up 359 yards on the ground to Wisconsin in late September, allowing just 56 per game in the four outings since.
Nua wasn’t interested in talking a whole lot about the turnaround though, simply noting that the players’ commitment to stopping the run has been the biggest factor.
A similar defensive turnaround was seen on Saturday during the Penn State game, when U-M allowed 203 yards in the first half and only 80 after the break. Nua was asked if an increased confidence from the players helped lead to the crew shutting PSU down in the second half.
“I don’t think it had to do with confidence, but them wanting to win,” he explained. “They got punched in the mouth and said, ‘We’re not laying down.’
“They kept fighting and fighting. If you have to find a positive out of the loss, that was it. It was encouraging, and is something we have to take moving forward.”
That same fight will need to be shown on Saturday night against an excellent 5-1 Notre Dame squad, whose lone loss on the year came by just six points at Georgia in late September.
A quick glance at the statistics shows just how excellent the Fighting Irish’s offensive line (in particular) has been this season — they rank 18th nationally in tackles for loss allowed, 21st in sacks surrendered and 19th in yards per carry.
“They’ve always been a sound group,” Nua noted, referring to Notre Dame’s offensive front. “We played them a lot when I was at the Naval Academy, and I noticed then it’s not only their O-line, but their tight ends as well — it’s almost like the two practice together.
“They do the same things with pad level and have tight ends inside who have good footwork. We have a good challenge, but that’s what you want as a player at this level — to play against the best.”
Other Michigan Wolverines Football Notes
• Kemp played in just two games as a freshman in 2016, which has since raised speculation about whether or not Michigan could potentially apply for him to receive a medical redshirt for that year (if he was injured for the second half of the season; it is not known publicly whether he was or not).
The last game Kemp appeared in in 2016 was the Oct. 8 win at Rutgers, but whether or not that was too late in the year to still receive a medical redshirt will be up to a hypocritical NCAA organization that doesn’t follow or enforce its own rules (if any of this even comes to fruition at all).
“No,” Nua answered when asked if there has been any discussion about Kemp potentially returning in 2020 for a fifth season. “I hope he does come back, but not yet [have any discussions occurred].”
• The role of freshman defensive tackle Chris Hinton, ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the class of 2019 by Rivals.com, has been minimal this season, especially early in the campaign when he made defensive appearances in only one of the Wolverines' first three games.
Hinton has seen defensive snaps in each of the Maize and Blue's last two affairs against Illinois and Penn State (albeit only a combined three snaps, but it’s progress nonetheless). Nua has liked what he's seen from Hinton in practice, and if he can keep that up he is likely to see more action.
“His effort in practice, and his dedication and commitment to job assignments [are impressive],” the D-line coach said. “It’s been good to see him get some playing time, because nothing replaces experience. He’s doing well, and I look forward to him getting a lot more reps.
“Make more plays [is what Hinton needs to do to see the field more] and do exactly what he’s doing now: be consistent with his assignments and not get blown back.”
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