For the first time since the 2014 season, Michigan will have a new face leading its defensive line next year.
Greg Mattison had held that title for head coach Jim Harbaugh's entire tenure in Ann Arbor but departed for Ohio State in early January, leading to the hiring of 37-year old Shaun Nua from Arizona State.
The 2018 campaign was Nua's lone season in Tempe, as he led Navy's defensive line for six seasons prior to his stop with the Sun Devils.
The 2012 campaign with the Midshipmen was his first as a position coach, though he did spend three years at his alma mater BYU (2009-11) as an intern in 2009 and then as a graduate assistant from 2010-11.
With that in mind, here's a closer look at the statistics each of Nua's defensive lines posted from 2012-18 at Navy and Arizona State, respectively.
There's no sugarcoating how dismal the majority of the numbers are on the chart above.
Five of the seven defensive lines have been poor at stopping the run (2017 and 2015 being the lone exceptions), while the only units that posted respectable sack/tackles for loss numbers was last year's crew at Arizona State.
With that being said, there are still a few positive aspects worth taking note of.
For example, the fact that Nua's 2015 d-line was able to finish 32nd nationally was incredible, especially when considering the lack of talent that resided on it.
Although the 2017 unit didn't end up quite as high (52nd), a similar sentiment can be said about that year's.
Recruiting high schoolers to play at the Naval Academy obviously has limitations and challenges that other collegiate programs don't contend with (with perhaps the exceptions of Army and Air Force), making it incredibly challenging to recruit to.
Here's a closer look at where each of Navy's recruiting classes finished during Nua's six years there:
• 2012 — 87th
• 2013 — 92nd
• 2014 — Below 100th (Rivals only ranks the top 100 classes)
• 2015 — Below 100th
• 2016 — 88th
• 2017 — 76th
While the numbers Nua's defensive lines posted at Navy may seem discouraging at the outset, it's also important to remember the talent level he was working with.
Hod Rabino of DevilsDigest, meanwhile, explained in January that it's hard to judge Nua's tenure in Tempe due to it being such a small sample size.
"When opponents average 170.5 rushing yards against you, it’s not an indication of a strong defensive line, but linebackers played a part in that too," the ASU writer noted.
"The line did a better job against the pass than it did against the run. Overall, it was an ok job in what was an average 7-6 year for Arizona State.
"Whether the defensive line's play should be attributed to Nua or the talent — or lack thereof — probably goes both ways.”
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