Perhaps none of Michigan's positions have more question marks surrounding it heading into the 2019 season than defensive line (though running back could give it a run for its money).
The Wolverines lost four key contributors from its 2018 unit (Rashan Gary, Chase Winovich, Bryan Mone and Lawrence Marshall), and will head into next year attempting to fill their voids with several players with little to no experience.
With all that in mind, however, senior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp explained that U-M has been through this scenario before and has come out just fine every time.
“First of all, [sophomore defensive end] Aidan Hutchinson is a guy who has really emerged,” Kemp exclaimed. “Playing last year was phenomenal for him, and it’s go time for him now as a sophomore.
“[Junior defensive end] Kwity Paye has been playing for two years, so it’ll be frightening for opposing tackles trying to block him and Hutchinson off the edge.
“We’ve always had good players on defense here, even after huge personnel losses. People also said we were bound to take a step back after we lost guys like Chris Wormley, Taco Charlton and Mo Hurst, and now they're saying it again about Chase and Rashan.
“We hear those things from people but don’t acknowledge them. We don’t play to prove them wrong, but it is a motivating factor for us. We all have a d-line pride we’ve possessed since we were freshmen, and it relates to not letting the guys down who have played before us here.”
Kemp certainly hasn’t let anybody down throughout his Michigan career, showing a willingness to frequently change positions in order to do what’s best for the team.
He came to U-M as a linebacker from the state of Colorado, before moving to defensive end and now finally nose tackle.
“I never thought I’d be playing nose here,” he laughed. “Once you get to college, you look at football in a completely different light and ask yourself what you were even doing in high school. It’s been fun figuring out which position is best for me though.”
While the multiple position changes probably weren’t always ‘fun’ for Kemp over the past three years, he revealed his final spring session at U-M has been a blast thanks to the arrival of new defensive line coach Shaun Nua (who replaced the departed Greg Mattison).
“He’s so fun to play for,” Kemp beamed. “He likes to remind us every day how he’s from the [American Samoan] islands. We connect with him so well because he’s a younger coach.
“We constantly look to the sidelines and see him all fired up over there — if that doesn’t get you going, then I don’t know what will. When we see him and Don Brown going crazy, we’re all like ‘bring on another blitz and let’s keep this going!’
“Coach Nua gets right up in you every day, and just makes you want to play for him.”
Notes
• Much of the talk this spring has surrounded the ways Michigan's offense will change in Josh Gattis' up-tempo, no huddle attack, but most have not realized the immense impact it will have on the defense as well.
“It’ll be beneficial to us because we face so many clap, no huddle offenses," Kemp insisted. "It will help both our offense and defense in the fall, seeing as how we each need to respond to it."
• Of the eight early freshmen who enrolled early this spring, one has received more praise than any of the others — wideout Mike Sainristil.
Despite playing on the opposite side of the ball, Kemp was the latest to sing his praises after Saturday's spring game.
“Mikey is very fast as a slot receiver and can cut on a dime," the defensive tackle declared. "He’s already made some pretty impressive plays this spring.”
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