Stock Report: Michigan Defense After Week 6

STOCK REPORT will be a season-long feature where we rank and rate Michigan football players within their position groups. SR is more than a depth chart as we consider the player's impact and potential. After each game, we will reassess the rankings as players see their stock rise while others may see their stock fall.

READ: Stock Report: Michigan Offense Post-Week 6

Breaking news, it was a good day for the Michigan pass rush in back-to-back games.

STOCK UP: Speaking of, Mike Morris has now gone back to back TO BACK with great games. Eight more pressures in this one, bringing his total to 26 for the year. He also notched another sack for six on the season.

I hate to do this, but I wanted to know where Morris matched with Hutchinson at this point last season.

Numbers are numbers, and these are numbers.

I am not going to make any projections, but it is fair to say Morris has turned it on in the last weeks, and he has lifted the entire Michigan pass rush.

Last week we talked about the evolution and potential formula for Michigan's pass rush, and against Indiana, we saw it come to fruition. Jaylen Harrell continues to be a valuable piece of the defense, but as I discussed last week, his focus is returning to the run game while Eyabi Okie assumes the David Ojabo role. Morris leads in snaps, but Derrick Moore saw a giant leap in snaps before rotating in for Morris.

STOCK UP: Okie has seen his role and impact increase weekly, and I expect that to continue. He is becoming more familiar with the defense as the coaching staff puts him in different situations to help confuse the defense. Derrick Moore was the other rising name we watched, and we predicted a role increase this week. He's jumped into the next tier, taking on a role similar to what Morris had last season. Moore posted the second-best PRI score for the week; he's just a monster and seems to cause some disruption on nearly every play.

This means Taylor Upshaw has dropped back to a role similar to what he held last season. That is not terrible, as he has performed better with limited snaps. I am not sure the share will always keep such a similar split, but it is fair to say this is where the EDGE position is headed.

I feel like a broken record with Mazi Smith, Kris Jenkins, and Mason Graham.

After missing only one snap against Iowa, Mazi played less as Michigan was forced to sub by series to deal with Indiana's tempo, but he still played 53 snaps. Jenkins played 52 snaps, making for a pretty solid duo. Each generated three pressures from the inside and had five tackles. They were big in stopping the inside run game.

Ok, I've waited long enough—Mason Damn Graham, ladies and gentlemen.

Graham was Michigan's third-highest-rated defender against Indiana. I think it's good to remind ourselves once in a while of what we are talking about here. That's a freshman playing defensive tackle, bullying redshirt junior and former Michigan offensive lineman Zach Carpenter. You aren't supposed to be able to do that. What will Graham do after a year or two in Michigan's strength program? He's just unreal.

Fourth highest-rated defender? Rayshaun Benny. He made an impact in the pass rush, was solid in the run game, and even lined up outside on two snaps. He's limited because of the strength ahead of him, but Benny is on track to be a real player on the inside. Have to be excited about the role he is settling into.

Only eight snaps for Kenneth Grant in this one, but that isn't surprising given Indiana's pace and Michigan's game plan.

Unfortunately, my analysis here isn't much different than last week.

The concerns at linebacker are well-documented at this point, so let's dive into it.

It's so tough with Junior Colson. He is Michigan's third highest-rated defender in the run game behind Kris Jenkins and Mike Sainrsitil (I'd argue Mazi should be higher). He grades out as one of Michigan's tacklers, obviously behind Rod Moore. While Michigan doesn't send him often, he is pretty solid in the pass rush, including two pressures on five pass rush snaps against Indiana.

Michael Barrett has been taking over the WILL position at times with Nikhai Hill-Green out. He grades out as Michigan's best tackler, with eight stops. He, too, has been decent in the pass rush, with five pressures and two sacks on only 14 pass rush snaps.

The issue, of course, is pass coverage.

Against Indiana, the two linebackers were targeted nine times for nine receptions and 67 yards. Barrett was caught badly out of position on an RB screen that went for a touchdown. Stephen Osentoski broke down this play and a few others in our latest episode of Cuts Ups.

More concerning than the struggles in pass coverage is that opposing offenses seem to be targeting them as part of the game plan. Michigan is working to find solutions. We saw more Mike Sainristil than any other game this season. Makari Paige was used differently in the second half, bringing some more physicality to the short and intermediate parts of the field. Jimmy Rolder and Kalel Mullings combined for 38 snaps, getting more opportunity, but both linebackers made mistakes in pass coverage.

Michigan's defense is likely better than last season; they were analytically compared to last year's team at this point. This isn't a problem coaches ignore; we've seen the corrections on the field, and the coaches have even mentioned it at the podium. They are working to correct it because it may be the only thing holding this defense back from being elite for the rest of the season.

At this point, if you wanted to argue any different order for the top 3 corners, you could argue your point. DJ Turner and Gemon Green have been excellent in coverage, while Mike Sainristil has been improving. Sainristil's impact on run defense, pass rush, and being a disruptor can not be undervalued. He is one of the three most valuable pieces to this defense today. Imagine someone telling you that was going to happen a year ago.

Turner was targeted six times against Indiana, giving up only two receptions for 39 yards, 33 coming on a prayer shot from Connor Bazelak. Turner seemed frustrated early on, likely thanks to an awful defensive pass interference call. The officials were inconsistent Saturday for both teams, but it seemed to get Michigan more on tilt in the first half.

Green didn't have his best day, giving up three receptions on only four targets but for only 19 yards. He did his best to make tackles and limit the damage.

STOCK UP: Mike Sainristil played arguably his best game against Indiana. He was targeted seven times and gave four receptions for only 27 yards. He had two pass breakups, generated pressure, and made noise in the run game. He's not Dax Hill, but after leading the team in snaps against Indiana, it's clear he's as close it will get.

I've been trying to spread the word on Will Johnson to anyone who will listen, so I'll give him Stock Up here. Obviously, I can't raise him above the top 3, but they are the only reason he doesn't have a more significant role this season. I'd argue his pass coverage numbers are slightly skewed because many of those targets came when Michigan had backups in. When he is on the field with starters, and a more reliable pass rush exists, he is in line with the rest of the group. His total defense ranks him second among the group behind Green. The run defense is behind Sainristil. He was tackling second behind Green. Any other year, Johnson is CB2. He will be a star for this team for the next few seasons.

As we discussed earlier, Makari Paige saw a role increase in this one. He played 59 snaps against Indiana, 6th most on defense and only six behind Rod Moore. Unfortunately, increased time did not mean increased performance. Paige's impact shows up better on film than in the numbers, where he had two missed tackles and made a couple of bad reads in the run game. What was interesting about this one was how the safeties were used.

STOCK UP: Rod Moore has been in a weird place, with Mike Sainristil taking on some of his role in the defense. In previous games, Moore was more of true safety than the nickel/safety hybrid he played in 2021. With Indiana trying to spread Michigan out, Michigan went with more heavy DB packages to prevent the linebackers from getting into coverage mismatches.

Moore spent 27 snaps at slot/corner compared to 30 at safety. He excelled in coverage, giving up two receptions for 15 yards, and getting his 2nd interception of the season. Moore is Michigan's best tackler so getting him into the box seems like a no-brainer for trying to contain outside rushes. He led the team with 6.5 tackles against the Hoosiers.

In this one, Moten saw his role decrease heavily, getting only 14 snaps, five less than Joshua Nichols. Moten has been good in coverage this season, but not the heavy hitter LB-like hybrid who can impact the run game like many anticipated at the start of the season. Unlike the EDGE position, where I think Michigan discovered its formula, I think this group is still a work in progress—going to keep an eye on snap share and usage against Penn State.

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