Michigan football coordinator Don Brown continues turning out defenses ranking among the nation’s elite, statistically. But a pothole emerged in the drive to a championship, and it’s more like a fully developed sinkhole.
The issue, of course, involves Ohio State and its 118 points against Michigan the past two seasons. Only four years after coming one play (or one call) from beating the Buckeyes in Columbus, 17-14 in regulation, U-M seeks to slow down the runaway OSU train.
Not that it’s alone in that effort. The Buckeyes ranked third in the nation in scoring last fall, averaging 46.9 points per game. They were second in 2018, averaging 42.4.
Michigan All-American and two-time captain Jon Jansen insists this isn’t just a challenge to the defense. When it comes to changing that game — and others against elite offenses — the Wolverines need all hands on deck, he stressed.
“This is a conversation that includes both sides of the ball,” Jansen cautioned. “Don’s defense has been a really good defense when our offense is productive. Our offense has to be able to hit open receivers.
“You look at the first couple of drives against Alabama. We had missed opportunity after missed opportunity to change the course of that game offensively. That then changes everything that Alabama is doing on offense and that Don Brown is able to do on defense.
“It goes the other way, too. When Don Brown’s defense plays well, it allows Josh Gattis to do things on offense. It has to be complementary, on both sides of the ball.”
Jim Harbaugh continues to seek the defensive combination to not only dominate most of the regular season, but hold its own in the biggest games. This year’s additions involve veteran coach Bob Shoop handling safeties and Brian Jean-Mary coaching linebackers.
Shoop has seen it all, serving as defensive coordinator at Mississippi State the past two seasons. He held the DC spot at Tennessee before that, as well as at Penn State and Vanderbilt, and has served as an assistant at a host of other venues.
“This is where I think the hiring of a guy like Bob Shoop is a big addition,” Jansen said. “He is one of Don’s disciples. They were together when Don was at Yale. Bob went off to take all he learned from Don, and he’s had stops in the SEC, in a couple of different areas, where they’ve had to make the adjustments to the speed of really fast receivers and really high-octane offenses.
“Him coming back and bringing some of that insight will be of great assistance and improvement.”
Jansen says the Wolverines carry substantial defensive potential entering 2020, and it begins up front.
“The base of Don’s defense, I still believe in,” Jansen said. “When you’ve got guys like [junior defensive end] Aidan Hutchinson and [senior defensive end] Kwity Paye, and the ability to rush the passer, that is complementary to what he is trying to do on the back end — high-pressure, man-to-man coverage. We also saw a lot of times this year where he did implement zone.”
