Saturday night’s 49-24 beatdown in Minnesota was just the second career start for Michigan Wolverines football redshirt sophomore cornerback Vincent Gray, who was tasked with going up against outstanding Gopher junior wideout Rashod Bateman.
Bateman reeled in 101 yards on nine catches, but Gray (and the rest of Michigan’s secondary) did an excellent job of not allowing him to do what he does best — rip off explosive plays (his 20.3 yards per reception led the Big Ten last year).
The junior receiver averaged just 11.2 yards per reception on Saturday night.
“I have confidence going against anybody I play against,” Gray told reporters this afternoon. “It’s just ‘next receiver up’ to me. I feel like I’ve played some of the best receivers in the country and none have really struck fear in me.
"I just have to execute, get hands on them and find the ball when it’s in the air.”
Gray had a new starting position-mate on the opposite side of the field, with fellow redshirt sophomore Gemon Green earning the nod and receiving his first extensive action on defense.
The DeSoto, Tex., native performed admirably and registered two pass breakups, though he also had a pass that hit him in both hands and would have made for an easy interception before getting dropped.
“His work on the practice field translated to the game,” Gray said of Green. “He’s been consistent in trying to do what our coaches ask him to do, and he’s been doing it to the best of his abilities.
“I’m proud of what he did on Saturday and there’s more to come from him.”
The Maize and Blue secondary as a whole limited Minnesota to just 197 passing yards, despite the fact the Gophers brought back three of their key cogs — redshirt junior quarterback Tanner Morgan (30 touchdowns and a 66 completion percentage last season), Bateman (1,219 yards) and redshirt junior receiver Chris Autman-Bell (371 yards and five touchdowns) — from a 2019 passing attack that averaged 253.3 yards per game.
“We’re always pretty hard on ourselves as a defense,” Gray admitted when asked to critique the unit’s performance. “We have to take away explosive plays — that’s the main thing we have to do.
“If we do that, we’ll be in good shape. There’s an extreme emphasis on limiting big plays. Coach [Jim] Harbaugh talks about analytics every day, so we know turnovers can win a game and shift it in a big way.”
That’s precisely how Saturday night’s showdown played out, with the Wolverines winning the turnover battle 2-0. U-M’s first takeaway went for a touchdown when redshirt junior defensive tackle Donovan Jeter ran a fumble back 15 yards the other way, while redshirt junior linebacker Josh Ross recorded the second turnover of the night when he picked off Morgan in the fourth quarter.
Michigan’s next opponent — Michigan State — gave the ball away a whopping seven times in Saturday’s 38-27 home loss to Rutgers, throwing two interceptions and losing five fumbles.
“It’s [turnovers] one of the most important aspects of the game for us as a defense,” Gray stressed this afternoon when asked about going up against MSU’s turnover-prone offense this weekend.
“If they allow us to make those opportunities, we’re for sure going to take them. Our whole defense welcomes it.”
Most of the questions Gray fielded today surrounded the Wolverines’ dominant win at Minnesota, with very few even focusing on Saturday’s rivalry showdown against the Spartans.
The redshirt sophomore, however, had no interest in talking any trash or providing bulletin board material while briefly discussing the rivalry.
“Nothing really,” he said bluntly when asked what comes to mind when he hears ‘Michigan State.’ “I just look at it as another game on our schedule that we’ll have to get a win in.”
Notes
• There may be parents and family members of the players in attendance on Saturday at The Big House, but the stadium will be primarily empty for this year’s edition of the Michigan/Michigan State showdown.
“We’re definitely going to miss our fans,” Gray admitted. “It just means we’ll have to internalize this rivalry and make it personal for ourselves and do what we have to do.”
• Sophomore safety Daxton Hill departed the victory at Minnesota with an injury and never returned. Harbaugh said today he doesn’t think the injury is anything serious, though freshman safety Makari Paige filled in for Hill the rest of the game.
“Dax is a very important part of our secondary because he’s so fast and athletic, and is a play maker,” Gray explained. “We need him back there. He knows the game at our level and knows what he’s doing out there, so it gives me confidence knowing he’ll be behind me in the right spots.
“I can execute my game from there.”
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