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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — No. 23 Michigan has a tall task ahead of it this week as it travels to No. 13 Indiana for the second consecutive year. And it might have to do it without starting VIPER Michael Barrett, who showed out in Big Ten Week 1.
Barrett was injured in Week 2 against rival Michigan State, and in his place, second-year Florida native Anthony Solomon got some play. Solomon played 10 snaps agains Minnesota but that number ballooned to 18 against MSU. As a VIPER does, Solomon was all over the field — from D-line to playing in the box to covering the slot receiver.
Michigan linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary says that he was quite pleased with what he saw out of the true sophomore in his first major outing on the defensive side of the ball.
“Anthony is another young man I was very familiar with when I got here,” Jean-Mary said. “Knew of him with some of the recruiting I had done down in Florida. He was a kid who was really dynamic in high school coming off of the edge. Was really excited to work with him. I thought he did a very admirable job once Mike got a little injured. He came in and with that position, we ask that position to do a lot of things. He was about 90-95%, which you can’t ask for much more from a player, especially coming in a little cold off the bench.
“Anthony is a very, very talented guy. Has to hone in on some of the coverage aspect things, but we’re comfortable with him as far as playing over tight ends and attacking the runs. He’s a kid that I still think has a bright future and has a chance to be a really good football player here.”
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But what if, say, something were to happen to Solomon? Who would be the next man up?
That honor would fall to true freshman William “Apache” Mohan, who got in for one snap against the Gophers, but did not play in Week 2. Jean-Mary shared more about who Mohan is as a player, what he brings to the table and what he needs to improve upon before he’s ready to settle into the rotation.
“William – which, we don’t call him that, we go by his nickname, ‘Apache,’” Jean-Mary said. “He’s probably one of the more explosive players (I’ve ever coached). He’s probably about 205-210-pounds. But his explosiveness off of his first step is rare and is uncanny. When you talk about a guy that can be able to blitz and come off of the edge and make plays, he’s got great potential there. The big thing for him as a freshman, as with most freshmen, it’s just learning the pace of the college game, learning the speed which to play at and to practice at. Probably getting a bit more strength to take on college offensive linemen and tackles and being able to tackle college-level running backs. But he’s coming along. He’s a real unique kid because of his athletic ability. Another kid we think has a bright future, more and more once he gets the experience of playing.”
Michigan and Indiana are set to kick off on Saturday at noon EST at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.