Ballyhooed all offseason as the nation’s biggest freak in college football, the accolades have been quiet for Michigan football defensive tackle Mazi Smith. But, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been a vital, key piece to the nation’s top-ranked defense.
‘The tip of the spear,’ Smith has been pivotal for the Wolverines, shutting down run lanes, taking up double and sometimes triple teams, and creating opportunities for everyone around him. If Michigan didn’t have Smith in the middle of the defense, likely, we’d be telling a different story about how good the overall unit is.
Appearing on the Inside Michigan Football radio show with Jon Jansen, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter shared just how indispensable Smith has been for the defensive front, and how the Wolverines work to deploy him when he’s out on the field.
“Man, he does everything,” Minter said. “He takes on double teams. You can’t single-block him. So we try to put him, at times, over centers and dare them to single-block him. We moved him some more this year. I think he’s really, really athletic. I think his movements have been one of the things that improved the most from last year.
“But the thing I’m really proud of is he owns his role. And you know, I would love for Mazi to have six sacks and 20 TFLs because he’s that type of guy, that type of player. He knows that’s not always going to be the case. And he’s he does a lot of the dirty work and him and Kris Jenkins, Mason (Graham) and those guys, and he owns it and he does a great job.
“He’s a leader. I think the most important stat for Mazi is that we have a great run defense and it’s come to fruition with him, so far. So, couldn’t be happier for him and more proud of how he’s played.”
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Smith hasn’t been the sole star in the middle, as Kris Jenkins and Mason Graham have also come on strong. Considering the personnel losses from a year ago, Minter had to rely on different faces than former coordinator Mike Macdonald had, and as such, he’s presiding over the top-ranked defense in the country through 10 games.
Minter says that those players have not only created more opportunities for those around them, namely the edge rushers, but they’ve been productive in their own rights.
“They’re just so powerful and it’s ways to try to create pass rush at times for those guys,” Minter said. “Our whole front’s done a good job of setting each other up with some of the picks and some of the games and twists. And it’s something that we kind of wanted to take another step in this year. Whereas last year, you had a couple of really good edge guys and it’s like how can we create rushes from all angles of the defense?
“And those guys enjoy it, they’re good at it. It’s when you’re 330-pounds and move like Mazi and have that power he can do a lot of different things in there and it’s been good to see.”
The defensive front will have their hands full this week with Chase Brown and the Illinois Fighting Illini coming to Ann Arbor on Saturday. Kickoff will be at noon EST and the game will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
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