Tag: Donovan Jeter

Halftime analysis of No. 18 Michigan vs No. 21 Minnesota

It’s halftime between Michigan and Minnesota as it’s 35-17 Michigan. What has worked and what hasn’t so far for the Wolverines?

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After months of waiting, Michigan football returned tonight! The Wolverines were looking to take down Minnesota on the road, and it didn’t start the way they were hoping for. After a screen pass from quarterback Joe Milton to freshman running back Blake Corum for 24 yards, things went downhill quickly. Fullback Ben Mason received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, making it second and long. An incomplete pass followed by a sack made it fourth and long for the Wolverines.

That’s not where it stops, though.

In just two plays after the blocked punt, Minnesota scored a touchdown pass from quarterback Tanner Morgan to tight end Ko Kieft to take the early 7-0 lead in the first quarter. That lead wouldn’t hold on for long, though. On the first play from scrimmage, running back Zach Charbonnet would run up the middle through a wide-open hole for a 70-yard touchdown run to tie the game up 7-7.

After the Wolverine defense forces a three and out for Minnesota, Michigan drives down the field and was held to a 38-yard field goal attempt. A question that wasn’t answered this off-season was who won the starting kicker job between Jake Moody and Quinn Nordin. Moody would kick the extra point and the field goal, but he would miss the field goal, and the game would stay tied 7-7.

On the first play of the third drive, Michigan’s defense showed its teeth as viper Michael Barrett sacked Morgan and forced a fumble. The ball popped out of the air, and defensive tackle Donovan Jeter caught it as he ran it back for a touchdown, and Michigan took the lead for the first time, 14-7.

Minnesota would keep fighting as Morgan found wide receiver Chris Auman-Bell for a 45-yard pass to give them a boost after struggling in back to back drives. Michigan’s defense would bend but not break and hold the Golden Gophers to a field goal, making it 14-10 Michigan.

The Wolverines would take advantage of the Minnesota special teams missing three of its starters as Barrett would return a kick 66 yards to put Michigan at the eight-yard line. Milton would find Mason as he would flip into the endzone for a touchdown, making it 21-10 Wolverines.

Minnesota was not giving up as wide receiver Rashod Bateman contributed with two catches for 23 yards. A Michigan facemask penalty moved the Golden Gophers down the field for a free 15 yards. It would end with running back Mohamed Ibrahim running for a 16-yard touchdown run to make it 21-17.

The Wolverines kept pounding it on the ground, but more so with Milton as he had three carries for 38 yards on the drive. The drive would end with a wildcat formation four-yard touchdown run by running back Hassan Haskins. Michigan would make it 28-17 just under five minutes to play in the half.

Minnesota went bold on their next drive. After getting a three and out, Minnesota would try a fake punt that would net them two yards when it was fourth and four. Michigan took advantage of the short field position, and Haskins would run it in once again for an eight-yard touchdown to make it 35-17.

Michigan would hold off Minnesota once again, and while the Wolverines were able to push down the field, Moody would miss another field goal, this one from 48 yards out. Michigan goes into halftime up 35-17.

Positives:

  • The viper position is in good hands with Barrett. Not only is he helping out on defense, but he’s also helping out big on special teams with that 66-yard return. Barrett doesn’t want to get off the field; he wants to help the team as much as he can. With former viper Khaleke Hudson now gone, it was unknown how much Barrett would impact the team, and his presence was felt quickly.
  • In his first half of play, Milton did well, going 9/14 for 100 yards and a touchdown, along with six carries for 41 yards. He never looked rattled or uncertain when he was on the field. He was sacked in the first series, but that didn’t make him scared to line back up in the next series. There was an overthrow, but for the most part, Milton did well with his accuracy, a concern many had about him. He was more mobile than many expected, but it certainly helped move the chains.
  • The offensive line is impressing early on so far in this game. While Milton was sacked in the opening drive, they have created big holes for Charbonnet and Milton. They have been giving Milton time to throw with a clean pocket for a majority of the passes. With two new starters and two players with limited starting experience, this offensive line has eliminated many doubts about them coming into the season.

Negatives

  • While we’ve only seen it appear once, the special team punting group needs to improve. The blocked punt gave Minnesota great field position, and they would use that momentum to score in just two plays to take the early lead. It was only one play, but that blocked punt could give them the confidence to do it again.
  • The secondary is struggling, but not as bad as you would think with two new starters. Cornerback German Green let up while in man coverage on Autman-Bell, which allowed the 45-yard catch to happen. Morgan is 12/15 for 84 yards and a touchdown in the first half, so while Michigan has held him to under 100 yards, the completion percentage is too high as multiple wide receivers are open and getting easy catches. It could be a lot worse though, so while it needs to get better, it’s doing better than expected.
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Shaun Nua sees multiple players stepping up on interior DL

With the 2020 season around the corner, Michigan football DL coach Shaun Nua shared who’s been emerging at defensive tackle.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Perhaps one of the biggest concerns heading into 2020 for Michigan football has been who would step up on the interior defensive line. But to hear the staff talk about it, it’s sounding more like a strength than a weakness.

Going into a season with virtual unknowns is always a reason for fan anxiety, at least, and the Wolverines haven’t had solid push in the front-middle since Mo Hurst departed after the 2017 season. However, it appears there are several contenders in the middle who have made a strong impression this offseason.

Meeting with the media on Wednesday, defensive line coach Shaun Nua broke down the contenders, starting with a former five-star in Christopher Hinton — a player many anticipate could start opposite returning tackle Carlo Kemp.

“Hinton’s limited experience last year is definitely helping him,” Nua said. “Now he’s not playing like a sophomore. His footwork is a lot faster now. His knowledge and understanding of the game – even though it was at a good place is now at a better place, anticipating stuff. Those are the guys inside – Jeter, Carlo, Hinton, Julius Welschof, Mazi Smith is coming along, along with Jess Speight, Phillip Paea. They’re all doing good.

“The younger guys, especially Mazi Smith – I see the progress more than he does. It’s good and bad. It’s good that I see the progress that he’s – he wants to arrive already, but it’s a good problem to have from his point of view. He’s a competitive young man that has completely changed his body frame, and now he’s at a level where he’s really, really close to having that breakout experience right now.

“I feel really good with our inside guys. They’re fighting – it’s gonna be some good battles.”

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One player who has risen like a phoenix from the ashes this offseason is a German-born player who flipped not long before the 2018 class’ signing day in defensive end-turned-tackle Julius Welschof.

Welschof reported to campus at 253-pounds his freshman year, but is now up to 286 — further enabling his move inside. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said of him on his Monday radio show, “Keep an eye on him. He’s coming into his own.”

Furthermore, the 6-foot-6 tackle has frequently been mentioned on Twitter by Don Brown, having earned the coveted ‘dude of the day’ award from the Michigan defensive coordinator after practice on Sept. 14 and Aug. 21, as well as being ‘not a dude, but a guy’ on Sept. 10.

So why the sudden emergence? Nua explains.

“Julius Welschof is just experienced – the game of football wasn’t instilled in him at a young age,” Nua said. “The things he needed was a lot of repetition and the COVID time off, it was probably useful for him, especially to get into the playbooks and study. And then the next thing, the next step, was to get a feel for how to play the game to get his football instincts intact.”

With that in mind, we can project that either Donovan Jeter — who also earned considerable hype from Nua — and/or Christopher Hinton will be the tackle to start alongside Carlo Kemp. But expect to see Welschof and Jess Speight — the former walk-on who started against Alabama — to get in early and often while Mazi Smith and Phillip Paea continue to emerge in the defensive middle.

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After years of hype, why Donovan Jeter is ready to step into pivotal role in 2020

Why the fourth-year defensive tackle is poised to play a pivotal role for Michigan football, after years of hype not meeting production.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — We’ve heard it every year since 2018: Donovan Jeter is on the verge of breaking out.

A fourth-year player from outside of Pittsburgh, Jeter came to Ann Arbor with a lot of promise and showed out in his first appearance as a true freshman in Michigan’s 2017 spring game. However, that offseason, Jeter tore his ACL and was sidelined for what could have been a promising season.

We didn’t hear much about him until bowl prep in 2018, when before the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, his coaches and teammates starting seeing him step up, saying he could be a factor at defensive end with Rashan Gary having opted out. However, he contributed very little, with just one tackle in the game coming in as a reserve.

Before 2019, it was the same story — hype followed by little production. Now a defensive tackle, Jeter played just 93 defensive snaps the entire year, with the bulk of those coming in two of his nine game appearances — against Rutgers and Alabama. Now we’re hearing the hype again, but it’s significantly more emphatic, with defensive coordinator Don Brown saying last week, ‘Donovan Jeter is playing better than I ever could have anticipated he could play,’ and that sentiment being echoed by head coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.

So what’s caused him to be the point of praise this fall? How much can we really expect him to be the player we’ve long heard about? Defensive line coach Shaun Nua explained Jeter’s emergence on Wednesday.

“Jeter finally got into the – that comes with a lot of experience and just time – young men finally realizing, ‘I can do this. I can do this on a consistent basis,’” Nua said. “His mindset is part of the thing that’s changed in everything he does. Off the field, on field, with his teammates. Once that happens, everything seems to fall into place. He’s literally took his mindset into a place where it’s helping him produce at a very, very high level. And especially on a consistent basis. He’s in a very good place.”

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Now that this is Jeter’s fourth-year, he has but this and next year to establish himself as a high-profile player if he wants to live out his NFL dreams.

Formerly committed to Notre Dame before flipping to Michigan, with Greg Mattison (who’s now at Ohio State) overseeing his position when he arrived, he could envision himself following the likes of Taco Charlton, Chris Wormley and Ryan Glasgow — Wolverines who were all drafted following the 2016 season.

Knowing that time is running short for him to follow the aforementioned or others like Chase Winovich, Rashan Gary or Michael Danna — other NFL draft selectees — Jeter is pressing forward, looking to make sure he doesn’t squander the opportunity in front of him.

“I think it’s exactly what you said – sometimes all of us, we tend to not understand how fragile and how very, very limited the opportunities are,” Nua said. “He’s probably just sick and tired of not breaking through. It’s a combination of all of that. He’s finally realizing, ‘What the heck am I waiting for?’ There’s a lot of talks, we’ve had a lot of discussions about it and he’s finally seeing the light. Just hoping he’ll stay strong and have a good feeling it is. Once you realize your opportunities are very, very limited, either you fight back or you don’t – and he’s decided to fight back.”

It’s not only now or never for Jeter as it pertains to his own personal goals, but Michigan needs him to step up this year, as well. While there are contenders on the defensive interior, only Carlo Kemp is a returning starter and proven talent in the middle.

There’s competition between Jeter, sophomores Christopher Hinton and Mazi Smith, former walk-on Jess Speight and junior upstart Julius Welschof. The good news for Jeter is that he’s asserted himself enough so far that he’s ensured that he’ll be in on certain packages — whether he earns a coveted starting role or not.

“Right now, we are a little less than two weeks away from it, and the unique thing is we have different packages,” Nua said. “Whatever the situation comes in the game, he might be the starter in one package. That’s the beauty about it. They’re still definitely competing – him, Carlo, Hinton are some of the guys competing for those two spots inside, but it’s a great healthy competition. They all get along, they love it.

“Jeter is taking a leadership role especially within our room, not just for the (younger) guys, and that’s the beauty of it – when you do your job and start to lead by actions, it’s easy to lead. Because everybody’s like, ‘He’s not just blowing smoke and not doing it.’ So he is doing a good job of being a leader to the younger guys and especially to our group.”

We’ll see just how much Jeter has improved in just over a week, with Michigan traveling to Minnesota for the Oct. 24 season opener.

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Jim Harbaugh: Michigan’s defensive identity in 2020 starts up front

Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh shares why the DL is the team’s defensive identity and who’s standing out in the linebacking corps

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What’s kept Michigan from being as dominant the past two years defensively as it was the three previous?

The Wolverines are still in the upper echelon of college football in terms of total defense — meaning, yards surrendered per game — but 2018 and 2019 have seen some serious lapses, particularly against Ohio State. Still, the maize and blue have finished no worse than No. 11 in that metric since Jim Harbaugh arrived, but there has to be a reason why it hasn’t been able to keep pace with the Buckeyes, right?

One part of it certainly could be the lack of push up front. In 2016, Michigan had eight sacks against OSU. In 2017, it had three. But in 2018 it had zero and managed just one in 2019.

So to say that the defensive line needs to improve, particularly in that game, it wouldn’t be terribly novel of an idea.

Thankfully, it appears that’s the defense’s strength heading into 2020, as Harbaugh told Jon Jansen on the Inside Michigan Football radio show that he feels the defensive front is that side of the ball’s identity — starting with the two ends up front.

“I think if you can picture – I know you can picture it, but Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson – two — wow,” Harbaugh said. “Tremendous players and they’re having great camps. I kinda look over at them and I see the identity for our defense in those two. Really talented, great, high-effort kind of players. Carlo Kemp and Chris Hinton – and now Donovan Jeter also is really surging and doing great. Such a natural and good football player. And Jess Speight, total Michigan man. Talk about position switches and a guy who will do anything for the team — In there playing nose.

“Also, Luiji Vilain, looking for him to have a very good year. Taylor Upshaw is surging as a player. Also say Julius Welschof, keep an eye on him. He’s coming into his own. Mike Morris, Mazi Smith, Gabe Newburg – really turning into great football players.

“That group of defensive linemen – a lot of identity coming out of that group.”

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Michigan will need more than the front four in order to get the defense back in the top four, nationally, in 2020.

Behind them are two household names in Josh Ross and Cam McGrone, but there’s a newcomer, in terms of starting, in VIPER Michael Barrett — a former quarterback in high school.

Starting with Barrett, Harbaugh broke down the linebackers, including who could spell the starters as the game wears on. All-in-all, he appears happy with the depth.

“He’s a rock-solid guy,” Harbaugh said. “Tough competitor and experienced player. Feeling very good about the linebacking position with Michael Barrett, Josh Ross and Cam McGrone. And some other players are behind them. Ben VanSumeren is looking for, competing for a starting spot at the SAM backer, along with David Ojabo. Adam Shibley has really surged here the last couple months and is doing a great job at the MIKE position. He’s got versatility to play both MIKE and WILL. Outstanding young player.

“Anthony Solomon is a sophomore, but he’s doing a heckuva good job. The two freshmen to really look at are inside backer Nikhai Hill-Green and Kalel Mullings — both doing really well, especially for only being freshmen. So starters and depth are being developed there at the linebacker position. Jaylen Harrell – make another note, right there with Nikhai Hill-Green and Kalel Mullings standing out as freshmen – Jaylen Harrell is doing that as well.”

We’ll see all of the above in action in mere weeks, with the season opener at Minnesota kicking off on Oct. 24 at 7:30 P.M. EDT. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.

Two Wolverines standing out physically to Jim Harbaugh

Two Wolverines have impressed their head coach when they arrived in Ann Arbor for the voluntary summer conditioning period.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s been a long while since, not only the players making waves by standing out in workouts or practices, but also hearing from Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh.

As the team was set to hit the field for spring ball in March, the coronavirus pandemic had other plans. Less than a week before the Wolverines were set to hit the practice field, it was all canceled, and the players were sent back to their respective homes with classes moving to an online format. Likewise, Harbaugh hadn’t met with the media since the postgame press conference following the Jan. 1 VRBO Citrus Bowl, a loss to Alabama. So there was little information to glean about where the team was trending with the 2020 season drawing nigh — barring any COVID-19 setbacks.

However, in June, the team finally returned to campus for voluntary workouts, overseen by the strength and conditioning staff. For Harbaugh, he noted that two players arrived in impressive shape — made more impressive given that they didn’t get the benefit of working out within the confines of Schembechler Hall.

And one is a player who has yet to put on a winged helmet in earnest.

“The guy that stands out the most is (safety)RJ Moten, who’s an incoming freshman that was — he must have a FitBit watch or something,” Harbaugh said. “He would text me especially his bike riding workouts. He had a workout where he was riding with a trainer (and had) a 52 or 53 mile bike ride. 3,100 and some odd calories that he burned, and he was doing it a couple of times a week. When he finally did show up, he just looked great.

“Another example is (fourth-year defensive tackle) Donovan Jeter. Donovan probably played last year at 290-295 and he’s up to 320-325 this year. And reports that he’s moving better. He’s moving faster, quicker, side-to-side and forwards. That stands out. There’s a lot (of) others.”

When it comes to staying in shape — or getting into football shape, which are two different things — Harbaugh notes that it’s wasn’t a chore to get his players to buy in.

Given the circumstances in the world, the maize and blue were eager and ready to get back to campus and restart their training, Harbaugh says. Of course, the spectre still lingers that either there won’t be a season this fall or that it could be postponed until spring. That remains to be seen, but Harbaugh says the team has approached this unusual offseason with a certain panache, knowing they can get ahead of the curve if they put in the work now.

“Just I think their attitude going into — it’s been 120 days, somewhat in that area,” Harbaugh said. “The things we suggested and I think they really bought into was the providence will favor the prepared and being prepared. Being prepared. And even the question will we have a season, better to be prepared and not have the opportunity than to have the opportunity and not be prepared. I think our guys have done a really good job, a really tremendous job from what I’ve seen.”

For now, the team will continue to work out on a voluntary basis, which means the coaches must remain uninvolved due to NCAA rules. However, as a precursor to traditional fall camp, Harbaugh says that the team will reconvene in a more conventional sense — somewhat — in a mere matter of weeks.

“We’ll get involved as coaches starting July 24. We’ll move to a 20-hour week. Walkthroughs will be incorporated. We’ll be on the field with them and be able to really be around those workouts. Right now, it’s been more safety oversight — of course. But to really get in there and start being around them everyday: meetings, walkthroughs, workouts — starts July 24.”

Who Michigan can expect to see up front defensively in 2020

There are a lot of questions about who the Wolverines will use on the defensive interior in 2020, but Brown feels the whole line is stacked.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If there’s an area of consternation for Michigan fans as the season approaches, the defensive interior is among the chief concerns.

The Wolverines return Carlo Kemp for a surprise fifth-year, but with Michael Dwumfour’s transfer to Rutgers this offseason, there isn’t a known commodity to line up next to him. Plus, the maize and blue didn’t bring in any defensive tackles in an otherwise solid 2020 recruiting class.

That means that Michigan will be relying heavily on a new starter with little experience. But there’s certainly some upside to the players who should be in rotation.

Somehow, many forget about two of the players who will be a large part of what the Wolverines do up front in 2020: former five-star Christopher Hinton and fourth-year tackle Donovan Jeter.

Given that he was an early-enrollee, Michigan native Mazi Smith tends to get the bulk of the attention from the fanbase, but he got little time in 2019. He’ll also be a part of the rotation, defensive coordinator Don Brown says, but with the other two, there’s a lot of reasons to expect them to play a big part this upcoming season. Jeter was highly anticipated as a freshman until he tore his ACL in the offseason. He hadn’t quite returned to form even last year, but he got some playing time. Hinton was worked in slowly and started the bowl game against Alabama with both Dwumfour and Kemp out with injury.

Brown says that late-season experience should help that duo be a major part of what the Wolverines do up front in 2020 — along with the aforementioned Smith.

“When they look back on it, they ended up having to play at the end of the year due to injuries at tackle and at nose,” Brown said. “That’s only gonna end up paying dividends for them moving forward. It would have been nice if we could have had the ability to work in spring practice, but everybody was in that same scenario, so that’s just part of it. But we now have a chance, those guys played in two big games. Obviously, being able to play in a big game is an important piece, now we just need them to take it on an elite level in a big game.

“Christopher Hinton – I’m really excited about his potential. You mentioned Donovan Jeter. Mazi Smith is another guy as well. We think all of those guys, in evaluating and watching them in some of the winter workouts in the conditioning phases, I really feel like they’ve taken their game to the next level in terms of their physical ability, their ability to run.”

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Despite all the hyperbole and expectations out there, Brown looks at the interior defensive line and sees a net benefit.

The push up front, outside of the pass rushers, has been one of the things that Michigan has been somewhat lacking since Mo Hurst’s eligibility was exhausted, though that was one of the central tenets to the Wolverines defensive strategy.

What Brown sees is a group of defensive tackless who now have the bulk to be effective — something that wasn’t necessarily the case in recent years, to go along with the ability. It’s one thing to have solid technique up front, but if you’re undersized, going up against some of the nation’s top interior offensive linemen, it’s not going to do much good.

This group, however, has gotten to where it should be weight-wise, and Brown thinks that will pay dividends come fall.

“Sometimes things get said and the reality is they’re really out of context,” Brown said. “For example: when you have four down linemen, you want each one of those four guys to have the ability to run and hit people. Now obviously, there’s a degree of size in the tackle and the nose scenario. And we have that size. Jeter’s a 300-pounder. Mazi Smith is a 300-pounder. Chris Hinton is a 300-pounder. And all three of those guys are very athletic. We’re excited about them, and obviously we’re very excited to have Carlo Kemp come back because not only will he provide experience, he’ll provide that essence of leadership that we desperately need there. But I’m very confident in the guys we have inside.”

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While Michigan will essentially gain those players via productivity this upcoming season, it also lost a lot on the defensive line.

As mentioned, Dwumfour is gone. So are NFL draftees Josh Uche and Mike Danna — both pass rushers. While they have proven production that made them so successful at the college level, there’s another group waiting in the wings that haven’t had those types of numbers.

Yes, we know about the prowess of starting ends Aidan Hutchinson and Kwity Paye, but Michigan’s success up front has had as much to do with the guys in the middle as it has constantly rotating the starting ends with capable reserves. We saw it in 2016 with starters Chris Wormley and Taco Charlton being spelled by eventual top-end draft picks Chase Winovich and Rashan Gary. The current starters — Paye and Hutchinson — had similar roles in 2018 when Winovich and Gary became the top guys.

Though ‘salt and pepper’ remain, replacing Uche, who was drafted by New England in the second-round this year, means some changes to how the scheme is run. Brown would note that it actually means returning to how the defense was formulated before Uche became a dominant force, which led to more 3-3-5 or 3-4-4 looks, given that he was technically a SAM linebacker.

With Uche’s departure, there are a number of players who are expected to be that next man up. Be it third-year former Florida commit Taylor Upshaw or the re-acclimating Canada native Luiji Vilain — who missed both of his first two seasons due to injury — as well as second-year end David Ojabo, a relative newcomer to football who Brown notes has a lot of similarities to Uche’s skill set.

Brown is excited to see how the group progresses once they’re able to get back onto the practice field given how much talent he has at his disposal.

“Now, last year, we had another set of circumstances,” Brown said. “Well, you’ve gotta play Josh Uche. And in that respect, we needed to play in some of our three-down, 3-3 stack-type structure to get that guy on the field especially on second and third down. And in some of our four down structures, we wanted him in some of the four down guys. I still think our defensive end scenario is really blessed, because we have Aidan, we have Kwity Paye. I’m very anxious to see how Ojabo does. Upshaw – Luiji Vilain in limited reps. I go back and watch Luiji play last year at times, and obviously he was hurt because Mike Danna was there. But, the bottom line is it’s his time now and he’ll have an opportunity to prove what he can do and I think we’re gonna get productive, solid play out of him as well.”

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Don Brown sees group of young players ready for limelight

The Wolverines defensive coordinator shares a couple players who are ready to step into increased roles as starters or in rotation.

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Not only do we not know who will be those to take the mantle for some of Michigan’s departed players, we aren’t sure when they’ll be able to get to work in earnest this year.

Due to the novel coronavirus, the Wolverines were never able to hit the practice field, as spring ball was canceled less than a week before it was set to begin. Though, there was a full period of winter conditioning. So, essentially, guys got into shape, but then could do nothing on the field with it.

Thus, when Michigan does return to State St. and eventually Main St., it’s important, particularly on defense, where there’s a lot of rotation, to get a large number of players right and ready to go in.

And defensive coordinator Don Brown sees quite a few players ready to step up.

The maize and blue lost five defensive starters to the NFL draft, plus Lavert Hill, who was signed as an undrafted free agent quickly after the culmination of the draft. So there are a lot of shoes to fill. Brown told Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast that he’s not only seeing the guys who had started to step up last year take that step forward, but also some of those role players who are up and coming.

“I’ve watched them a lot from afar during winter workouts,” Brown said. “We had one winter workout, and it’s funny how you say, ‘Well, it’s only one work out,’ but you can tell when a guy makes a jump. You just look at his body language. The way he carries himself. He’s not looking all around with nervous energy. He’s much more focused and confident. That’s what you’re searching for out of your young guys, because you know they’re coming of age. You can see that definitely on the horizon for several of our guys in that area.”

Given the lack of spring practice and a likely shortened summer conditioning/fall camp period, Brown notes that it’s pivotal for those role players and new starters to be ready to move in and out of the lineup.

The depth has to be there perhaps more than in some years, given that players won’t necessarily be in the same football shape as they likely would have been. Winter conditioning aside, Brown notes who some of the players are who seem ready to take the mantle this upcoming season.

“Obviously, it’s something we were able pay attention to to some degree last fall where we had some surplus of talent,” Brown said. “For example, the Khaleke Hudson, Josh Uche and trying to keep Uch fresh on some of those big money pass downs that he’s so elite at. So when you have those areas – I see it developing.

“I see the Christopher Hinton. I see the Donovan Jeter. I see the David Ojabo jumping in as a pass rusher. Taylor Upshaw. A lot of these guys are outstanding athletes and we just better make sure we have them ready to compete at a high level and especially mentally for those young guys so obviously we can stay efficient and minimize mistakes.”

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Hinton and Jeter are particularly important as Michigan will be seeking to replace Michael Dwumfour at defensive tackle, as he transferred this offseason to Rutgers. Currently, the Wolverines return the other three starters along the defensive line — ends Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson and fifth-year tackle Carlo Kemp. Upshaw started getting some time late in games, and seems poised to be one of the next men up.

Ojabo is an interesting player, as he didn’t begin his football career until recently. A Scotland native, he moved to New Jersey and managed to become a four-star prospect with little experience. His teammates frequently noted him as a freshman a year ago who was making a strong impression.

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Michigan player fires back at angry ‘fan’ account

Why it’s counterproductive for frustrated Wolverines fans to take their negativity to social media.

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We’ve said it time and time again: fans do not live in a vacuum separated from the current, past and prospective athletes they supposedly cheer for.

This is a drum we continue to bang, and will continue to, because the vocal minority — assuredly a small, but loud fraction of the fanbase — tends to tweet things that both players and recruits see. Two people close to Michigan have told WolverinesWire in recent months that the outspoken negative contingent has done damage when it comes to recruiting.

For all the ‘do more, say less’ crowd spouts off, it’s their doing more while saying more that hurts the chances that the team they ‘root’ for actually does the things they dream of. Yes, the team has to find a way to beat Ohio State to achieve its goals, but telling prospective recruits their talent would be wasted at Michigan or current players that they have no chance at beating the Buckeyes — that’s both a deterrent to the possible players suiting up and a kernel of doubt in those who already do.

There are copious amounts of fan accounts out there, and one didn’t tweet directly at the players, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t seen.

In response to a 97.1 FM article stating that Michigan has the best odds to beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten of any team, one such fan account proclaimed on Twitter: ‘No Michigan fan actually believes this FYI.’

But, again, we don’t live in a vacuum. And a current Michigan player saw the tweet.

Jeter isn’t the first Michigan player to express annoyance at the outspoken fans who take to social media. Former TE Zach Gentry deleted his social media accounts after being barraged following some miscues against Ohio State. Multiple players have stated that they’ve stayed off Twitter during the season to avoid the constant negativity, coming specifically from people who claim to be fans of the maize and blue.

We’re not saying you can’t be angry or frustrated about the losses, or unspectacular performances. And how you deal with it is your prerogative. But those actions taken out of frustration can be counterproductive, there are sometimes consequences to voicing those frustrations.

We’re also not saying that all fans must be ‘rah rah’ and pretend everything is golden all the time. But we don’t understand trashing the supposed thing that you love, if you’re one to do that. Because there’s no positive consequence that can come of it.

Even in basketball, nearly every player that’s decided to leave the Wolverines early has faced strong blowback from fans who proclaim ‘they’re not ready’ only to see most, if not all of them, get drafted. Such was the case last year with Jordan Poole, Ignas Brazdeikis, Moe Wagner, DJ Wilson and various others who all were either first or second-round draft picks. It’s an annual tradition that no one seems to learn from.

So, before you fire off that angry tweet, Facebook or Instagram post, take a deep breath and ask yourself if it’s really going to help anything. Because it’s a near certainty that, while it might make yourself feel better for a moment, it’ll do more harm than good.

Shaun Nua breaks down the progress of his younger defensive linemen

What the Wolverines defensive line coach has seen from the D-line players who haven’t been in heavy rotation as of yet.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — After lots of questions coming into the 2019 season, perhaps the most of any position group, the Michigan defensive line group has answered those and more, proving that it can be a dominant unit leading the psyche of the Wolverines defense.

Just two sacks shy of last year’s season total in 13 games — while that’s not entirely on the defensive line, given that the linebackers are also heavily involved — the production is certainly there, with Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson among those leading the charge on that front.

But, what about the younger players on the team?

We know plenty about the aforementioned, but we’re starting to see some of the bumper crop get their opportunities late in games. Defensive coordinator Shaun Nua says that he really enjoys getting to work with the first and second-year players, because they’re eager and putting themselves in a position to be future contributors.

“Yes, yes – Mazi Smith, Hinton, Upshaw, Ojabo, Newburg – all those youngsters,” Nua said. “Because you see the progress. It gets frustrating with them sometimes, because they’re competitors as well. They want to do it right now. But they’re doing a great job and I’m excited. It’s fun.”

Beyond that, here’s everything Nua had to say about the younger generation of players, including Chris Hinton, Luiji Vilain, Donovan Jeter, Taylor Upshaw and David Ojabo.

Chris Hinton

DT Chris Hinton

Often when a team gets a five-star in recruiting, it’s likely that they’ll get into the rotation earlier than later. However, with Michigan having a solid D-line rotation, former five-star Chris Hinton has been able to slowly acclimate, with the coaching staff prioritizing his development.

He’s been in more and more in recent weeks, and notched his third tackle of the season against Michigan State on Saturday.

Nua shared where Hinton is in his progression and development, sharing that he’s not surprised that he’s starting to see the field more often.

“Yes, happy with how he’s progressing, but it’s not a surprise,” Nua said. “He’s a young man that has a good head on his shoulders. And very competitive as well. Not surprised at all. Expectations are still high though, so he knows he’s got a long ways to go as well.”

NEXT: Luiji Vilain
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