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Currently mired in a three-game losing streak, the program’s longest in a single-season since dropping their final three games of the 2017 campaign, there is more than just a singular issue plaguing Michigan football.
One of the most glaring, however, has been the lack of pressure generated by the defensive line. After posting five sacks in the season-opening victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Oct. 24, the Wolverines have totaled just one sack in the last three games, which came in the loss to the Wisconsin Badgers on Nov. 14.
Second-year defensive line coach Shaun Nua, who joined Jim Harbaugh’s staff after one season under Herm Edwards with the Arizona State Sun Devils, appeared on the Inside Michigan Football radio show with Jon Jansen on Monday to discuss his young – and banged up – position group and where they go from here.
Prior to embarking on his coaching career as an intern with BYU in 2009, Nua played for the Cougars from 2003-05 and spent three seasons on National Football League rosters with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills, meaning he can relate to the frustration his players are feeling.
“You rely on the leadership that you have from your coaches, to the leaders on your team, especially your teammates, people that have your best interest,” Nua said. “It’s very, very easy, for times like this, for you to be very, very down and depressed and start pointing fingers. Truth is, it’s very simple, you just go the mirror and look in there and see what you can do better. That’s probably the main thing I learned through all the adversity as a player and now as a coach, it holds true then, and it still holds true now.
“What can you do as an individual to get better? What can I do as a coach to help my guys? What can I do as a coach to help the other coaches? That’s kind of my focus right now, just dig deep, humble yourself, and figure out what the heck is going on.”
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While not completely absolving the defensive line for their struggles, Nua’s young men have been hit particularly hard by the injury bug.
The team’s starting defensive ends, junior Aidan Hutchinson and senior Kwity Paye, are presently sidelined. The former left the game against the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington on Nov. 7 with a fracture in his right leg and will likely miss the remainder of the season, while the latter was unavailable for the Wisconsin contest due to a reported groin injury.
“Anytime you lose players the caliber of those two, you want to change, but you don’t want to change too much, not in a panic mode,” Nua said. “You still got to have faith in the guys that are up next, you know, next guy up mentality, but at the same time, the hardest part, you lose two leaders. That’s probably just as much of them as players.
“The challenge now falls, not just on the players that are stepping up, but myself to make sure, not only their mindset is right, but that they know what they’re doing so that way they can perform at a higher level.
“Losing those two definitely is a challenge, but I also look at is as an opportunity for guys like (redshirt sophomore) Taylor Upshaw, all the younger guys, (redshirt junior) Luiji Vilain, (redshirt freshman) Gabe Newburg, for those guys to step up and see what they can do. That’s what we’re going through right now.”
With Hutchinson and Paye out of action, redshirt senior Carlo Kemp slid out from his normal tackle spot to end against the Badgers. As Nua shared, having an experienced player with this type of versatility is a luxury and someone the younger guys can learn from.
“It means the world because it’s a very sensitive thing,” he said. “Does that mean you have lesser faith in the guys that were there? No, it’s just you want to put the best players on the field, and we have good faith in (Christopher) Hinton and (Donovan) Jeter inside, and Kemp was the next best guy.
“To have him, it’s not like he hasn’t played the position before, he played it two years ago, so, it was almost like an easy move for us to say, ‘OK, we’re playing Wisconsin, let’s get some bigger bodies out there.’
“He did a heck of a job getting the plays down, especially the technique and the fundamentals to play on that edge, he did a good job.”
One of the few positive takeaways from the 38-point loss to Wisconsin, which was the program’s worst home defeat in nearly 85 years, was the extended action some of the younger ends saw, particularly Upshaw and Vilain. Nua took a moment to comment on what he saw from some of his less experienced student-athletes.
“Obviously, not good enough for us to win, but very, very encouraging to see them get in there and make some plays,” he said. “Taylor (Upshaw) did a great job of taking advantage of some of the plays that came his way and made some plays. The experience they get is invaluable, it’s constantly strengthening their foundation of them continuing to become better players.
“Unfortunately, their time has come a lot faster than we thought with Kwity (Paye) and Aidan (Hutchinson) being out, but it’s still a good opportunity for all of them. Guys like Gabe Newburg, Taylor Upshaw, Luiji Vilain, huge, huge opportunity for them to get better, get some experience.”
Paye was in sweats on the sideline on Nov. 14, but Nua remained vague when Jansen asked about when fans will see him back on the field.
“Hopefully, as soon as possible. The sooner, the better, and I know he’s working his butt off trying to get back as fast as possible.
“His influence on these guys is very, very high, they respect him a lot. I told him, ‘Do not shy away during the game, you’re basically one of the coaches now, go help out, whatever you see, help out the guys on the edges.’
“And that’s exactly what he did because his experience is invaluable for us. He did a good job communicating with the guys on the sideline and it was fun to watch him see the game from that perspective. Hopefully, we get him soon.”
Transitioning to the interior of the line, Nua laid out the plan for steady improvement for sophomore Christopher Hinton, redshirt junior Donovan Jeter, and redshirt freshman Mazi Smith.
“Consistency,” Nua said. “Especially with Jeter and Chris Hinton, consistency is my biggest challenge to them, consistently dominant the middle.
“We all know we’re not there yet, so, the challenge for them is consistency. Mazi Smith and (redshirt junior) Jess Speight, they don’t have a lot of experience in there, so, that’s what they need. Whatever reps they get is huge for their development.
“The two veteran guys, Hinton and Jeter, the challenge for them is to consistently be dominant, and be more dominant in the middle.”
The next chance for the defensive line to generate some pressure and build some confidence among the fans will come on Saturday against Greg Schiano’s Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-3) at 7:30 p.m. EST on the Big Ten Network.
Rutgers is averaging just 328.8 yards per game, a total that ranks No. 104 among Football Bowl Subdivision programs, and has surrendered eight sacks, suggesting this matchup could be exactly what Nua’s group needs.
