Tag: Josh Metellus

Michigan second-most with 11 NFL Scouting Combine invites

The Wolverines have the second-most players invited to Indianapolis of any school in college football.

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NFL mock drafts have been all across the board as it pertains to Michigan. But it’s undeniable that the Wolverines has talent in 2019.

The maize and blue lost two draft-eligible juniors who declared, but also have nine seniors that very well could find their name picked come April in the NFL Draft.

But the road to Las Vegas starts later this month in Indianapolis with the annual NFL Scouting Combine, and the Wolverines boast the second-most invitees, tied with Ohio State with 11, but behind LSU who has 16.

That said, there’s a strong case to be made that all 11 could be drafted.

While most mocks to this point don’t include any now-former Michigan players in the first-round, we’ve seen some with center Cesar Ruiz near the tail end, and we wouldn’t be surprised if Josh Uche makes a push.

Here’s all 11 invitees:

  • Ben Bredeson, OL
  • Lavert Hill, DB
  • Khaleke Hudson, LB
  • Sean McKeon, TE
  • Josh Metellus, DB
  • Michael Onwenu, OL
  • Shea Patterson, QB
  • Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR
  • Cesar Ruiz, OL
  • Jon Runyan Jr., OL
  • Josh Uche, LB

7-round NFL mock draft sees 8 Wolverines picked

The site predicts all seven rounds of the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft and has 8 Wolverines going to the league formally.

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It seemed obvious coming out of the 2016 season that Michigan was going to have a bevy of NFL Draft picks. 11 selections later, the Wolverines led all teams with players coming out of Ann Arbor headed to the pro ranks.

It’s been slim pickings since then, with just a handful of former Michigan players going each year, but the 2020 NFL Draft looks like it could certainly have a maize and blue flair.

At least according to Bleacher Report.

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NFL Draft prognosticator Matt Miller put together his post-Super Bowl seven-round mock draft this week, and an astonishing eight Wolverines made the class of 256 players selected overall, including one surprise going in the first-round.

Miller explained why he has former Michigan center Cesar Ruiz, who left a year of eligibility on the table, picked 31st overall by the NFL runner-up San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers clearly have a defense talented enough to win the big games and have promising young players on offense, led by Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. Up next to improve is the interior offensive line.

Cesar Ruiz is the draft’s best center and has shown the ability to handle power and speed on the inside. He’s smart, athletic and versatile enough to handle the 49ers’ zone-blocking scheme at any inside spot.

Here’s all of the Michigan picks as predicted by Miller:

  • 31, (1): OC Cesar Ruiz, San Francisco 49ers
  • 44, (2): WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, Indianapolis Colts
  • 70, (3): EDGE Josh Uche, Miami Dolphins
  • 100, (3): OL Ben Bredeson, Seattle Seahawks
  • 171, (5): LB Khaleke Hudson, Baltimore Ravens
  • 207. (6): TE Sean McKeon, Jacksonville Jaguars
  • 216, (7): S Josh Metellus, Cincinnati Bengals
  • 228, (7): CB Lavert Hill, Indianapolis Colts

There are two notable omissions here, of course. Miller has QB Shea Patterson and OL Michael Onwenu both as undrafted in his seven-round mock — though it’s likely that one or both could be late-round picks by an NFL franchise.

Of course, we’ll have a better idea later this month when the NFL Scouting Combine kicks off, putting much more of the upcoming draft in perspective.

Four Wolverines make Mel Kiper’s top 10 NFL Draft big board by position

Several Wolverines are standing out early in the eyes of the NFL Draft guru.

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The Wolverines looking to make a name for themselves ahead of the NFL Draft in April have a big week to do just that, given the Reese’s Senior Bowl practices have been underway with plenty of scouts in attendance.

But, it’s not all about the seniors who are departing Ann Arbor, but some of the juniors who don’t get to participate in such a showcase.

The prominent voice in all-things NFL Draft is ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr., who just released his first mock draft and big board for 2020. While no Michigan players made either the first round of 32 or Kiper’s top 25 players, he did separate the top ten players available by position, and four former Wolverines made those lists, including one at the very top.

The name that was highest for Kiper was former team captain Ben Bredeson, who headlined his top ten offensive guards available, coming in at the No. 1 spot. But he isn’t the only offensive lineman to get strong consideration as center Cesar Ruiz — who is forgoing his senior year to enter the pro ranks — came in as Kiper’s third-best center.

The other two players that Kiper is high on are both senior defensive players, as Josh Metellus came in as the No. 8 safety. Josh Uche had another year of eligibility, despite being in Ann Arbor for four years, and Kiper sees him as the 7th-best outside linebacker.

However, Uche can really make a name for himself at the Reese’s Senior Bowl, where he’s already made a strong impression during practices.

Notably absent in the lists are both senior QB Shea Patterson — who’s had an up-and-down go of things in the week-long preparation for the Reese’s Senior Bowl — but perhaps more notably wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones, who declared for the NFL Draft early, despite having another year of eligibility. Given that he had a year where he could improve his draft stock, that he isn’t on Kiper’s list of top ten wide receivers as of current means that Peoples-Jones will have to rely heavily on both the NFL Scouting Combine and his Pro Day workout to fly up draft boards.

Michigan football defense grades from the 2019 season

Michigan football ended its 2019 season 9-4. The defense wasn’t as good as year’s past but was better than most projected. How’d they do?

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2019 was a big year for Michigan’s defensive coordinator Don Brown. He has lost talented players before and simply reloaded, but this year was tougher. A lot of new players would start for him, and with two new defensive coaches underneath him, after both linebackers coach Al Washington and defensive line coach Greg Mattison left for Ohio State. Harbaugh would bring in Anthony Campanile from Boston College to coach the linebackers, and Shaun Nua from Arizona State to coach the defensive line.

The 2019 Michigan football defense was better than most people projected. Headed into the season Brown’s group wasn’t getting the respect they deserved. Even with new starters across the board and new coaches, they still had loads of talent and deserved to be a top-10 defense.

The defense would see new starters at every level. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson would get to start after waiting for his turn. Linebacker Khaleke Hudson sought out to redeem his poor 2018 season. Cornerback Lavert Hill would be the top cornerback alongside Ambry Thomas and Vincent Gray. Michigan would also get to see five-star freshman safety Daxton Hill debut.

Special Teams even had an interesting battle at kicker between Quinn Nordin and Jake Moody as last season ended with a debacle between who would start.

While the defense did better than expected, in the end, it just wasn’t enough as they couldn’t slow down the offenses of Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Alabama. They were given a tough challenge of Army early on in the season too and needed double overtime to take down the Black Knights

With that said, it’s time to review how each position, including head coach and coordinators, did in the 2019 season. I already broke down the offense earlier as it’s the defenses turn to get graded on their performance.

Defensive Line: C

Michigan’s defensive ends would see some new faces start for them. Aidan Hutchinson would be one of them and his sophomore season was a good one, finishing with 69 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, six pass deflections, three and a half sacks, and three forced fumbles. His partner in crime, and the other new starting defensive end, was Kwity Paye, who finished the season with 50 total tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, and six and a half sacks.

While the ends were performing well, the defensive tackles are where Michigan had some trouble creating pressure. Carlo Kemp would be one of the starters and finished with 40 total tackles, four and a half tackles for loss, two sacks, and a fumble recovery. Michael Dwumfour would be playing through an injury for most of the season according to Dwumfour, and his play was affected greatly, finishing with just nine total tackles, two pass deflections, one and a half tackles for loss and just half a sack in the seven games he played in.

The depth behind the players wasn’t as rich as years past. Defensive tackle Chris Hinton would play in Dwumfours absence and didn’t have much production either, finishing with just 10 total tackles and half a tackle for loss. Defensive end Mike Danna, a transfer from Central Michigan, would play and help out with his veteran presence, finishing with 38 total tackles, three tackles for loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble. Defensive end Luiji Vilan would finally see the field after missing two seasons with injuries, and he had seven total tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and a forced fumble this year.

Linebacker: B
Josh Uche would continue to build himself up for the NFL, finishing the season with 33 total tackles, 10.5 tackle for loss, team-high seven and a half sacks, two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, and a pass deflection. Devin Gil saw a step back in playtime, only appearing in six games and finishing with nine total tackles and a half a tackle for loss.
The biggest thing about the group this year was the emergence of Cam McGrone. Josh Ross was starting before him and finished the year with 18 total tackles in just three games before getting injured. McGrone stepped in for Ross and ever since then Ross hasn’t seen the field, despite being healthy enough to play. McGrone finished the year with 65 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, two and a half sacks, one forced fumble, and a pass deflection.
Cornerback: B-

Michigan got a boost for its secondary this year with Lavert Hill deciding to return for his senior year last year, and it ended up being the right choice in the end. Hill finished the year with 16 total tackles, nine pass deflections, three interceptions, and a tackle for loss. While it wasn’t an eye-popping season, he still overall played well.

The real star was Ambry Thomas, who overcame colitis in August, after not knowing when he’d return, and had a huge sophomore season, finishing with 38 total tackles, three tackles for loss, three pass deflections, and three interceptions, along with two fumble recoveries. With Thomas moving up to second-string, Vincent Gray would be moved up to third and overall had a quiet season. He finished with 20 total tackles, five pass deflections, and a tackle and a half for loss.

Safety: B-

Safety Josh Metellus made the right choice in returning to Michigan in 2019 for his senior year also, as he had a career-high 74 total tackles this season, along with five pass deflections, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery. Brad Hawkins was his original starting partner, finishing the season with 53 total tackles, and a pass deflection. An injury to Hawkins would force him to miss some time, but in the meantime, his playing time would get reduced due to five-star freshman Daxton Hill taking over in his absence.

Hill had an interesting year. While he would start the year on special teams, with Hawkins injury he moved towards defense and his role at safety. While Hill didn’t blow up the stat sheet like many were hoping for, along with showing signs of being a freshman, he was able to impress during his playtime. He had 36 total tackles, three pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, and an interception.

Now onto the special teams and coaching…
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3 Things to Watch for Against Alabama

Michigan football takes on Alabama in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day. Here are three things you need to pay attention to.

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New Year’s Day will bring new year’s resolutions, new traditions, new beginnings, and for Michigan and Alabama, a closing statement for their 2019 season. While this game won’t get as much attention as the College Football Playoff games got yesterday, it will still be a huge game lots of people will be paying attention too.

Michigan and head coach Jim Harbaugh will be looking for a big win over Alabama and head coach Nick Saban as the Wolverines need to upset the Crimson Tide to get win number 10 on the season. There are many things to talk about heading into this game, players contemplating the NFL draft, which players could see playing time in the bowl game, coaches taking on their former team.

For me though, here are my main three things to watch this week against Alabama as the Wolverines look to shock the nation.

1. How will Michigan’s secondary deal with Alabama’s loaded wide receiver group?

Everyone including myself has talked about this time and time again. How can Michigan’s defense, mostly the secondary, deal with Alabama’s loaded wide receiver group? It’s not going to be easy and something will have to give if Michigan is going to have a chance at stopping any of them from playing well.

Comparing the two groups of top three wide receives, Alabama’s is another level over the Wolverines top receivers.

Alabama Top 3 WR Stats

  • Devonta Smith – 65 catches, 1,200 yards, 13 touchdowns
  • Jerry Jeudy – 71 catches, 959 yards, nine touchdowns
  • Henry Ruggs III – 38 catches, 719 yards, seven touchdowns
  • Total – 174 catches, 2,878 yards, 29 touchdowns

Michigan Top 3 WR Stats

  • Ronnie Bell – 43 catches, 694 yards, one touchdown
  • Nico Collins – 33 catches, 681 yards, seven touchdowns
  • Donovan Peoples-Jones – 33 catches, 404 yards, six touchdowns
  • Total – 109 catches, 1,779 yards, 14 touchdowns.

The difference between the two teams is 65 catches, 1,099 yards, and 15 touchdowns. That difference is huge and something Michigan will need to somehow contain or at least slowdown. It won’t be easy to do, but that is the key to Michigan winning this game is to limit the Alabama passing game.

Cornerbacks Lavert Hill, Ambry Thomas, and Vincent Gray will be tested from the first snap until the final whistle. If Hill has a great game, his NFL draft stock can improve, along with Thomas if he chooses to declare. Gray will be back at Michigan guaranteed next season, so a good performance can boost his confidence and help him for his possible NFL draft appearance in the future.

2. Can Josh Gattis’s knowledge of Alabama help Michigan?

Michigan has some extra knowledge about Alabama’s football team ahead of the matchup. That is all thanks to their offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. Gattis was the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Alabama last season and he could know what to do against Alabama’s defense. While things might not be the exact same, Gattis can help his players grasp how the Crimson Tide defense works in general.

That extra information about Alabama could help Michigan out in a big way. While Gattis will know about the Alabama defense in a way, he also could know about the offense that they run. While he won’t know the schemes and such, he knows most of the players and how they work and what works best for them. He can help defensive coordinator Don Brown in figuring out how to stop the offense as well as they can.

Gattis could be the Wolverines secret weapon. Alabama knows that Gattis will have an insight on how things work, so they will most likely shake things up to surprise Gattis and I’m sure Gattis knows that will be coming. Gattis could be a big help for the Wolverines as the team gets ready to try and take down the Crimson Tide.

3. Don Brown’s response to another blowout to Ohio State

Last year, Michigan lost to Ohio State 62-39 and their response game was against Florida in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. What happened in that game? Michigan got blown out again, losing 41-15. This year it’s a similar story as Michigan lost to Ohio State in another blowout 56-27. Will Michigan respond to getting blown out in their biggest rivalry game by getting blown out in the bowl game once again?

That would be a horrible way to end the 2019 season as it would be almost a carbon-copy of the 2018 season with just one less win. Brown will need to certainly get his players ready for this game against Alabama. Brown had some interesting words when talking about his team rebounding after losing to Ohio State this year.

“Yeah, we’ve moved on from that,” Brown said. “I mean, obviously, you can’t let a significant loss like that linger. If you let it linger, then one loss leads to two losses. And I think our guys have done a good job of just putting that behind us and focusing on what’s in front of us. We’ve got a great challenge coming up here next Wednesday and, you know, that’s our 100 percent focus.”

Brown will need his defense as ready as they’ve ever been as Alabama will be the toughest type of offense they’ve gone up against this year. While Ohio State was the better team overall, Alabama’s receiver core is the best in the country and one that Brown will somehow have to overcome. If Brown doesn’t want the same ending as he had in 2018, he’s got to do something different.

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Five Wolverines accept invites to participate in Reese’s Senior Bowl

If you thought that just SAM linebacker Josh Uche and tight end Sean McKeon would be the sole representatives for Michigan in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, think again. On Tuesday, the NFL Draft showcase for league scouts featuring outgoing seniors …

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If you thought that just SAM linebacker Josh Uche and tight end Sean McKeon would be the sole representatives for Michigan in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, think again.

On Tuesday, the NFL Draft showcase for league scouts featuring outgoing seniors revealed the full list of college football players who had accepted invites to participate in the Jan. 25 bowl game in Mobile, Alabama and the maize and blue are the second-most represented school on the list.

With five soon-to-be former players having accepted invites, it promises to be a maize and blue affair, with only the Utah Utes having more representatives with six.

The aforementioned Uche and McKeon were announced shortly after the culmination of the regular season as participants, but three more are joining.

Michigan QB Shea Patterson accepted his invitation to participate, meaning that, like McKeon, he’ll be going straight from the East-West Shrine Bowl in Florida directly to the Reese’s Senior Bowl the following week.

Also participating in the prestigious all-star game will be safety Josh Metellus and left guard Ben Bredeson.

But first, naturally, the five have one more game to play in maize and blue, with the VRBO Citrus Bowl coming up Jan. 1 vs. Alabama.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl kicks off at 1:30PM CT at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile on Jan. 25. The game will be televised on NFL Network.

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Michigan football quick film hits: Ohio State

Michigan football lost to Ohio State 56-27 on Saturday. What were the main film takeaways from the loss?

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Coming off the 39-14 win over Indiana, Michigan was feeling good before playing Ohio State. That good feeling would end once the Buckeyes came to town as Michigan lost 56-27.

Quarterback Shea Patterson did everything he could against the Buckeyes as he was forced to air it out with the defense allowing points left and right against Ohio State. The defense struggled to create turnovers and make stops as they didn’t have an answer for the Ohio State offense all game long.

Check out what I found when rewatching the loss to Ohio State.

OFFENSE

  • The opening drive to take the 6-0 lead was a perfect drive by the Wolverines. They mixed the run with the pass and used a perfect jet sweep play by Giles Jackson to score. The extra point though, I don’t get why they got cute with it instead of just treating it like a normal extra point attempt.
  • On the first play on the second possession, after driving down the field with ease, Michigan runs a wildcat towards Ohio State defensive end Chase Young and to nobody’s surprise, it was a loss of two. The wildcat was unsuccessful for most of the time this season, so calling it against the best defense is just a horrible idea.
  • Ohio State got away with back-to-back defensive pass interference calls on cornerback Jeffrey Okudah as he interfered with Michigan wide receiver Ronnie Bell and Nico Collins. The officials can’t miss calls in these games. You know hand-fighting will be a thing, but Bell got hit in the back and Collins arm was being held and couldn’t try and catch it.
  • On the touchdown pass to wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, there was some confusion by the Ohio State secondary with Bell as the defensive back covering him told the safety to go cover him as he went in motion. The safety waved him off and told him that it was his job. The original defensive back didn’t see that and both went to cover Bell, leaving Peoples-Jones in single coverage for an easy score.
  • There were five drops in just the third quarter alone, and in games like this, you can’t drop balls that hit you in the hands. That was a big blow to the offense in the second half as Michigan needed to get points.
  • The call on running a wildcat on a crucial fourth down in the fourth quarter is another poor decision by offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. While the wildcat did get them to score early in the fourth quarter, the times he has called it for most of the season have not been good. The play needs to get thrown out of the playbook.
Now onto the defense and their performance…
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Michigan football grades from Week 14 loss against Ohio State

Michigan football lost to Ohio State 56-27 as they finish the regular season 9-3. How did each position grade out in the rivalry loss?

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Coming off their 39-14 win over Indiana last week, Michigan was turning it’s attention to Ohio State, the number one team in the country. Michigan would be shown why Ohio State was the best team in the country as they lost 56-27 in Ann Arbor.

The offense showed some promise in the first half, while the defense couldn’t have an answer for Ohio State all game long. Check out below how each position was graded on their performance in the loss yesterday.

OFFENSE

Quarterback: B

Shea Patterson did everything he could against Ohio State. He finished the game going 18/43 for 305 yards, with a touchdown and interception. He was forced to do a lot with his defense allowing points left and right. He couldn’t get much help from the running game either due to the score being so big as the game continued and with that group struggling.

Patterson also didn’t have help from his wide receivers in the second half they were dropping many passes that were in their hands. If the receivers caught all those drops, Patterson would’ve put up 350-400 yards and another touchdown. Patterson did have some poor throws, but again it was mostly due to being put in a tough spot on offense.

Running Back: C+

While Patterson was dominating in the air early on, the ground game couldn’t do much against the Ohio State defense. Hassan Haskins finished the game as the leading carrier with 12 for 78 yards and a touchdown. Zach Charbonnet only had seven yards on four carries.

Neither running back could find the holes when they were open, and when they had a good run they had to break off a tackle or two to get the yards, but it slowed them down so others caught up to tackle them.

Wide Receiver: B-

What started out as a good first half, turned sour in the second half as multiple receivers started dropping passes from Patterson, wasting chances for the offense to get back into the game and killing any momentum they had. Ronnie Bell was the top receiver, finishing with six catches for 78 yards, while Donovan Peoples-Jones was the only receiver to catch a touchdown, getting three for 69 yards and the score.

Giles Jackson didn’t catch a pass but ran it three times for 26 yards and a touchdown. Nico Collins was quiet as he was covered well, only getting two catches for 32 yards. Tarik Black couldn’t do much either with one catch for nine yards.

Tight End: B+

Sean McKeon had a good game, getting three catches for 66 yards and helped out with the blocking when asked to do it. Nick Eubanks also was a big help, getting two catches for 42 yards and was blocking well also. This was probably the best game the group has played all season long in both units.

Offensive Line: B+

Michigan’s offensive line had a big job in containing Ohio State’s monster defensive end Chase Young and they did a great job in that, as he never recorded any sacks or tackles, but they still allowed two sacks on Patterson. The offensive line did everything they could to keep Patterson upright and they gave him loads of time against a great defensive line.

They struggled to create running lanes though when asked to do it as that’s been a weakness they’ve had all year long. The lack of a run game hurt the offense to be more creative and change up their plays.

Now onto the defense and special teams…
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Michigan’s native-sons ball out against rival Spartans

On Saturday against the Spartans, Michigan got its best performances of the day from the players native to the state.

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The ‘Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy’ may not have the historical significance of ‘The Game’ at the end of November, but Michigan’s in-state rivalry provides something the matchup with Ohio State does not.

On Saturday, the Wolverines fielded 44 players native to the state of Michigan, while the Spartans fielded an additional 48. Many of these players have competed with or against one another throughout their years playing football.

Saturday in Ann Arbor, the Michigan natives sporting maize and blue out-performed their brothers donning green and white, and many of the biggest plays of the game came from those Wolverines who grew up watching and living this rivalry.

It started with Michigan State’s first possession. After forcing a punt, the Spartans crossed midfield and faced a third-and-3 from the Wolverines’ 38-yard line. Michigan’s Michael Danna, from Detroit, sacked Spartan quarterback Brian Lewerke, ending the scoring threat.

Danna would finish the game with six tackles, including the sack and tackle for loss.

Michigan carried a 17-7 lead into halftime, but with the Spartans receiving the second-half kick, the outcome was still very much in doubt. That began to turn when Detroit-native Ambry Thomas picked off Lewerke to set the Wolverines up with great field position.

Michigan capitalized four plays later when Donovan Peoples-Jones – another Detroit native – scored from 18 yards out to extend the lead to 24-7.

“He’s got the ability to elude and also out-run people,” said head coach Jim Harbaugh. “Good to see him getting the ball and making those type of plays, and finishing in the endzone.”

Thomas would finish with six tackles and a tackle for loss to go along with his interception. Peoples-Jones had four catches for 48 yards.

Asked what it was like seeing players from Detroit making plays in this game, Peoples-Jones smiled.

“It means a lot. I can’t even describe it in words,” he said. “It’s a big game, big-time opportunities out there and we came out and…didn’t make the most out of our opportunities but made plays when they needed to be made.”

Later in the third quarter – after Michigan State closed to within 14 points – Wolverine kicker Quinn Nordin, from Rockford, connected on a 49-yard field goal attempt to extend Michigan’s lead back to three possessions, 27-10.

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Quinn,” Harbaugh said. “He comes in, hits a 49-yarder from the right hash. He told me when I was recruiting him that someday he was going to kick a 49-yarder from the right hash to beat Michigan State. So, that was kind of a cool moment. After he kicked that one, I walked out there and reminded him of that. It was a big kick at that point in the game.”

The Detroit natives weren’t done, and next it was Lavert Hill’s turn. He intercepted Lewerke early in the fourth quarter, setting up a drive that would end with Nordin connecting on his third field goal of the game to make it 37-10.

“That was a big moment for us,” said defensive captain Khaleke Hudson. “Just being able to get the ball back for our offense and give us a chance to put even more points on the board.”

In addition to the interception, Hill broke up another pass attempt and made a tackle.

“It was great,” Josh Metellus said. “Ambry got the pick first, and he’s from Detroit and the Michigan [State] rivalry is really big to him. It’s also big to Vert, and when Vert got his pick, you could just feel the intensity. You could feel it through him, and the vibe that he had just went throughout the whole stadium. From the field, to the fans, to the top row – whatever you want to call it. You could just that this team knew what we did today.”

Rivalry games are the lifeblood of college football. Wins in these games can breathe life into a program, while simultaneously sucking it out of the program on the other side.

On Saturday, in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines who grew up calling this state home led the way against their hated rivals from East Lansing.

“We just came out here and played a physical game,” Peoples-Jones said. “It was obviously a rivalry game, the tension was up a little bit, and everybody wants to make a play. Everybody wants to make a play for the team. I feel that’s what everybody, individually, wanted to do for our team.”

Josh Metellus praises Michigan for being ‘classier’, insinuates dirty play by MSU

One Wolverine insinuated that MSU’s play was dirty on Saturday.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Things can get rather chippy in a rivalry game, and in the Michigan – MSU game in particular.

The battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy is often known for its toughness and physicality — and maybe even some cheap shots every now and again.

Well, that’s precisely how Michigan safety Josh Metellus saw the Wolverines’ dominant 44-10 victory over the Spartans — as a real physical matchup. But, in his mind, the green and white took things a little too far from time to time.

“Our side was real physical,” Metellus said. “I feel like this defense, especially, we made a statement today. We played real physical. They tried to – it was to the point where we were playing too physical and they tried to do stuff after the play, when we weren’t looking and stuff like that. It just showed today that we were the better prepared team, and we came out and wanted to execute more than they did.”

Each team had over 90 yards in penalties, and each had two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties assessed.

But, as Metellus sees it — and Jim Harbaugh noted that he felt his team kept its composure throughout the game — it was the MSU side that was engaging in extracurricular activities.

One such play was negated due to offsetting penalties, with Michigan State DE Jacub Panasiuk making a late hit on quarterback Shea Patterson. He ultimately was suspended from the game, as he reached the max of two.

Metellus is proud of how the Wolverines managed such situations, especially given what MSU tries to do throughout the game.

“I’m pretty pleased, because I feel like we’re way more classier than them,” Metellus said. “They try to take it to a level that isn’t playing football. We play football over here – I don’t know what they do over there, but we play football, and it showed today.”

Unlike in most games, where the players for both teams take a lot of time to pose for pictures and such, there was very little of that after this one.

You see it even with Michigan and Ohio State — arguably the biggest rivalry in all of sports. But there isn’t that type of sportsmanship between the Wolverines and Spartans.

Sure, a few posed afterwards, but both teams made a quick exit from the field after the game, and Metellus shared what he said to the MSU players who attempted to linger on the field.

“I was telling them to go home,” Metellus said. “It was time for them to leave. They didn’t deserve to be in our stadium. I was just trying to wave them goodbye because some of them wanted to stay on the field and it was our time to shine. We came out with the W so we was just telling them to go home.”

There’s certainly no love lost between these bitter rivals, but for the first time since the Lloyd Carr era, Michigan now has strung together consecutive victories over their in-state enemy.

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