Tag: Julius Welschof

Steelers bring back OLB to practice squad

The Steelers have added some insurance at outside linebacker this week.

On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced they had signed outside linebacker Julius Welschof to the practice squad. Welschof was originally part of the Steelers during the offseason after being signed as an undrafted free agent.

This addition could be insurance if Alex Highsmith cannot go this weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers have T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig as starters with Preston Smith as the primary backup. Highsmith wasn’t in the field for the team’s Tuesday practice and this is a situation to monitor going into Sunday’s game.

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Steelers agree to terms with Charlotte UDFA OLB Julius Welschof

The Steelers now have a second Charlotte OLB in UDFA Julius Welschof.

The Pittsburgh Steelers now have a second Charlotte outside linebacker in undrafted free agent Julius Welschof, whom the team agreed to terms with on Saturday.

Welschof played for three years at Michigan, where he was a teammate of Steelers rookie receiver Roman Wilson, before transferring to Charlotte for his final season.

In four seasons, Welschof logged 29 tackles and one sack.

According to Alan Saunders of Steelers Now, the Miesbach, Germany native qualifies for the NFL’s international roster exemption, which means the team will have 91 players in training camp and can sign 17 players to their practice squad if Welschof is one of them.

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Michigan football defender makes transfer commitment

Best of luck to him! #GoBlue

Among those who have opted to transfer from Michigan football, this is among the quietest. Yet, it’s one of the most logical decisions, in a way.

Once a four-star recruit and a dual-athlete from Germany, Wolverines defensive lineman Julius Welschof saw his role change multiple times during his Ann Arbor tenure. He started as a defensive end before bulking up and becoming a defensive tackle. After seeing a considerable increase in time on the field in 2020, Welschof saw his role decline in 2021 and he slimmed down to become an edge rusher again. Yet, his role did not increase. Thus, he opted to transfer following the 2022 season.

On Friday, we learned his destination. Interestingly, the decision was not announced by Welschof, but rather his international training group, led by Brandon Collier. Following Biff Poggi, the assistant head coach the past few years, Welschof has committed to Charlotte. Poggi took over the Charlotte program in December and is remaking that program in his image.

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In 2022, only 37 of Welschof’s 236 snaps came on defense. The rest came on special teams. He had 298 snaps in 2021, including 176 on the defensive line. In the shortened 2020 season, Welschof had 88 snaps, but 82 were on the defensive line.

He had six tackles in 2022, 13 tackles and half a sack in 2021 and six tackles and half a sack in 2020. Despite being a 2018 recruit, Welschof has one year of eligibility remaining, assuming he doesn’t qualify for a medical redshirt.

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Michigan football defensive lineman enters transfer portal

Best of luck to him.

An overseas talent took a chance moving to Ann Arbor, but it hasn’t worked quite as well as he had hoped.

Hailing from Germany, Julius Welschof is also a big-time skier. He earned four-star status after emerging on the camp circuit in 2017, and after being committed to Georgia Tech, Welschof flipped to Michigan in December of that year.

He started off at defensive end before bulking up to be a defensive tackle in 2020. However, it appeared he was without position, moving between tackle and edge rusher.

And on Tuesday, he entered the NCAA transfer portal after being on campus since 2018.

Welschof, who was a roommate with former standout Aidan Hutchinson, redshirted in 2018 and has the free year of 2020.

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Michigan football defensive players dominate The Athletic’s ‘freaks’ list, including No. 1 overall

For all of the talk of the defense taking a step back, maybe it’s a freak show instead? #GoBlue

Death, taxes, and a Michigan football defensive lineman at or near the top of Bruce Feldman’s annual ‘freaks’ list. Like Thanos, these things are inevitable.

Last year, Aidan Hutchinson, the second-overall NFL draft pick, was No. 2 in The Athletic’s perennial look into the freakiest athletes in college football. The year before, Kwity Paye was Feldman’s No. 1. This year is no different, with another No. 1 across college football going to the Wolverines.

The interesting thing here is that outside observers expect the maize and blue to have one of the most explosive offenses in the country, but have major questions on defense. Yet, Feldman includes four Wolverines on his list of 100 (usually one or two Michigan players make the cut) and all four of his inclusions from Ann Arbor come from the defensive side of the ball.

The distinction of being at the very top this season this season goes to Michigan interior lineman Mazi Smith, who goes ahead of an Ohio State wide receiver — an impressive feat, given Smith comes in at 337-pounds.

Here’s why Feldman says that the senior defensive tackle is the freakiest athlete in college football.

Photo: Isaiah Hole

1. Mazi Smith, Michigan, defensive tackle 

His former teammate, Aidan Hutchinson, almost was our top guy in 2021, but this year a Wolverine is the No. 1 Freak in college football. The 6-foot-3, 337-pound senior has rare power and agility. So rare, in fact, it’s hard to find the right superlative to begin with. But let’s start with this: Smith does 22 reps on the bench press, but that’s with 325 (not 225). He close-grip benched 550 pounds. He vertical-jumps 44 inches. He broad-jumped 9-4 1/2. Smith, who had 37 tackles last season, has clocked a 4.41 shuttle time, which would’ve tied the best by any defensive tackle at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, and it would’ve been better than any defensive tackle weighing 310 pounds or more in the past decade. His 6.95 3-cone time would’ve been by far the fastest among defensive tackles in Indianapolis. The fastest was 7.33. Smith’s 60-yard shuttle time is 11.90.

The Wolverines do a reactive plyo stairs test, which is a series of seven 26-inch high stairs that players attempt to jump up as fast as possible. The team record is 2.21 seconds. Smith did it in 2.82. To better gauge just how impressive that is, Hutchinson, some 60 pounds lighter than Smith, did it in 2.57.

Even more remarkable: The Wolverines also do a workout on their combo-twist machine, which is designed to show a player’s ability to rotate an opponent but also their ability to resist being rotated in the trenches. Smith had the machine completely tapped out. There was only enough room for 300 pounds on each side of the machine for a 600-pound max.

“For Mazi, it wasn’t even challenging,” says one of the Wolverine strength coaches. A staffer called the manufacturer to see if there was a way to extend it, then ultimately contacted a private company to build custom extenders for the combo-twist, which made it capable of loading up to 800 pounds to accommodate Smith.

“Mazi’s rotational strength is ridiculous,” said longtime Michigan strength coach Ben Herbert, who said Smith is the strongest defensive lineman he’s seen in 25 years in the business. “He is an incredible combination of rare traits packaged into one player. He is just ridiculously strong and powerful.”
But Mazi was far from the only Wolverine to make the cut. Here’s who else Feldman says is something to behold in nature.
NEXT, a return player from last year’s list.
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Which young player could be a surprise in Michigan’s defensive rotation?

If you checked out our defensive depth chart projection, this should come as no surprise.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The past several years, since Jim Harbaugh took over the team in the 2015 season, fans have gotten used to seeing a strong rotation up front, particularly on the defensive line.

The line will look different these days, with the defensive ends potentially moving back in the formation, now known as outside linebackers. With a 3-4 base, that means that we’ll now see three defensive tackles up front compared to having two tackles and two edge rushers as we have in recent years.

So what will the rotation look like? Will the Wolverines consistently cycle players in and out like we used to see Don Brown do? It all depends on how good the depth is once games are played, defensive line coach Shaun Nua says.

“I think we could play all of them but whatever the standard is for us necessary to win the game, that’s what the rotation is gonna be based off of,” Nua said. “If the ones is the only group living up to the standard that is necessary – that’s who’s gonna be playing. If the twos go out there and stink it up, the ones are gonna be out there the whole time. The goal is to always have a good rotation and at the same time keeping the standard that’s necessary for us to win.”

We have a pretty good beat on who the starters likely are at defensive tackle, but is there any new name to look out for this year? Last year, we saw Julius Welschof and Jess Speight get a lot of time, but Nua says there’s a new name to be aware of.

“Look out for Kris Jenkins,” Nua said. “I think Kris Jenkins has a great opportunity to reveal his talent. We’re all excited to see how that goes. Kris Jenkins is one of the young guys, players that’s doing a good job coming along.”

Jenkins is entering his second year and he’s the son of Ypsilanti native former second-round pick out of Maryland, Kris Jenkins, who played ten seasons in the NFL and was a four-time pro-bowler.

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Other players

Nua touched on — and we really mean touched on — a few other non-starters in his Wednesday afternoon session with the media.

Asked what we’ll see from the aforementioned Welschof, Nua said:

“We’ll find out Saturday, really. But they’re all – no, no – they’re all eager to put out what their talents have and their skillset. And Saturday will be a great day to reveal that.”

Additionally, the Wolverines added some bulk in the middle in Oregon State transfer Jordan Whittley. Though Nua didn’t say much, he said that the job he’s done conditioning-wise has put him in a position to see the field. But it’s anybody’s guess as to when that might be.

“He’s done a great job changing his body. You’ll see Saturday. Or the next Saturday. Whenever you see Whittley!”

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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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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.

Why Kwity Paye is excited for 2020 D-line, rotational depth

Why the Michigan football defensive end expects the D-line to take a big step forward and who’s standing out in rotation.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — What may have been seen as a liability going into 2019 is potentially a strength in 2020.

Last year, there were tons of questions about Michigan’s defensive line, with new starters across the board after several key departures. We didn’t know what Aidan Hutchinson and Kwity Paye would bring to the table as they moved up from rotational players to starters on the edge, nor were we sure of who would succeed in the interior.

The interior still remains a question, but with Carlo Kemp healthy and returning, along with talented up-and-comers such as Julius Welschof, Christopher Hinton and Mazi Smith, as well as DT Donovan Jeter reportedly taking a step forward, it might not be as much of a concern as it’s been since Mo Hurst left after the 2017 season.

To ask Kwity Paye, though he may be biased, he believes that the Wolverines biggest strength on that side of the ball starts with the guys up front.

“The strength of this defense? I’m thinking the D-line!” Paye said on Thursday. “Honestly, we’re the most experienced, I would say. We’ve got the oldest guys on our defense.”

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But it isn’t just about who starts for the Michigan defense, it’s who comes in to spell them that has tended to extol the strength of the defensive line unit.

Back in 2016, that’s when the unit really took a giant step forward, as it not only had four NFL-bound starters in Taco Charlton, Chris Wormley, Matt Godin and Ryan Glasgow, but it also had a rotation that featured more future NFL talent in Chase Winovich, Rashan Gary and Mo Hurst.

Now Paye is seeing a similar trend with this group, as there are several key components that could be coming off the bench. He shared who’s been impressing him the most in fall camp, with one name being a near-five-star as a recruit who had early setbacks with injuries.

“I think the guys we’ve been seeing a lot in practice are Taylor Upshaw, we’ve been been seeing a lot of Luiji (Vilain) and a lot of Julius Welschof,” “I feel like those three guys are working their way into the rotation a lot more. (Luiji)’s been great, you know? He’s been great in the past, but I feel like this year, ‘Ji’s real hungry and has lots to prove this year. Something we lacked last year with the rotation, but I feel like this year it’ll be different.”

Vilain was ranked No. 36 overall in 247Sports’ 2017 proprietary rankings, but had corrective knee surgeries in two successive offseasons to start his Michigan career. He came in as a backup in 2019, but given that he took two years away from actually playing football, there was a steeper learning curve than he envisioned.

Paye saw the ups-and-downs for Vilain first-hand, witnessing moments of dejection before he really started grinding once he became healthy. To hear Paye tell it, it seems like something of a certainty that Vilain will be a disruptive force up front once he gets his chance this fall.

“Me and Luiji are best friends,” Paye said. “I’m always with him and at times you can just see he was kinda frustrated and kinda down. But if there’s a harder working person than me, I would say it’s Luiji. He made sure he took care of himself during his injury process. He made sure he took the treatment seriously. He made sure he got back to where he needs to be and now it’s just getting the reps and getting the experience. But Luiji will be on his way up.”

We’ll know just how good this defensive line can be in a hurry, with the Oct. 24 season opener taking place at Minnesota.

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