Tag: Mason Graham

Why Mason Graham is succeeding where most freshmen DTs do not

He’s been incredible for #Michigan in his first year! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It’s quite rare that a freshman can come in and be a key contributor on the interior defensive line. But that’s precisely what Mason Graham has done.

The first-year player from Anaheim (Calif.) Servite has been of the instant impact variety, netting 2.5 sacks and making key plays in key moments through the first 13 games of the season. Not an easy feat, but something his teammates saw as soon as he arrived in Ann Arbor last winter.

“The second he came in here, you can just tell, everybody can tell, you know?” junior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said. “With his work ethic — dude is a sponge. His football IQ is definitely there. He’s able to pick up things very quickly. And just through sheer athleticism, sheer strength, power, speed, intensity. So you can definitely tell that — dawg — is definitely going to continue to be great where he’s at, and he has the mentality, he wants to continue to be great, continue to learn as much as he can.”

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But what’s allowed the former wrestler to succeed so quickly where others most often do not?

Part of it was work ethic, as mentioned, but the bigger part of the equation was the knowledge component — a place where Graham has succeeded. And once he proved he could produce on the field against college-level talent, he’s just taken off from there.

“I think he came in just knowing that if he soaks up as much knowledge as he can, he could definitely produce definitely be a guy,” Jenkins said. “I think that confidence really started to show more and more, as the season continued because he’s doing his thing.”

Given Graham’s emergence, it should help that much more in the future, with Mazi Smith presumably moving onto the NFL at the culmination of the season.

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Surprise starter on Michigan football defensive line reveals overall depth

This is big news! #GoBlue

Michigan football is a week away from taking the field in an official capacity, and one of the big questions has been who would line up along the defensive line.

While we’ve had some good ideas — Mazi Smith and Kris Jenkins were locks, but the edge rusher rotation was perhaps somewhat unclear with multiple players vying to start — we didn’t really know until Saturday. Which is a surprise, considering head coach Jim Harbaugh tends to keep things close to the vest.

On Saturday, Harbaugh joined Jon Jansen on the “In the Trenches” podcast and had something of an unprecedented breakdown of the entire depth chart. Starting with the outside linebackers (edge rushers), he revealed that there are three players who are considered starters for two positions, while four more players will be in rotation, including recent incoming transfer Eyabi Anoma and true freshman Derrick Moore.

“The outside backers right now, starting outside backers: Jaylen Harrell, Mike Morris and Taylor Upshaw — those three have had a heck of a camp and there’ll be a rotation there,” Harbaugh said. “Braiden McGregor, TJ Guy, Eyabi Anoma’s doing some really good things.

“Derrick Moore has been fantastic, we’ve talked about there before, but when that motor becomes like Chase Winovich and Aidan Hutchinson and then he learns a countermove or two, I think he’s gonna be close to unblockable. Now as soon as that happens, may take some time, but he’s ready to play and he’ll be in there.”

But there’s a surprise that he unveiled, in the form of a new starter.

While most fans and media (us included) still tend to think of the defense in terms of a 4-3 front (it was switched to a 3-4 multiple last season, but still often operated similar to how it did, with two down linemen and two ends), Harbaugh revealed that one true freshman has emerged as a starter, opposite the expected interior linemen.

”Inside, interior defensive line, Kris Jenkins, starter in the base package. Mason Graham will come out of camp as a starter, true freshman,” Harbaugh said. “Mazi Smith, starter at nose. Cam Goode is somebody that is now really surging. He’s backing up Mazi at nose tackle. Kenneth Grant is right there as well at nose tackle. George Rooks at end, backing up Kris Jenkins, has had a tremendous camp. Dom Giudice has done some really good things. And we got a true freshman, Charlie Lovell, who walked on, just turned 18 about a week ago. His dad played at Michigan, was a kicker here. He’s been great as well and he’ll be really good in the future.

“So really been happy with the interior defensive line and the guy I gotta mention is Rayshuan Benny. Rayshaun Benny is surging. He and Mason Graham are playing the tackle position in base. But he’s just coming on like gangbusters, every practice is better and better. So I’m really excited about Rayshaun.”

That’s a lot of depth, although, beyond the starters, there’s very little experience. It’s encouraging that Graham, who enrolled early, has managed to cement his starter status, especially given the surge made by players such as Benny, who entered the offseason as an expected starter. It doesn’t appear that Graham got the nod because Benny isn’t pulling his weight as much as it sounds like the Anaheim (California) Servite lineman is performing beyond expectations.

We’ll know more in a week, when Michigan football hosts Colorado State. The game will kick off at noon EDT and will be televised nationally on ABC.

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Michigan football defensive interior winning some battles vs. vaunted OL in fall camp

If this unit is as good as it’s being advertised, opposing offenses are in real trouble. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If Michigan football is going to repeat its success from a year ago, it’s going to need to find a pass rush. Replacing Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo is no easy task, but who said that the defense has to get to the quarterback from the edge rusher position?

Much has been made this offseason about the emergence of senior defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Coming in as Bruce Feldman’s No. 1 freak in college football, Smith appears to be capable of doing much more than simply clogging running lanes in the middle. He’s made a big pitch to his teammates about getting into the offensive backfield similar to how the aforementioned duo did last year.

But it’s not just him. There’s a cadre of emerging players in the defensive front that are making a difference, so much so that Jim Harbaugh says that they’re playing evenly with the vaunted offensive line, which itself is coming off of winning the Joe Moore Award last season.

“Defensively, we have made some real strides in the interior defensive line,” Harbaugh said. “Mike Elston’s doing a tremendous job coaching them. Mazi Smith’s doing a tremendous job coaching guys out there. And it wasn’t but a couple of days ago where it was super noticeable, and our defensive line got the better of offensive line that was pretty well thought of in terms of an offensive line. So, we’ve made some real, real improvement in the defensive line interior.”

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While Smith is the star up front, there are plenty of other candidates that could make a difference in the interior. Kris Jenkins Jr., now a junior, is slated to start alongside Smith, while others such as Rayshaun Benny, George Rooks, Cam Goode, and Dominick Giudice could all play roles. But there’s nothing more tantalizing than a true freshman or two coming in and realizing their potential early.

There’s been a lot of buzz about both Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, both of whom already have the prototypical size to play on the defensive interior, even though they’re in their first years. Harbaugh says they’ll be candidates to play immediately — not something you usually hear about first-year interior defensive linemen.

“Yeah, really good. Really love both those players,” Harbaugh said. “They’re both gonna play a lot of football at a position of real need.”

Graham arrived on campus in January as a somewhat under-rated defensive tackle from Anaheim (Calif.) Servite. He finished as a rated four-star, but he didn’t start getting ranked that highly until after he pledged to the Wolverines early in the season.

Grant, likewise, never had much recruiting buzz, but he started to garner general buzz once stories got out about his athleticism to go along with his unparalleled size. Coming in at 357-pounds at the outset of fall camp, Grant is the biggest player on the team, and he likewise made Feldman’s ‘freaks’ list, despite having never played a down of college football. That’s because he can do things that most of his size simply cannot.

“He’s a tremendous athlete for any size, really,” Harbaugh said. “If he was 100 pounds lighter than what he is, you’d say, ‘Man, he’s a really good athlete. He’s really light on his feet.’ And it’s really important to him. He really studies the game.”

Whether it’s the elder statesmen, the sophomores, transfer Cam Goode, or the freshmen, it appears that Michigan football is in much better shape on the interior than it’s been since Mo Hurst strapped on a winged helmet in 2017.

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Power ranking Michigan football freshmen by potential 2022 contribution

Who will be #Michigan’s first-year instant impact players? #GoBlue

Every year, in likely every college football team, a first-year player comes in and makes an instant impact.

At Michigan, we’ve seen several. In 2021, Andrel Anthony and Junior Colson; in 2020, Blake Corum and Roman Wilson; in 2019, Zach Charbonnet and Dax Hill; Chris Evans and Devin Bush in 2016. The list can go on indefinitely. But who will be those players in 2022?

Though the class was 23 deep (when you include Andrew Gentry), there are numerous candidates to be instant impact players. Even though we have a good idea of some players already who are likely to find themselves in the two-deep, there are others — particularly in positions of need — that could make a splash in year one.

Here are our top 10 choices, ranked from last to first, of freshmen who could find themselves on the field early and often in 2022.

Two Michigan freshman that matter during the 2022 football season according to 247Sports

These two should be beasts for Michigan!

After winning the Big Ten and making it to its first-ever College Football Playoffs, Michigan had some momentum on the recruiting trail for the 2022 football season. The Wolverines picked up some key late recruiting wins and finished with the ninth-ranked recruiting class this past season.

The maize and blue got commitments from defensive end Derrick Moore, safety Keon Sabb, and two receivers, Darrius Clemons and Amorian Walker at the end of the cycle. But those three didn’t crack the 247Sports article talking about which 100 true freshmen will matter in 2022. 

The first true freshmen that will matter is the top-ranked recruit that Michigan brought in, defensive back Will Johnson. Johnson was the 14th ranked player according to the composite rankings, a five-star cornerback from Grosse Pointe South, Michigan.

Will Johnson, DB, Michigan
247Sports Composite: No. 14

Johnson was Michigan’s highest-rated signee and played like it during the spring. There are reps for him to earn, too. Michigan has an open cornerback role that will be a battle between Johnson, redshirt freshman Ja’Den McBurrows and converted wide receiver Mike Sainristil. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh expects Johnson to be a factor in that competition: “He’s gonna play and be battling for a starting position,” Harbaugh said.

The second Wolverine that Chris Hummer from 247Sports mentioned was three-star defensive lineman Mason Graham. Graham is from Servite (Anaheim, California) and he was the 258th-ranked player according to the composite rankings.

Mason Graham, DT, Michigan
247Sports Composite: No. 258

Graham had an excellent spring for the Wolverines. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound California native drew praise from Jim Harbaugh as someone who could play early. Said Harbaugh of Graham: “He was playing and playing at a pretty darn high level right off the bat.” Even with the addition of UCF transfer Cam Goode, the Wolverines are thin inside at defensive tackle.

With the attrition that Michigan lost on the defensive side of the ball this past season, it’s quite possible that both of these players will see significant playing time along with Derrick Moore, and some other freshmen. The Wolverines will be looking to replace starters: Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, Chris Hinton,  Josh Ross, Vincent Gray, and Brad Hawkins.

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Two Michigan first-year defensive linemen who impressed in spring ball

Both of these guys are going to be really, really good before their #Michigan careers are done!

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Michigan football defense this offseason is how it will replace three-quarters of its production from a year ago on the defensive line.

The Wolverines lose star edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, and defensive tackle Christopher Hinton. Though the likely culprits to replace them — Mike Morris, Taylor Upshaw, and Kris Jenkins — are known, there are some other players who certainly could contribute this fall. Though other relatively younger players like Braiden McGregor and Rayshaun Benny are often mentioned, perhaps the maize and blue will get a boost from a couple of first-year players.

One such player has been known about, while the other was something of a recruiting steal — speaking of four-stars Derrick Moore and Mason Graham, respectively. Moore has long been highly-regarded and was ranked as high as No. 20 overall by 247Sports. But Graham was a late-riser, getting his fourth star late in the process.

Jim Harbaugh spoke at length about both on the ‘In The Trenches’ podcast with Jon Jansen, and starting with Moore, he shared why he could be not only an instant impact type of player, but why he thinks he could be an elite edge rusher before his time of wearing a winged helmet is done.

“Derrick Moore, he is going to be — I think my personal opinion is going to be a fantastic player. Probably will also be a really good player right away in the fall,” Harbaugh said. “He is really gifted athletically and strength — it’s all there already. Another mid-year freshman and when he figures out to play with the really high relentless mid-play — you can still make a play — you don’t have to just come clean to make a play and get involved with a tackle or a sack. Once he really learns how to play the game, it’s just learning the scheme and the counter moves, once he learns that, I think he’s going to be a beast out there on the edge — like I got really high hopes for him. He has a really quick first step and second step. He can beat guys — it’ll come, it’ll come — Mike Elston is doing a tremendous job with all those guys. The development is there right now, seeing it, so good as a coach. But, yeah he is going to learn that guys — tackles do punch back. You try to punch first and take really good sets, so you do need — they are going to stick you more times than not.

“You need counters and need relentlessness like Aidan developed. He didn’t have — didn’t know it until his second year. You’re used to coming out of high school and ‘here I go, I’m by you’. Once he gets that, and learns that I’m real confident he’s going to be stellar.”

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With Graham, we saw him starting to make plays in the spring game — which is exciting when you consider that freshmen generally aren’t impact players on the interior line of either side of the ball. Harbaugh points to his toughness as a big reason why he’s been able to emerge, despite only having been on campus for a few short months.

“Yeah, he was playing and playing at a pretty darn high level right off the bat. He was out about a week or so, or two, he had an ankle but came back faster than an ordinary man would,” Harbaugh said. “You love to see it because there is a real level of toughness there. As you know the closer you get to the ball, the harder it is to play as a true freshman. Center, guard, D-tackle for sure, the physical development of being strong enough to be a defensive tackle where you’re playing against guys who are four and five years older. He’s a mid-year freshman and should still be in high school but he was right in there and not just flashing, but consistently playing pretty, really good football. I’m excited about that.”

Whether or not they get involved in the defense for meaningful snaps this fall remains to be seen. But it’s a good thing that Michigan has some options at these positions where there are few known commodities and not quite as much depth as one would hope.

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National Signing Day: Michigan football signs Mason Graham

He has tremendous upside!

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Ratings

Stars Overall Position State
247Sports 4 220 31 19
Rivals 4 – 18 18
ESPN 3 – 70 70
On3 3 – 50 34
247Sports Composite 4 355 45 28
On3 Consensus 4 399 48 29

Vitals

Hometown Anaheim (Calif.) Servite
Projected Position Defensive tackle
Height 6-foot-4
Weight 295-pounds

Recruitment

An under-the-radar recruit, Graham was committed to Boise State, but visited Michigan for the Washington game, flipping to the Wolverines shortly after. Eventually, he started garnering a lot of attention, particularly from some other top schools in the Pac-12. He had offers from Oregon, USC, Arizona State, and others.

Readiness Level

Like most interior defensive linemen, will likely take some time before he becomes a factor. Although he already has prototypical size.

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Film

Scouting

247Sports

Established wrestler. Trinity League heavyweight individual champion as a sophomore in 2020. Helped Servite win the Trinity League team championship in 2021 as a junior.

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Michigan football flips 3-star DT from Boise State

#Michigan reels in a defensive tackle from the West Coast!

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The first domino has dropped after a big weekend win for Michigan football against Washington.

The Wolverines hosted a bevy of recruits and commits for the Sept. 11 prime time game, and among them was 2022 Anaheim (CA) Servite three-star defensive tackle Mason Graham. Graham had been committed to Group of 5 power Boise State since July 14, but the maize and blue came calling on Aug. 29 with an offer to come play in Ann Arbor.

Graham was in attendance for the big maize out and apparently couldn’t turn down the chance to play for the Wolverines. He posted on Twitter that he’s committed to play for Michigan football, making him the 16th commitment in the 2022 cycle.

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Graham is a two-way player that can play both on the offensive line or defensive line. He’s considered a defensive tackle prospect by the recruiting services and is rated the No. 877 player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite. 247Sports’ proprietary rankings have him as the 65th-best defensive lineman, nationally.

Watch his film below:

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