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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