With a new defensive coordinator calling the shots, Michigan football’s defense will look different. One player shares how as well as who.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With a moribund output in 2020, Michigan football changed the breadth of the defensive attack this past offseason, moving on from Don Brown, Mike Zordich and most of the staff on that side of the ball, getting younger across the board coaching-wise, while also implementing a new scheme.
Defensive line coach Shaun Nua was the sole defensive coach retained from last year, but he’s not necessarily the prime name to know when it comes to the defensive line. The Wolverines also brought in several key analysts, among them being Ryan Osborn, the former Tennessee-Martin defensive line coach who also was a grad assistant coaching linebackers at Florida under Todd Grantham and at Mississippi State with then-coach Dan Mullen.
According to redshirt junior defensive end Taylor Upshaw, his position group is working more with Osborn than with Nua at this juncture.
“The reality is Nua is more like a D-tackles coach right now,” Upshaw said. “Coach Osborn is really our main guy. But I’m happy (Nua) is back and I’m happy with the defensive coordinator and my coach – the younger guy. They understand what it’s like being in the position we’re in. It’s a blessing.”
With a switch to a more multiple front, that means that defensive ends aren’t necessarily going to be in the same spot as they had been under former defensive coordinator Don Brown, who had deployed a base 4-3 (or 4-2-5, depending on how you look at the VIPER position). With the expectation that the 3-4 will be the primary base defense, that means one of the defensive end positions would become more of a stand-up position, which appears to be the case.
Upshaw says that he’s among those who are standing up most of the time, as he highlights his role and those who are also working in the position group under new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
“The people we have in that room: Aidan, myself, David Ojabo, Jaylen Harrell, Braiden McGregor, Noah Knight and – I think I got all of them. Those are the guys in our room, including myself. We call ourselves ‘The Reapers,'” Upshaw said. “This is a really important defense. The position we play allows us to make a lot of plays. I think it’s gonna come down to a lot of games. We’re gonna have to affect the game a lot.”
“That’s what we call ourselves (‘The Reapers’), but we’re outside linebackers. It’s mainly a stand-up edge position. For me, I’m mainly gonna be rushing. But there’s also dropping, too. It’s like a pass rush, but I still get into my 3-point stance. I still mix it up. But it’s a stand-up edge position.”
From what it seems, per Upshaw, Osborn has a key role, at least this spring, in working with those outside linebackers, more than what most analysts might, responsibility-wise.
With that in mind, how does Upshaw feel about his coaching prowess? So far, he’s really enjoying working with the young defensive mind.
“Honestly, Os is one of the best coaches I’ve had a chance to play under,” Upshaw said. “He’s young, he’s funny, he gets what it’s like – like I said earlier, being in the position we’re in. But also, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s a good coach. You can tell just with his passion and the things he’s getting us right with our technique. He’s legit. I’m happy he’s with us.”
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