ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jesse Minter is hoping the next man up will be the next great Michigan football pass rusher. Generally in the Jim Harbaugh era, once a Wolverine EDGE moves onto the NFL — usually in the first three rounds of the draft — his replacement is of the same, if not better, caliber.
Harbaugh’s first two defensive ends, Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley, went in the first and third rounds, respectively. Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich, the same. Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson were both first-rounders. David Ojabo was a second-rounder, but would have been in the first if it weren’t for a pro day Achilles injury. We’ll see where Mike Morris goes, but he’ll likely be a day two guy.
The next man up appears to be senior Braiden McGregor. McGregor had an ACL tear in his senior year of high school and when he finally got a chance to see the field his sophomore season, he was behind a lot of talent. He started coming on strong late last year, but now the Wolverines need him to step up and into a starting role.
Minter, the team’s defensive coordinator entering his second-year, says he has the capability of taking over a game, it’s just about consistency.
“Braiden McGregor, man, there’s a guy that when you talk about the process of development, everybody’s sometimes on a different trajectory,” Minter said. “They’re sometimes injury-related, confidence-related people-in-front-of-you-related. And so he’s had a career here, where — dealt with injuries, dealt with the No. 2 pick in the draft being in front of him, other guys.
“And so I think he’s trusted the process here, and he’s continued to develop at a really fast, high rate, especially coming off what he’s dealt with prior. So I’m really, really excited about Braiden, I think he has a chance to be a dominant player. And I think the challenge for him is he does it in spurts. And he knows this, and it’s to take over a game, and he has that capability. So I’m excited to see that happen.”
The other candidate to step up is Josaiah Stewart, the transfer from Coastal Carolina. Stewart had 12.5 sacks two seasons ago, but just 2.5 last year. Minter notes that he’s not quite the same type of edge rusher as the others on the roster, and is looking forward to see how he acclimates in the spring game and beyond.
“Josaiah is a tremendous addition, first of all, just from his personality and fit into the culture, the way he works, the way he attacks things,” Minter said. “It’s like he’s been here. So when that happened, you pick up a guy that, one, he practices really hard. He’s got a really unique skill set. He’s different than some of our edge rushers with his measurables. And so he’s a — just really excited about him and he’s had a productive spring. I think if he talked to some of our guys, they would say he’s stood out at times. And looking forward to seeing that on Saturday in more of a game environment, and also seeing that in the fall as well.”
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