The Wolverine

June-July 2019

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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JUNE/JULY 2019 THE WOLVERINE 31   MICHIGAN FOOTBALL tied with Penn State for the confer- ence's most. Peoples-Jones was pegged as the first-team punt returner, redshirt junior Will Hart as the second-team punter and sophomore Jake Moody as the third-team kicker. — Austin Fox RON JOHNSON ENTERS TRANSFER PORTAL According to SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic, Michigan redshirt junior defensive tackle Ron Johnson has put his name into the transfer portal. Although Michigan lost four key players from last year 's defensive line in Rashan Gary, Chase Winovich, Bryan Mone and Lawrence Marshall, Johnson was not able to crack the Wol- verines' depth chart. His name was rarely mentioned by the coaching staff this spring, and it did not appear he would emerge as a contender to earn significant playing time. Johnson came to U-M as a four-star recruit out of Camden, N.J., but spent most of his career on the scout team. In his freshman season, he appeared in one game against Hawai'i, but he did not play at all in 2017 or 2018. — Andrew Hussey BENJAMIN ST-JUSTE TRANSFERS TO MINNESOTA Former Wolverine cornerback Ben- jamin St-Juste announced May 21 that he will continue his football career in the Big Ten at Minnesota. The corner came to Michigan from Quebec, Canada, and was regarded as a four-star prospect and the No. 229 overall recruit in the class of 2017 per Rivals.com. In his freshman season at Michigan, he played in 12 games on special teams and one game at cor- nerback. However, at the end of the 2017 sea- son, he suffered a hamstring injury, missing the Outback Bowl. He did not see the field for the Wolverines in 2018 due to his injury. This past spring, he was not cleared by Michigan. Since he enrolled early at U-M, he already graduated and will not have to sit out at Minnesota. He has three years of eligibility remaining. — Andrew Hussey U-M'S NFL ROOKIES IMPRESSING Early on in their NFL careers, de- fensive end Rashan Gary, linebacker Devin Bush Jr. and cornerback David Long are doing well at the next level. In the Steelers' organized team activ- ities (OTA), Bush took most of the first- team snaps during 11-on-11 drills. He is competing with veteran linebacker Mark Barron for the starting position. "I've only been around him briefly, but I like his style of play from what I've seen," Barron told reporters. "He's really aggressive, really tenacious, a speedy guy. He gets to the ball, and that's kind of similar to the way I play. "I get to the ball. I like that; anytime I see somebody that gets to the ball and plays with a certain attitude, I like it." Bush is quickly picking up every- thing he needs to know to be success- ful in the NFL. "It's a super learning experience," Bush told reporters. "The guys get to learn me, and I get to play alongside them and build some relationships. … As long as you put your head in the playbook a couple minutes a day, start memorizing stuff and come out here and rep it, you start getting better and better." Gary, who went just two picks af- ter Bush at No. 12 to the Green Bay Packers, is also impressing his new team. Gary is transitioning to outside linebacker and his coach, Mike Smith, heaped praise on Gary, noting that the Packers got the best edge rusher avail- able in the NFL Draft. "It's unbelievable," Smith told re- porters. "A guy that size and that speed and that athleticism, I've never seen it, and I've been in the league for 11 years. You can do a lot of things with him. "In Kansas City, we had Dee Ford — he's smaller, great get off — [and] Jus- tin Houston, who is a big strong guy. A guy like Gary, he's both of them." When the Packers' turn in the draft came up, Smith was surprised Gary was still left on the board — and his high opinion of the player hasn't changed now that he's working closely with him. "I honestly didn't think he was go- ing to go at 12," Smith said. "I thought he was going to go way before then, based on how I evaluated him. I'll throw it out there, I thought he was best in college football at outside line- backer. I had him No. 1, because I be- lieve that, and I believe in him. "I was very excited when we got him. I was running down the hallway. I know what he has, and I know what he can do, and I'm excited to work with him." Meanwhile, Long is happy to be returning home to the Los Angeles Rams, who selected the L.A. native in the third round with the 79th overall pick. "It's like playing high school football again — not in the sense of the speed of the game, but it's that at-home feel- ing," Long told the Rams' official site. "I went away for college, so I had to adapt and grow. "And I still have to adapt and grow, but it's a lot easier when you're at home, versus when you're still learn- ing your surroundings and your envi- ronment." — Andrew Hussey Former U-M linebacker Devin Bush Jr. has not wasted time turning heads early on in his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. PHOTO BY KARL ROSER/COURTESY PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2019 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Aug. 31 Middle Tennessee State Sept. 7 Army Sept. 21 at Wisconsin* Sept. 28 Rutgers* Oct. 5 Iowa*^ Oct. 12 at Illinois* Oct. 19 at Penn State* Oct. 26 Notre Dame Nov. 2 at Maryland* Nov. 16 Michigan State* Nov. 23 at Indiana* Nov. 30 Ohio State* Dec. 7 Big Ten Championship Game$ * Big Ten game; ^ Homecoming; $ at Indianapolis

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