The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Cronan said. "You have to have good athletes playing in the system, but you have to have a level of intelli- gence that I think you found at Boston College and at his previous stops, and the good news is a school like Michi- gan has a strong academic focus too. "The scheme really takes advan- tage of the intellectual capacity of college quarterbacks, in particular, because there are intricate mecha- nisms built into the defense that are designed to confound a quarterback when he scans the field and tries to go through his progressions. "Whatever he sees on one play, he won't see again, maybe for the entire game, because Don Brown is always changing the looks he gives the of- fense. Most college quarterbacks sim- ply do not have the ability to adapt within the narrow window of a play. "It takes the special ones, like De- shaun Watson at Clemson, to really stand a chance, but in the course of a season, you might see one or two quarterbacks that can handle the sophistication of Don Brown's de- fense, and even then they still have to execute against a relentless blitzing attack." Michigan also ranked among the best defenses nationally a year ago, fourth in yards allowed per game (280.7), sixth in points allowed per game (16.4) and first in pass effi- ciency defense (94.61 rating). They should be one of the nation's top units again in 2016. With Brown at the helm, the Wol- verines could be No. 1 next season and for years to come. "He'll be working with athletes far better than what he had at BC and look at what he did with that," Thompson said. "You guys probably just got the best defensive coordinator in the country," Cronan added. "What a coup for Michigan football." ❏ Chris Partridge Is Promoted To Linebackers/Special Teams Coach When Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh promoted Chris Partridge to linebackers coach for the Wolverines' bowl game — U-M had lost defensive coordinator/linebackers coach D.J. Durkin to Maryland — the assumption was Partridge would hold the post temporarily, until Harbaugh hired a new coordinator. However, when John Baxter left his post coaching special teams for the same position at Southern Cal, an opportunity was created for Harbaugh to make Partridge's new gig permanent. Don Brown was tabbed to run the Maize and Blue's defense Dec. 21, and then Harbaugh officially named Partridge his linebackers/special teams coach Jan. 14. "Chris has a proven track record as a successful coach," Harbaugh said in a released statement. "He has brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to his work