The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2017 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL sures on Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey. However, the youngster was much more disruptive than even those stats would indicate. He was a big reason the Hoosiers ended the game just short of the end zone in overtime, Gary leading the way on the huge goal-line stand. "That just comes down to all the hard work we've been putting in," Gary said. "On that last drive, the game is on us. We've got to do what we got to do. … Everybody had a chip on their shoulder at that point. Every- body was fired up and ready to go." Especially Gary, who shared Defen- sive Lineman of the Week honors with fifth-year senior defensive tackle Mau- rice Hurst Jr. "Rashan, I can't say enough. He left it all out there on the field," head coach Jim Harbaugh said. "I was with him walking off the field, and that was the epitome of leaving it all on the field. He played great. "He really helped, was very impact- ful in their quarterback rushing for only 14 yards. We were really worried about that. As an offense they got out for a 31-yarder [on one play], but they rushed in the 80s [80 total yards on the ground], and we took away something that's been very effective for them." Gary was a big reason why. He dom- inated the edge, took on several block- ers to force action away from where Ramsey wanted to run and sacrificed his body in a tempo game that wasn't easy on the defense. He's been one of their most unselfish players all year, and Harbaugh praised him for it. "I've been saying it for a couple of weeks now," he said. "Rashan's been doubled, gotten chipped, gotten cut. Probably the ultimate compliment you can pay to a football player is to have that much concern about one guy that you have to game plan for him. He's earning that kind of respect." Gary ranked fourth on the team in tackles with 33 (13 solo) through six games. He also had five tackles for loss, two sacks, a team-high five quar- terback hurries and one forced fumble. — Chris Balas MAURICE HURST JR. IS DOMINATING AT DT Michigan fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr. has been a force for the Wolverines on the defen- sive line this season — and he may just be heating up. During the first two weeks of Octo- ber, Hurst nearly doubled his season tackle total with 10 against Michigan State and five against Indiana. He is fifth on the team with 31 tackles. In addition, he posted his first half sack of the season against the Hoosiers, and has combined for five of his season to- tal seven tackles for loss against Michi- gan State and Indiana. He also added a blocked field goal against Indiana. "Mo really played good this week, and he played really well last week," Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said following the Indiana game Pro Football Focus, which scouts players and rates them based on their play each game, graded Hurst's per- formance against the Spartans as the best in the country — by any player at any position — that week with a rating of 98.0 out of 100. It was the fourth -highest rating given out to any player through the first seven weeks of the college season. He followed with a score of 97.4 against Indiana (full na- tional rankings were not available at press time, but that did rank as the Big Ten's highest grade of the week). "I feel a lot more comfortable, just being out there and taking more snaps than I did last year," Hurst said. "I feel like I have the ability to make plays and help out the defense as much as possible. That's been the big- gest thing, just doing my job to help out this defense." Hurst has only solidified his stand- ing as a consensus first-round pick in the spring's NFL Draft. Hurst is play- ing on the No. 1-ranked overall de- fense and No. 6-ranked run defense in the country, through games of Oct. 14. "We always talk about our goals for each week, and we have a goal list," Hurst said. "We're always aware of the national standings, but we don't focus on them too much. We just try to focus on our opponents and keep those numbers low. Once you hear them, it feels good to know you're up there with some of the best defenses in the country." The Wolverines defense has led the way in multiple road wins this season, and the unit enjoys quieting the crowd. "For the defense it's fun," Hurst said. "You don't really have to deal with the factors of the crowd, and you just get to make them really quiet if you make a big play." The defense will continue to focus on shutting down big plays, stopping opponents on third downs and con- taining the quarterback. Hurst said the identity of the defense has become one of making opposing quarterbacks feel uncomfortable. "I think we're getting better each week," Hurst said. "We're really start- ing to create our own identity, and we're starting to gain an understand- ing for who we are as a defense. We've really started to develop into our own. "We have a lot of confidence, and our best football is yet to come." — Andrew Vailliencourt MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Despite losing 10 defensive start- ers off of last year's unit, Michigan's defense has been just as dominant in 2017. Through six games, this season's group has actually been statistically better than 2016's in several areas. This year's unit (223.8 yards allowed per game) is giving up 38 fewer yards per game than last year's (261.8) did. This season's rush defense is also better than last year's. The 2016 squad finished 15th in the country, allowing an average of 119.2 yards per game on the ground. This year 's unit, on the other hand, is ranked No. 6, sur- rendering just 85.8 yards per game, a difference of 33.4 yards. The pass defense is surrendering 138 yards per game through the air, which ranks third nationally. Last year's group had almost identical sta- tistics, allowing 142.5 yards per con- test. The only major category that the Gary was ranked as the No. 11 future NFL star at the midseason point by NFL.com's Chad Reuter, who compared him to Clemson's Christian Wilkins (No. 6 on the list). PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN