The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DL his hands, to have good feet, to play with leverage, all those kinds of things. His thing is to get stronger and bigger, and he has. "I think he played in the spring at about 230-something, and he's 244 now. That's the same progression that Frank made. If he keeps getting that weight that he needs, he's going to have a heck of a year for us." The third piece of the puzzle at rush end involves a true freshman, but an eye-catching one in 6-6, 265-pound Taco Charlton. Arriving in January as an early enrollee helped immensely in his case, but as Mattison pointed out, all the subtleties of the position — not to mention the strength gains needed — don't come automatically. "Taco should have just graduated," Mattison observed. "He's now been with [Michigan strength and conditioning coach Aaron] Wellman, he's been with us. You're going to see some good things from him. "He's got to learn technique, totally. In some ways, being that big can hurt you, if you don't play with your technique. He got away with that in high school. You don't get away with it here." Quality Depth A Factor The beauty of it all, for U-M coaches, involves not having to immediately throw players such as Hurst and Poggi, and to a lesser extent Charlton, into the fray before they're really ready. If they show themselves advanced enough through fall camp to jump into a rotation, it's a bonus. Not long ago, it wasn't that way at all involving Michigan's defensive front wall. The Wolverines were caught shorthanded, but that's been rectified in a big way. In fact, Mattison insists he wouldn't be shy about utilizing any of the defensive ends he saw on hand in spring practice. Asked how many of the half-dozen had earned snaps, he didn't hesitate. "All of them," he said. "Every one of them, going into fall practice, has earned snaps. In the spring, there was one practice, where I just flipped them. I said, 'Taco, you go with the first unit, Frank, you go with Rushing Yards Allowed Year-By-Year Rushing Yards Yards Year Allowed Per Game Per Carry 20121,957 150.5 3.8 20111,712 131.7 4.0 20102,456 188.9 4.4 20092,063 171.9 4.4 20081,643 136.9 3.6 Rushing Yards Yards Year Allowed Per Game Per Carry 20072,039 156.8 4.0 2006564 43.4 1.9 137.3 3.8 2005 1, 648 20041,600 133.3 3.6 20031,516 116.6 3.5 the second, Mario, you go with the third.' "Not because of how they played. Just that we were going to rotate them that way." The depth doesn't end with the ends, either, the defensive coordinator stressed. "It's the same thing with Heitzman and that group, and the group of guys inside," he said. "We could flip those any day, to see who is going to go the hardest." The depth makes a difference in so many ways, Hoke and Mattison agree. Time away from the field can be an excellent teaching tool. Snaps granted serve as a reward for the type of effort and performance they're seeking. Plus, the more people they have operating at a high level, the more can rotate onto the field. That allows for fresher bodies late in the games, and paves the way for those on the field to go harder on any given snap. Morale rises among the team as a whole when more individuals see the field and are motivated by game action. It's a win all the way around, and can put more wins on the board. Michigan's defense rose to the ranks of the best in the nation the past two years, despite some neglect on that side of the ball before Hoke's crew rolled in. Now, they're better armed to both strike and turn teams away, personnel-wise, and they're aiming for an even higher level of production. ❏ Wolverines Bringing A Sack Lunch This Autumn for the defensive players a little more than the offensive players. It's not all about sacks, but rather pressuring the quarterback. Any de"He's going to be on us a little bit more than the offensive players. fensive coordinator worth his whistle will emphasize the latter, because It's something I love. I love when someone tells me a mistake I made. I of all it can produce — hurried throws, bad decisions, turnovers, etc. love when Coach Hoke gets on me. Others may hate it. Others may not At the same time, Michigan didn't do either well enough last season, its appreciate it, but I appreciate it, because I know what it's doing for me." defensive coaches concede. A missed sack opportunity late in the OutClark likes what it's doing for the defense as well, and expects the reback Bowl helped produce the last-second misery. Chances gone awry sults to show themselves in dramatic fashion. against Ohio State and elusive quarterback Braxton Again, it's not all about sacks. But it's noteworthy that Miller will dance through the ruminations of Michigan Michigan's Sack Totals during two of Michigan's best on-field efforts of the defenders. The Past 10 Seasons past two decades — 1997 and 2006 — the Wolverines It's this simple — U-M defensive coordinator Greg 2012 — 22 produced 37 and 43 sacks, respectively. They recorded Mattison knows his crew needs more pressure and 2011 — 30 29 in the Big Ten championship campaign in 2003. more QB takedowns in the coming days. 2010 — 18 They also notched 42 in the 10-win season of 2002, Will Campbell, the defensive tackle who played his 2009 — 22 and 50 in the heartbreaking 2001 campaign, in which last game in the Outback Bowl against South Carolina, 2008 — 29 the Wolverines finished 8-4 but only a second (or less) provided some interesting insights in the moments 2007 — 33 away from a victory in East Lansing that would have after the bowl. He took a larger than necessary share 2006 — 43 given them a share of the Big Ten championship. of the blame for the disappointment, insisting there 2005 — 24 Clearly, those numbers have dropped off some over were times he should have gotten through but didn't. 2004 — 21 the past few seasons, perhaps in part because of the He cautioned, though, that the Wolverines were only 2003 — 29 increasing number of dual-threat quarterbacks the going to get better up front. He'd seen some of U-M's Wolverines face. At the same time, this defense — younger performers, knew what recruiting was prostarting with the men up front — looks prepared to run down whatever ducing, and insisted Michigan would only get stronger as the seasons is trying to run away. rolled on. New linebackers coach Roy Manning observed: "Our defense can run Junior defensive end Frank Clark agreed, citing the Wolverines' speed a little bit. These guys are more athletic types of interior guys, the deand emphasis on that side of the football. Clark insists this will be Michifensive linemen, linebackers, secondary. It's exciting when you see guys gan's best defense since he's been in Ann Arbor. flying around the way our guys did this spring. "Coach Hoke, as everyone in the nation knows, is a defensive coach," "I believe that good things happen. You get, quote-unquote, pretty Clark said. "He's not the average coach that wants to be the offensive gelucky when you run to the ball. That's a strength of our defense, and nie. He wants to be a part of the defense, what we call the nasty defense. we've got some leaders emerging on the defense. It's intoxicating — it's "He want to be there, and he actually coaches. He coaches the D-line, really exciting to see that." the interior linemen. The fact that you have a defensive-minded head — John Borton coach basically up your back all the time, he's going to have an eye out The Wolverine 2013 Football Preview ■ 135