The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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110 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW LINEBACKERS "Being trained as a linebacker as well as a DB piqued his interest. He had a tremendous spring — he's another kid that went in every day and went hard every rep. I've got a real group of workers there." True freshman inside linebacker Devin Bush Jr. (6-0, 220) brings speed and aggression to the mix, and finds himself in the crash course to become capable enough to join a rotation. Of course, if he gets to that point, he's only one ill-fated snap away from a starting assign- ment. The rookie out of Pembroke Pines, Fla., posted 15.5 tackles for loss as a senior, two seasons after making 114 total tackles with 13.5 for loss and two interceptions. Bush showed flashes of strong play in the spring, but the early-entry freshman faces a huge fall camp. "He was tremendous," Partridge offered. "He had some learning curves early, then he just took off. He had a heck of a spring and re- ally ended on such a high note. He was rotating with the ones in there and giving some of those guys a breather. "We expect huge things out of him. He's so quick and explosive, and has such an unbelievable natural ability to get to the ball. He's going to play early and often for us." Redshirt junior Noah Furbush (6-4, 242) has worked extensively at outside linebacker, although he's bigger than the backups on the inside. He's been a special teams performer in his career at Michigan, but Brown spoke of him having a shot to step in at the outside 'backer spot when Peppers is moving around. "Furbush will be a guy who will play a lot, because when we get into bigger personnel teams, he's 6-4 and close to 250," Partridge said. "He has some size, and can come off the ball and play on the edge, play in the box. He rotated with the ones all spring and had a really good spring. "He got dinged up there at the end, but he's healthy and ready to go. He's going to come into his own, coming into his third year. We expect him to contribute heavily." The question marks emerge after those five names, especially at the inside linebacker spots. True freshman Devin Gil, a 6-1, 225-pounder, also out of Pembroke Pines, could make the two deep on the inside, which means he'd require some quick learning there. Another possibility is true freshman Elysee Mbem-Bosse, at 6-3, 232. The rookie out of Ellenwood, Ga., possesses excellent speed (4.58 seconds in the 40-yard dash) and some good instincts as a line- backer. But like Gil, Mbem-Bosse will need to learn quickly in order to play any role in his first year. A fourth rookie, 6-2, 215-pound Joshua Uche, could get a crack at an inside linebacker spot as well. The Miami native will jump into the fall camp battle to provide some of the potential depth Partridge hinted at. A number of other linebackers, including 6-2, 231-pound walk-on Jared Wangler, will have an opportunity to bolster the group Partridge is putting together. "Jared is another guy who is fighting for a position," Partridge said. "He's a high-energy guy, does it right all the time and works hard. He's a really good, smart football player. "He's trying to get himself into the mix there at linebacker. He had a heck of a spring on special teams and really contributed there. He can run and do some different things." Senior walk-on Mike Wroblewski (6-2, 246) is another who will have a chance to get on the field, according to Partridge. "He had a really good spring for us," Partridge said. "He came off an injury last year and started in the D-line for the first couple of practices. We moved him to 'backer, and he did really well. "He's a really smart football player, hard-nosed and finds a way to get to the football. He did just a great job in the spring." In all, the linebackers simply aren't buying into the notion that they won't step up when called upon. They like Brown's "linebacker friendly" defense with its aggressiveness and act-rather-than-react nature. "I feel like we learned it really fast, though, even though it took us a couple of weeks to get it down," McCray said. "The 15 practices we did have with Coach Brown, we really improved. "I think we all feel really comfortable going into the summer. We The coaches like the size redshirt sophomore Noah Furbush brings to the position; he checks in at 6-4 and 242 pounds. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL "We'll be fine. I think they'll be really good and impressive, and what Michigan linebackers should be. I have no qualms about it. We have the guys we need to win." LINEBACKERS COACH CHRIS PARTRIDGE ON HIS POSITION GROUP