Jaylen Harrell on Michigan's 'bend, don't break' defense, the 'ass-kicking business'
Michigan Wolverines football has allowed just 47 points through seven games, the fewest in the nation. Opponents have gotten into the red zone just 9 times and come away with 1 touchdown and 2 field goals. That 33.3-percent score rate is the lowest in the country, with Duke standing second at 50 percent.
“A big emphasis is bend, but don’t break,” Michigan senior EDGE Jaylen Harrell said Monday. “Let them down there, but our main goal is to not let them get points on the road. We’ve done a good job of that, and we can do a better job of not letting them get down there in the first place. Bend, but don’t break — I feel like that’s our big philosophy.”
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Only Penn State (7) has faced fewer red-zone attempts, so Michigan is still doing an outstanding job of keeping opponents out of the red area.
The Michigan defense has also been able to rotate numerous different players, allowing for depth to build and a freshness that’s unprecedented at this point in the season. The Wolverines have 20 defenders that have played 105-plus of the 386 defensive snaps the team has had.
“It’s a blessing to have that many guys — that many dudes, real dudes — that we can rotate in and out,” said Harrell, who leads the team and is tied third in the Big Ten with 4.5 sacks. “I feel pretty fresh. We just know that we can go in there, give our best and the next dude coming behind is going to come and give the same juice.”
Michigan has placed a clear emphasis on keeping its core healthier at the end of the season. Winning games big — the Wolverines have won seven straight games by 24-plus points for the first time since 1976 — has helped that process.
“Having that ability to do that is good,” Harrell continued of the rotation. “It’s definitely going to set us up well for this big stretch that we have coming up.”
Michigan has been dominant so far this season, ahead of a stretch run that includes games at Penn State (Nov. 11) and Maryland (Nov. 18) and a home showdown with Ohio State (Nov. 25).
“Keeping the momentum, that starts with our preparation,” Harrell said. “Starting today, it started yesterday, watching film. It’s always staying prepared, respecting our opponent and doing the right things to prepare so we can handle business come Saturday.”
After Saturday’s 52-7 win over Indiana, graduate linebacker Michael Barrett quoted one of the Michigan coaches in saying, “we’re in the ass-kicking business, and business is booming.” Harrell chuckled when asked about it Monday.
“That’s one of Coach’s phrases. When we’re doing good, we handle business, I guess business is booming,” Harrell said. “We gotta keep that going. The ass-kicking business has been fun, so we just gotta keep going on the road, day by day.”
The next task is taking on in-state foe Michigan State. The Spartans are 2-4 with four-straight losses. However, U-M insists it won’t overlook them.
“Coach calls it a state championship game,” Harell said. “We’re going to get their best punch. So, it doesn’t matter what their record is, how they’ve been playing or whatnot. We’re going to get their best punch; we gotta give them our best punch. Prepare the right way, respect our opponent. It doesn’t matter what the record is, who’s out there. It’s all up to us.”
