Presser notebook: Mason Graham, Trente Jones address personal performances
Michigan football has no shortage of freshman contributors so far during the 2022 season, but one came out of seemingly nowhere. Defensive tackle Mason Graham has emerged as a starter when the Wolverines play in their base packages.
Graham enrolled early and arrived in Ann Arbor this winter. He was able to work his way up the depth chart in the spring and carry momentum over to fall camp. When Michigan arrived back to work this summer, Graham was with the No. 1 defense from nearly the jump.
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“[I realized I was a starter] probably earlier in camp,” Graham said on Monday. “The first week, I was starting to go with the ones. So that’s kind of a point where I started to realize that I was probably going to play this year.”
Something that has helped him reach the field has a technical prowess beyond his years. Graham, who played at Servite HS in Anaheim, California, also has a wrestling skillset in his back pocket that plays a role in his early emergence.
“I think that’s a big part of how I play today,” he said. “Wrestling gives you the ability to leverage, leverage another person. So that’s a big thing on going into offensive lineman. They’re gonna try and block you this way. You’ve got to leverage that way. So it’s been big.”
It will continue to get cranked up for Graham with more physical teams coming up on the schedule, but he feels his road to Michigan prepared him for what comes next.
“These college linemen are obviously bigger than the offensive ones I faced in high school, but I played in one of the best leagues, the best competition coming out of high school,” Graham said. “[Strength coach Ben Herbert] has really prepared us and all the rest of the strength staff to just be prepared for these games. We do specific stuff for these games. It really helps — spring training, winter training, even during season — it helps, all of it.”
Trente Jones sees potential of Michigan offense
Senior offensive tackle Trente Jones stepped into a unit that won the Joe Moore Award last season as the best offensive line in the country. While many of the faces and names are the same, they are still a group looking to hit their stride in 2022.
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There are always improvements to be made and Jones knows there are things to clean up so far. No issues they have put on film register as legitimate concerns.
“No pressures,” Jones said about improvements to make. “Definitely double teams, MIKE blocks and, like a unit, staying on that chain. Not breaking it.
“It’s just knowing who we’re working to, and not getting beat late. So it’s not necessarily like a reoccurring thing.”
Michigan’s offense could have unlimited potential moving forward with sophomore J.J. McCarthy taking over at quarterback. There are still some things to iron out, but Jones feels the Wolverines can check all the boxes.
“The sky is the limit,” Jones said. “I feel like we’ve shown a lot of good qualities, patch up the little things. We have a lot to learn, a lot to grow from and the sky is the limit.”
