'They're all bought into it': Mazi Smith has big wish for Michigan's defense
Michigan Wolverines football had multiple stars on its defense last year — from EDGEs Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo to defensive back Daxton Hill. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has said he feels the “no-star” defense in 2022 could be even better, and the U-M players are intent on making that a reality.
They want to do it their own way, too.
“I’m quoting Mazi Smith on this,” senior defensive end Mike Morris said of Michigan’s senior defensive tackle. “Mazi wants us to be a more cohesive unit.
“So there’s no defense running through just a couple guys; it’s 11 men on the field getting the passer, rushing. It’s 11 people working as a cohesive unit to be the best defense we can be.”
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Make no mistake, by the time the season’s over, Michigan may well have stars. Smith and Morris are two top candidates, too. But flying to the football in pursuit and finishing tackles as a team is the vision. That’s how Smith wants it to happen, at least, and Morris said he and his teammates are “10 toes down with him.”
“He’s been very hands on with the whole unit, because we’ve been separated in the past, and he wants us to be one unit so we can rush the passer better,” Morris said. “He says — and I quote Mazi Smith — ’four pass rushers are better than two pass rushers.’ So, with him, [junior defensive tackle] Kris Jenkins, me, Uppy [graduate EDGE Taylor Upshaw], [junior EDGE] Braiden [McGregor], [junior EDGE] Jaylen Harrell and a couple other guys, we can work together as one unit instead of individuals.”
Smith’s goal is manifesting itself during Michigan’s fall camp. In walkthroughs, onlookers don’t even have to be looking the defense’s way to know what’s going on.
“We all communicate together,” Morris said. “When we’re in a walkthrough, it’s like nonstop communication throughout every level of the defense. Again, we’re walking as a ‘cohesive unit,’ to quote Mazi Smith. All levels of the defense are very communicative.”
And if one didn’t know what’s going on, they might think the Michigan defense is bickering.
“They just go together — everybody, that whole group — so well,” Michigan graduate tight end Luke Schoonmaker said of the Wolverines’ defense. “With their communication, we’ll be in walkthroughs, and they’re just screaming at each other, over-communicating. Everybody — linebackers, secondary — everybody. You can just tell from that, they’re all bought into it.
“Of course you had guys that played great last year, and some new guys this year that are getting opportunities, but I think that group just meshes so well together — and it’s going to be fun to watch.”
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Michigan freshmen standing out on defensive line
Michigan has a trio of defensive linemen who are standing out early on in fall camp, according to Morris, EDGE Derrick Moore and tackles Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham.
“I love D-Moore,” Morris raved of his Michigan teammate. “D-Moore is doing his thing. I’m looking forward to him getting his reps in the game.
“K.G. — big K.G. — Kenneth Grant. That’s a big boy — what, 6-5, 350-something right now. That’s a big boy right there.
“Mason Graham from the spring, he’s been doing his thing. I’d say in that freshman class, probably those three.”
Moore is 279 pounds, and Morris was asked if each of their roles will be similar, with Morris planning to move around the defensive line on both the interior and edge. Right now, though, Michigan is keeping it simple for Moore.
“A freshman coming in, our scheme is very complex to people who haven’t been in it for a year,” Morris explained. “I’m only saying it’s easier because I’ve been in it for a year. It was complex when I was comprehending it at first, but now it’s so much easier now that I know everything. But a guy like Derrick, we want to make sure he knows everything, so put something small on his plate, and then expand it, expand it, expand it, until he knows the ins and outs. He’ll probably be more on the edge.”
