Michigan football: Mike Morris proving to be a breakout candidate in 2022
Michigan will need a number of defensive players to step up in 2022 to replace the talent lost. Ends Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, tackle Chris Hinton, linebacker Josh Ross, safeties Brad Hawkins and Dax Hill — all were starters who will be tough to replace.
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But there’s plenty of talent returning, too. Some of the young Wolverines will get their first chance to play in 2022. Others, like lineman Mike Morris, got time last year and seem primed to take the next step.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh went so far as to say Morris could be the next Michigan star on the defensive line.
“Just the state of Michigan football is scary good right now. Mike Morris could be the next Aidan Hutchinson [or] Ojabo,” Harbaugh said. “There are some really exciting things going on in the defensive line.”
It starts with Mazi Smith in the middle, of course. He was the workhorse. But Morris played just over a third of the snaps on the Michigan defense a year ago, playing both tackle and end.
“That’s a very, very athletic, big body on that edge that can really move and set it,” Ross said from the NFL Draft combine last week. “He’s dynamic on the edge.
“People don’t even know it yet, because of who he played behind and him still learning the ropes and getting better. He got a lot better from two years ago to last year. [But] that dude’s about to be elite. People are going to know his name real soon.”
Morris doesn’t shy away from the challenge. He embraces it, in fact, knowing someone needs to step up this year. Hutchinson and Ojabo combined for 25 sacks last year — that’s a lot of production to replace on the Michigan line.
“I feel like I have no choice,” Morris said. “Who else is it going to be? I feel like I have to.”
That’s not to say he doesn’t trust his teammates. He does. He’s just ready to take the next step in his development for his team.
“I want it to be me,” the Michigan lineman continued. “I want to put myself in that position to make that play. I want to be that guy.
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“Everybody comes in as a freshman and thinks they’re going to be the guy right away, and that’s not always the case. It was definitely hard to take that backseat, but it was something that had to be done — and it’s going to be part of my story going forward.”
But he’s his own guy, and that was apparent when he was asked to compare his game to former Wolverines at his position.
There aren’t many like him at Michigan or anywhere else, after all. He’s 6-6, 278 pounds with the ability to play inside and out.
“I don’t know. I feel like Mike Danna, when he was here,” Morris said. “He was a lot of power. Kwity [Paye] was a lot more agile. Aidan is [both]. I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.
“I feel like my type of athleticism is kind of like a Za’Darius Smith [Green Bay], that type of guy.”
And one who should make a huge impact this year.
“He’s a real long guy … and he’ll use all that to his advantage,” Smith said. “Great player … utility guy. He can play anywhere across the line, especially when he puts his mind to it.
“He going to have a great year. A great year.”
Which could go a long way toward helping Michigan contend for the Big Ten title again in 2022.
