Michigan interior defensive line could be the key to beating Alabama

LOS ANGELES — Past Michigan games with some of the SEC’s best teams have been lost at the line of scrimmage. Alabama in 2012 and Georgia two years ago in the college football playoff come to mind, games in which the Wolverines were bullied up front and never really had a chance. 

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Recruiting bigger linemen was the key to leveling the playing field, Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said Thursday in his pre-Rose Bowl press conference. They went out and got guys who could compete with the best of the best, and the Rose Bowl vs. Alabama will help determine how much they’ve improved.

“On the D-line, especially when you’re coaching a three-down or four-down front, when you’re playing a team like Alabama, where their tackles are 6-7, 360, their guards are 340 or 350 pounds, you’ve got to have size,” Minter said. “You’ve got to have guys that are big and can move … the Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, Kris Jenkins, who’s kind of made himself into that. So that philosophy — big people beat up little people.”

He pointed to Alabama tackle 6-7, 360-pound Kadyn Proctor as an example. Though he’s had his ups and downs, as any true freshman probably would starting on the offensive line, he’s continued to improve. Michigan sophomore defensive tackle Grant said the Crimson Tide offensive line was much more physical than Ohio State from what he’d seen on film, noting it would be their biggest challenge, and Proctor is just one of five behemoths they’ll have to contend with.

“He’s massive. He moves pretty well for his size,” Minter said. “They’ve done a good job at times giving him help on certain rushers throughout the last 6 games. They’ve given him more of the chip protection, stuff like that. But he’s a really good player in own right. He’s able to block people 1 on 1. He’s super powerful in run game and can knock people off the ball. 

“So … a great challenge for us. We look forward to our guys having opportunities against their offensive line. They’re really good, but I think our players are really good. I trust all our guys that play up front, and I can’t wait to see them go out and compete against that really good offensive line.”

Grant hinted they saw some weaknesses on film they might attack, stopping short of giving away the game plan. Like Grant, sophomore defensive tackle Graham sees an extremely physical line that will provide Michigan its biggest test of the year.

“I would say that, too,” Graham said. “Seeing some of those Georgia clips that kind of went viral … I think they’re a well-coached team, a well-coached O-line. They work well together. Their quarterback complements them, too. He can make plays with his feet when the pocket does collapse a little bit … good group.

“We’re just focusing a lot on our fundamentals, technique. Stuff like that kind of helps against bigger guys when you’re in a little weight deficit. But I don’t expect it to be too much of a crazy jump.”

Penn State had a good offensive line and Ohio State “played well at times” up front, Minter said, but Alabama will be a different animal. 

“We haven’t played an offensive line this big and physical … I don’t think there’s anybody we’ve played [like them],” Minter said “You trust that the long course of preparation that began last January has you prepared to play a team like this, and the most comparable team is probably our own team and a team that we get to practice against all the time … that’s a physical, downhill running game, an offensive line that has the ability to move people, various schemes in the run game.”

But they’re ready for the challenge, Graham insisted. Two years ago, when he and Grant first arrived, strength coach Ben Herbert predicted it. Watching Graham and Grant throw weight around at their ages, he pulled them aside and had a few words of encouragement.

“I’d never seen a big guy move like that, that fast and that nimble before, really,” Graham recalled of Grant. “ It was cool to see, eye opening how freakish of an athlete he actually is. I kind of knew coming in he was going to be a great player.

“I remember Coach Herb when we first got in the weight room, he came up to me and Kenneth and said, ‘I don’t know when or how, but you two are going to be the leaders on this D-line one day.’ I feel like that’s kind of come full circle and we’re developing into what Herb said.”

They have, and it’s as good as it’s been on the interior at Michigan in a long, long time. Some would say they’re finally equipped to go toe to toe with the SEC’s best after many years in which they couldn’t compete.

Now’s their chance to prove it. The Michigan sophomore duo and their teammates will get their chance Monday, and their play could well be one of the deciding factors in what should be a great Rose Bowl.