How Michigan pass rushers Jaylen Harrell, Eyabi Anoma are forming a bond
Michigan football’s opening week game against Colorado State went swimmingly in a 51-7 victory. A strong defensive showing with 7 sacks and 11 tackles for loss as a unit, headlined the day’s events in Ann Arbor.
One of the standout performers was junior EDGE Jaylen Harrell, who had four total tackles, half a sack and half a tackle for loss. Pro Football Focus graded him out at 91.4 on the day and noted his 7 quarterback pressures.
Despite the great showing, he expects more.
“It was good getting back out there,” Harrell said this week. “Like I told you guys, I really wanted to hone in on my pass rush, different moves and stuff like that. I feel like Saturday I did okay. I could’ve finished better on the quarterback, but it was an okay start.”
Focus remains on improvement moving forward
Michigan defenders have had to listen all offseason about the star power they lost on that side of the ball from 2021. So far, the Wolverines’ “no-star defense” is taking care of business on its own as a unit.
“There’s been a lot of buzz about this and that about who to replace who,” Harrell said. “Like we’ve all been saying — we’re not trying to replace anyone, we’re just trying to get better each and every day. Our chemistry, rushing the passer, stopping the run, whatever it may be. Our main goal is to keep getting better each and every week and putting our defense in the best position to be great.
“Everyone eats. We cheer on our brothers. Whenever we get out there, get pressure on the quarterback and cause havoc all game. That’s our goal as a cohesive defensive line.”
Harrell and Michigan still seek improvement heading into Week 2 and beyond. They are not satisfied.
“Four-man rush-wise, we were getting back there,” he said. “We all could have finished better. We left some rushes out there. Made the quarterback feel us but it was overall a good debut.”
Eyabi Anoma fitting in at Michigan
One of the more notable developments from Michigan’s season opener was the performance of graduate transfer Eyabi Anoma. Anoma notched his first sack in the Maize and Blue on his first snap of the game and flashed his potential in the 9 snaps he saw in Week 1.
He and Harrell are developing a close bond.
“That’s my guy,” Harrell said. “We’re always chopping it up, learning how we can get these tackles off balance, moves setting up, stuff like that. We’re always talking — and he came here for a reason, as you guys saw, first snap sack. He didn’t come here to play around.”
This week, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter discussed what he has seen from the former five-star recruit. There is plenty of room for his role at Michigan to continue to expand.
“To his credit, the guy got here about three weeks ago,” Minter said. “He’s bought into what we’re trying to do. He’s a guy with a really a lot of physical tools, a high ceiling. I think he’s still learning and so he’s — we told him we want to try to feed him a little bit more each week and it was like, ‘Hey, let’s throw them in there, on the next third down.’ And, of course, the rest was history for him. It was good to get him in there more in the second half on normal downs and kind of get a feel for playing the run and playing a normal style of play. But he’s a guy that we can definitely utilize as a pass rusher as we go.”
