Michigan tackle Kenneth Grant has taken a leap, but he’s still just getting started
Michigan defensive line coach Mike Elston has an embarrassment of riches up front, and especially at tackle. It’s not a stretch to say the current U-M group of interior linemen could end up being the best U-M has ever seen, in fact, when the season is done.
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Senior Kris Jenkins is playing at a high level, and sophomore Mason Graham was killing it before going down with a hand injury. Grad Cam Goode is playing his best football, and junior Rayshaun Benny has been solid.
“The guys share the reps and everyone practices their tail off to play in the game,” Elston said on the recent Inside Michigan radio show. “You want them to know when they’re going in, so we go through that script and make sure they know what it’s going to look like so when gametime comes, they’re ready.
“Gone are the nights laying in the bed in the hotel room on Friday night wondering, ‘Am I going to play? How much am I going to play?’ We try to let them have a pretty good idea of that to erase the anxiety of going into the game. You’re going in … now go out there and perform.”
Because if they don’t, they can be replaced. There’s too much depth, and sophomore Kenneth Grant is proving tough to keep off the field.
In addition to stuffing the run, the Michigan 350-pounder has been racking up the quarterback hurries and commanding double teams. He even picked off a pass tipped by Braiden McGregor at Nebraska, finding the ball over his shoulder for a huge play.
“You wouldn’t believe it but this year we’ve made a huge emphasis on it … ball disruption,” Elston said “We play a lot of catch, we throw the ball. We don’t necessarily high point the ball like he did on that play, but one of the biggest things that we work on is a nearhand … engage someone on the block when blocking you, what Braiden McGregor did, the nearhand knocking the ball up in the air.
“But the way K.Gl was able to track the ball and then go up high at his size, and then with guys climbing on him and then seatbelt it like a running back … those things we’ve been working on. But not the high-point and that part of it. A lot of that is God-given. For him to track that and find the ball, what an incredible job by him.”
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The Michigan sophomore has put in his time to change his body, and it’s paid off. No, he’s not going to threaten the tight ends for two-way play, but he is going to get more and more snaps. With his size and speed, he’s got the potential to be one of the best who ever played at U-M.
As of now, though, he’s still behind Graham and Jenkins, but rising. The sky is the limit, Elston said.
“He had a really good freshman year and didn’t play as much as we would like him to play,” Elston admitted. “Going into this season he was a starter in what we call our base package beside Mason and Kris. When we would go nickel, Mason and Kris would be the starter. With Mason going down, now Kenneth is the starter in the nickel package.
“He’s an intelligent young man. Obviously, he’s big and physical and athletic. The consistency of his block disruption and the improvement of his pass rush, that’s what I’ve seen a big improvement on as he gets more reps and goes through these games.”
And it’s why he’s seeing more action. Expect bigger and better things from him as the year progresses — the Michigan coaches do, and they can’t wait to see what he does next.
