Mike Morris, Michigan pass rush growing more confident by the week
Michigan Wolverines football lost two edge rushers that combined for a program-record 25 sacks in Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo to the NFL after last season. The Maize and Blue notched 7 sacks in the season opener against Colorado State, but struggled to generate pressure for a few games after that. But over the last game and a half, Michigan has totaled 11 sacks in the second half against Iowa and full game versus Indiana.
Senior EDGE Mike Morris has been the ring leader. He has 5 sacks on the season, and his 4 during Big Ten play leads the conference. His 26 pressures rank tied fifth in the country among edge rushers, per Pro Football Focus (PFF). Among those he’s tied with is Alabama outside linebacker Will Anderson, who won the 2021 Bronco Nagurski Trophy for the nation’s best defensive player.
The difference over the last few games for Morris and the Michigan pass rushers has been noticeable to both viewers and the senior himself.
“I think it’s just my confidence,” the Michigan defender said. “Every game, feeling it out more. The more success I have, the more I’m believing in myself and the more confident I am when I go out there. And the team looks at me as, ‘We believe in you, Mike,’ so that’s just more of a confidence booster. I’m getting more and more confident.”
For the most part, Michigan’s production has been spread out. Last week at Indiana, seven different defenders accounted for the 7 sacks. Morris believes the different styles of the Michigan EDGEs makes life difficult for opposing offensive linemen.
“You go against me, you go against ‘Yabi [graduate EDGE Eyabi Okie], you go against Jay [junior Jaylen Harrell] and everybody else, it’s like you’re getting so much different stuff from so many different people. I feel like you really can’t settle in on just one guy, so you can’t get comfortable. That’s the advantage we have with a lot of different people.”
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Okie has risen his game as he’s gotten more comfortable in the Michigan system, after transferring in from UT Martin and joining the team in mid-August. He’s registered 2.5 sacks and 11 pressures on just 70 pass-rush snaps.
“I feel like it’s nice to have somebody that can come in and affect the game,” Morris said of his Michigan teammate. “I feel like we’re all affecting the game at the same time, but Eyabi comes in and dominates. When he’s in, I feel comfortable. But when everybody’s in, I’ve gotta feel comfortable, as well. We’ve just gotta keep stacking days.”
Mike Morris on two ‘freak’ Michigan freshmen
Michigan has two freshmen that are making big impacts along the defensive line in tackle Mason Graham and EDGE Derrick Moore. The former is a starter in U-M’s base package and has made 11 tackles, including 1.5 sacks. The latter has 5 tackles, including 2 sacks, and 2 quarterback hurries.
Morris has been extremely impressed in what each has brought to the defense.
“He’s a dawg,” Morris said of Graham. “I’m gonna keep saying this, him and Derrick are just freaks. They look like they’ve been here for years, they act like they’ve been here for years and they play like they’ve been here for years. I feel like they weren’t in high school. They were probably in a JUCO somewhere or they transferred in from somewhere. They’re just grown men. Just the age is the difference.”
