Mike Elston talks top-rated Michigan D-lineman in week one, room for improvement

The Michigan defensive front was swarming in a 51-7 win over Colorado State, notching sacks and forcing turnovers. Line coach Mike Elston liked a lot of what he saw, especially the ‘want to’ from his group and how the edge rushers stepped up. 

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Like most coaches, at Michigan or elsewhere, he’s looking for improvement in week two. It might be hard to gauge given how bad the opponent is — Hawaii is a 51-point underdog — but he knows what he’ll be watching for.

“Things that we would like to see improve would be an even better effort running to the football,” the first-year Michigan assistant said Wednesday. “More consistent block destruction, better get-offs. I feel like as the game went on, we were trying to see what they were doing and reading blocks instead of just coming off the ball and knocking guys back. 

“Inside guys, I’d really like to see more edge pass rush. I feel like the guys we have can be explosive and get on edges and create more havoc in the backfield in passing situations. Overall, I think we can be more productive in pass rush. We left some production on the field, and I’d love to see improvements in those areas in week two.”

But there’s no question the Michigan pass rush was one of the week one positives for the defense. Veteran Jaylen Harrell, one of the most improved pass rushers on the team, graded out highest among the defensive line starters in that regard, Elston continued.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh singled him out as one of the team’s best defenders in the win. There were several candidates, and Harrell wasn’t alone.

“He probably graded out the highest in along the front … he’s come a long way,” Elston continued. “He’s so doggone smart. And — he’s very instinctive. He uses his leverage well. He plays long. Jaylen had a really good fall camp, and you saw in the first game. He had high-level production in there for us.

“What we learned about the front is we’ve got a lot of guys who can play winning football. We rotate a lot of guys in, and I think the next step as we get into week 2 is we’re trying to build guys that can play championship-level football. When you go on the football field, you’re going to be expected to do that.

“Early on, you’re seeing what guys can do … and a lot of guys played very, very well. But our goal is to be playing championship-level football as we get into the rest of the season.”

Michigan pass rush will continue to come in waves

The one thing on display for the Michigan defense more than anything last week – the athleticism. Guys were swarming to the ball, and Elston was pleased with his group’s effort.

He was excited to see all groups work together in the 51-7 Michigan win.

“I think it’s a very talented defense — high-level skill, great speed,” he continued. “I think there’s strength at every position … so yeah, I think it’s a very fast defense.”

Michigan ends Braiden McGregor, Derrick Moore, and Eyabi Anoma picked up the slack for departed edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo.

“The great thing is that there are guys here that can fill those roles,” Elston said of the new Michigan pass rushers. “They’re going to look different; they’re going to be different. There are going to become different opportunities for guys to get the production in a different way, let’s say. Like you saw on Saturday, we’re doing some different things up front to create some disruption and pressure. Hopefully, that continues to carry on, and we’ll continue to grow those things.

“It’s a huge challenge to replace the No. 2 overall draft pick and another first-rounder, early second-rounder. But the challenge is there. I think that as a staff, we’ve handled it really well … and as a group, the guys understand the expectations, and they’ve handled it well.”

He and linebackers coach George Helow have been working together to make it even better between the Michigan linebackers and interior guys.

“I think it’s only going to get better as we move forward,” Elston said.