Texts are coming in for Jim Harbaugh about Michigan DT Mason Graham

Michigan Wolverines football sophomore defensive tackle Mason Graham didn’t ease his way back into things Saturday night in his return after missing two games with an injury. Graham, playing with a club on his left hand following undergoing surgery, was dominant, registering a team-high 6 tackles, including 2 for loss and a sack in the Maize and Blue’s 52-10 win over Minnesota.

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said Graham missed playing more than most players and that he was “champing at the bit” to make his return. He made his presence felt Saturday night in Minneapolis.

“Just him, just the really good player that he is, the run wall addition,” Harbaugh said of what Graham brought in his return, speaking on the ‘Inside Michigan Football’ radio show. “And playing with an interior defensive line that’s really been playing great. He was a great addition again.”

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Graham was the talk of the game, with the broadcasts — both television and radio — raving about his impact. Harbaugh’s postgame press conference was kicked off by a question about Michigan’s 6-3, 318-pound “gift from the football gods.” Harbaugh revealed Monday that upon checking his phone, he received even more feedback on the performance.

“He got a game ball. Just has a huge impact,” the Michigan coach continued. “And friends are texting me now, ‘Ah, Mason Graham, he’s my new favorite player on the team. He’s out there with the club!’ He didn’t even blink. He wanted to get back out there.”

Harbaugh added that playing with a club on didn’t faze him.

The Michigan defensive line was disruptive overall, with 7 tackles for loss. Junior defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny notched a pass breakup during a rare play in which he and sophomore Kenneth Grant dropped into coverage. Senior EDGE Braiden McGregor used “mirror hands” to bat down a ball at the line of scrimmage, marking his fourth career pass breakup. Senior safety Makari Paige knocked a pass down with his left hand on a blitz, too. Getting a hand on the ball has been a big focal point for the Wolverines this season.

“That’s something that’s come up a lot in practice, and emphasis was made on it,” the Michigan coach explained. “Some practices, some teams, you tell the defensive linemen not to reach up — whether it’s 7-on-7 or a team period or whatever — and don’t bat the ball down. We’re the opposite; we’re like, ‘Get ‘em if you can.’

“It only makes us better as a defensive unit, and it only makes us better as a quarterback, as an offense and as an offensive lineman of trying to get those hands down. There have been days where consecutive balls were batted down. It throws off a little bit of the timing of the passing game, but it’s real football; they’re allowed to do that. We’ve gotten a lot of great work, not just as a defensive line, but as quarterbacks and offensive linemen.”

The Michigan defense also had 2 pick sixes — one by sophomore cornerback Will Johnson on the second play of the game and another from sophomore safety Keon Sabb late in the third quarter. Michigan has now forced 8 turnovers this season, including 7 interceptions. The Wolverines had 14 picks in 14 games last season, so they’re above that pace.

“A real emphasis on it, I know that,” Harbaugh said of Michigan taking the ball away. “We wanted to get our hands on more balls, get more interceptions, and also more turnovers — jump on mistakes. [Michigan defensive coordinator] Jesse [Minter]’s been emphasizing that since the first day of spring ball and training camp. It’s something that we just thought we could be better at.”

Michigan had more interception return yardage (64) than Minnesota has passing yards (52). Harbaugh touted how well his defensive backfield played.

“The coverage is so tight, really,” the Michigan coach said. “This was our best game as a secondary — not just because we got the two interceptions, but just played really well in the secondary. Tight coverage about every down, and that was very impressive. Great to see the improvement — getting better, better. And also, I’m really happy with how apparent it is how locked in our guys are.”

‘Locked in’ was one of Harbaugh’s favorite phrases Monday. Despite Michigan not having a challenging schedule until mid-November, he’s confident that his Wolverines will continue to play well and improve.

“The best part? Yeah, we’re 6-0,” Harbaugh said. “That’s the best part. The best part also, equally, is that we’ve gotten better and better and better. Just how apparent it is that our guys are locked in allows you to get better.

“It’s the stuff you’ve been doing. Everything you have been doing, we love it. Let’s keep doing it, and maybe even more of it. Half the battle has been the way we’ve been practicing, the other half how hard we play. Just keep going. That’s what we told ‘em today, really — ‘you see it paying off on Saturdays, so let’s just keep doing what we’re doing, and hey, maybe even more of it.'”