The Michigan Wolverines have had several things that have plagued them on the football field in recent years. Many could best be described as cuts of paper instead of wounds in the flesh. However, all of this affected them dramatically during the 2020 season, which will be considered one of the worst in the modern era of the program.
What happened last fall was the culmination of a series of small problems that snowballed over them. They were further pressured by the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. It was disheartening for everyone involved and pandemic or not, what we saw required major changes.
There is a large part of the fan base that would argue that the root cause of all this goes straight to coach Jim Harbaugh. This line of thinking has merit. But Michigan decided to keep him – at a reduced wage, mind you – and make the changes he needs to make to get this operation back on track.
He’s here and it won’t change for at least another season, so let’s get this out of the way.
The biggest offseason change so far has come in the form of a total defense facelift. Coordinator Don Brown is out and has been replaced by a promising young man from former Baltimore Ravens linebacker coach Mike Macdonald. Mike Zordich is no longer a cornerback coach and his place was taken by Maurice Linguist, who will coordinate with Macdonald. George Helow fills the vacancy as a security trainer that was never really filled by Bob Shoop last season.
Without doing a very large autopsy in Michigan’s defensive fights, one of the biggest topics in the plot has been the lack of development in the defensive tackle since Maurice Hurst last wore a winged helmet in 2017.
It has remained a disappointment for the past three seasons and was still an important need a week ago.
Defensive line coach Shaun Nua was hired by Harbaugh. The idea was that his efforts were thwarted by the system in place, including priorities on the recruitment track. We may not know how valid this is, but your efforts as a recruiter lately seem to confirm this.
Michigan secured commitments from a trio of defensive players over the past seven days, culminating in the signing of the three with the program on Wednesday.
The Wolverines made a commitment to four star George Rooks last week and launched two prospects during the February signing period at four star Rayshaun Benny (Michigan) and three star Ikechukwu Iwunnah (Colorado). These are Michigan’s first real defensive attack commitments that will arrive on campus since Greg Mattison left for the state of Ohio in early 2019.
(Note: Five-star Chris Hinton and four-star Mazi Smith of the 2019 class committed while Mattison was still on Harbaugh’s team).
Naked and offensive line coach / co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore had their hands on all of these recruitments and they deserve support for that. But it was also the energy of guys like Macdonald, Linguist and Ron Bellamy, who are already paying dividends weeks after their signings. The move to become younger is paying off.
Benny’s leap away from rival Spartans was the most notable of the day. He was one of Michigan’s main targets throughout the process, but decided to join coach Mel Tucker shortly after MSU’s 27-24 victory at Ann Arbor last season. This was a hard pill to swallow for Michigan, but they stayed in touch and, as Benny did not sign in December, the court press remained on.
While it is too early to call that position of strength now for Michigan, they have some prospects to work with now. Without disrespecting any of the boys in the squad, but the 110-kilogram East Coast defensive ends being converted into tackles would never be a recipe for success. The Wolverines have taken a big step towards correcting this in the past seven days.
They need to be developed and trained, which has been a big part of the problem. But you’re going to take chances with some four-star guys, contrary to what the alternative was before. Naked has been an asset for Michigan in recent weeks, but ultimately it will be defined by how he develops what’s on the list, mixed with what’s coming.
There are no guarantees when it comes to recruitment. Michigan football fans are well versed in this area of expertise. They have talented players arriving in a position of great need, which is much more than they could have said previously. It should give at least a little hope that the team is working to correct what ails them.