Kornacki: Michigan's D-Line Pushing Each Other to be the Best
10/2/2017 7:36:00 PM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Choose your poison.
That's what it comes down to for an offensive coordinator attempting to handle the University of Michigan's defensive line, which has spearheaded the nation's No. 1 defense in regard to sacks and both total and rushing yards allowed.
Defensive ends Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich supply a football vise grip coming out of the trenches with speed and power. Tackle Maurice Hurst is a handful to block in the middle, and he teams with massive Bryan Mone or freshman sensation Aubrey Solomon in 4-3 fronts. Dynamic linebacker Noah Furbush is playing more and more when the Wolverines opt for three-man fronts.
They're a driven group that Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison says is hungry after rotating last season behind a front four that has moved on to the NFL: Taco Charlton (Cowboys), Ryan Glasgow (Bengals), Matt Godin (Texans) and Chris Wormley (Ravens).
"The four guys (starting this year), I love their attitude," Mattison told MGoBlue.com Monday (Oct. 2) before practice for Saturday night's (Oct. 7) home game with Michigan State. "I love how much they want to be great. This group right now has heard nothing but talk of the last four.
"Their thing is that they want to prove that one of the reasons we had a good D-line last year was the eight (of them). Their whole deal right now is to prove that they are that first four, and the second four has got to keep coming so we get that done."
The Wolverines' D-line has had seven NFL draft picks in the first four rounds in the six years since Mattison returned as Michigan's defensive coordinator in 2011 and became exclusively the defensive line coach in 2015 under Jim Harbaugh. Mattison also coached that area for the Wolverines 1992-96, when he mentored five All-America picks: Chris Hutchinson, Jason Horn, Will Carr, Glen Steele and Rob Renes.
"I appreciate all of our linemen," Mattison said. "But we talk in terms of eight because I don't think that in today's game you can play with four. The whole thing at Michigan is that you are going to play as hard as you can and run to the football as hard as you can for as long as you're in there.
"The only way you can do that is to have a good person behind you. The four guys we started all made it in the NFL. The four behind them are the ones that are starting right now. But this year, the four guys who are playing have not had the rest that last year's group had. They've had to play longer than they should've. That's what we're leaning to now, getting four guys to push them."
Bryan Mone (90) and Maurice Hurst (73)
Mattison said Solomon is solid with Mone in the middle, while Carlo Kemp is behind Gary. Kwity Paye and Reuben Jones back up Winovich, and Michael Dwumfour and Lawrence Marshall play behind Hurst.
Winovich leads the Big Ten with both 5.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for lost yardage. He's third on the team behind linebackers Devin Bush and Mike McCray with 24 total tackles, and he has two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble that resulted in a touchdown for Furbush.
Mattison said: "I tell players, 'Go as hard as you can and be honest with me so that when you are not, I can put somebody else in. Well, every time I ask Chase that on the sideline, Chase looks me in the eye and says, 'I'm great. Coach, I can go all day.' And he goes! Some of the tackles Chase has made are sideline to sideline.
"I use him as an example when I show film to everybody. I say, 'If he can run like this on the 45th play that he's in, why can't we all do that when we're in there?' And they see it. Chase has had a very good year so far, playing with great effort, and getting better on his technique."
Winovich has one more sack than ultra-versatile middle linebacker Bush, who leads the team with both 33 tackles and four pass breakups. Both could challenge the school single-season sack record of 12 shared by LaMarr Woodley (2006) and David Bowens (1996).
Hurst, a tackle slotted No. 10 overall in the first round of an ESPN mock draft for 2018, has two tackles for losses among 16 total, two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.
"Hurst had a little bit of a nagging bruise early," said Mattison. "Now, he's starting to get healthy again, and he's really disruptive. Mo is one of those guys that can run like a defensive end, and he's playing at the level that we want him to play."
Gary, the consensus No. 1 overall recruit in 2016, also has pleased Mattison with developing into a strong leader. He has 16 tackles (2.5 for lost yardage), one sack, two quarterback hurries and one forced fumble.
"Rashan, I think, sometimes gets frustrated because he's not getting the numbers," said Mattison. "Well, there's a reason for that. For example, last year he was in there with Wormley with Taco on the other side (of the line). A lot of the attention went to Taco, and so those guys made the plays.
"This year, a lot of the attention is going to Rashan (with double-teaming). And a lot of guys are chipping him, backs on pass plays. Well, because of that, you see Chase going one-on-one and winning. Our deal is: 'Somebody's got to be one-one-one. So, win that battle.'"
That's where choosing your poison comes into play. And when opponents also have to contend with Bush, McCray and Furbush as well as viper Khaleke Hudson, they have problems to contend with across the front seven. The fact that cornerbacks Lavert Hill, David Long and Brandon Watson can succeed in one-on-one coverage makes the whole blitz-heavy defensive approach click.
"That front is working very, very hard, and we have a big stretch coming up to find out how good we are," said Mattison. "I keep bringing it up, and they keep bringing it up: 'Let's see how good we are compared to last year's (line).' That's the level we're after."
Rashan Gary (3) and Chase Winovich
I asked Gary and Hurst for their thoughts when they watch one another on tape.
On Winovich:
Gary: "Chase is our little crazy motor guy. You've always got to have a guy like Chase around, making the play and then getting me pumped up. He'll say, 'C'mon, I'll meet you at the quarterback. ... I'll meet you on this tackle.' He's always pushing me to be the best I can, and the same goes for Mo."
Hurst: "Chase is just a wild man (laughter). He makes so many plays with extraordinary effort, and on every play he is trying to get to the quarterback, scratch and claw, and eventually he gets there."
On Gary:
Hurst: "I see someone who's athletically gifted and built to play football. He's fast and powerful, everything you'd want in a defensive player and lineman."
On Hurst:
Gary: "Oh, man, it's his get-off. He's crazy, and when he's on his game, no one can block him. The same thing goes for Chase."
On Mone:
Gary: "Oh, man, he's a monster, a monster. He's 325 (pounds), 6-4 and clogging up the middle. He's able to stop the run and sometimes can get after the pass."
Hurst: "Mone's just a big bear. He clogs up the middle and takes two blocks on and frees up the linebackers lots of times. He's just a great player to play with, who plays with a lot of heart and passion."
There's a "beast" in waiting: true freshman Solomon (6-foot-3, 295 pounds), a five-star recruit from Leesburg, Georgia.
"Aubrey, right now we've got him playing the nose, three-tech(nique), and he's just a beast," said Gary. "He's strong. He doesn't even know how strong he is, that's the craziest thing. Next season, when he starts hitting that weight room, I think he's going to be a beast. But right now he's still going through a little learning curve.
"But when he gets into games, he does cause some havoc. So, I can't wait for everything to start clicking for him."
Mattison added: "We play a lot more three down (linemen) at times, and so Mone's probably been the odd guy out. But he's doing very well, and you'll see him more and more as the season goes on. Bryan's got strength and size; he's got it all. The great thing about him is he comes in and does all he can all the time."
What do they see in watching themselves?
"My confidence," said Gary. "I'm more confident in what I'm doing because I believe in the scheme, and I know the scheme. Now, I'm just having fun. Now, I know what to do. And now I've just got to do it."
Hurst said: "I see a little bit of all those guys. I feel I play with great effort, and I'm able to take up blocks for Mone. I try to play with some of the freakish ability of Rashan, but I'm just not as freakish as him (laughter)."
They love playing for Mattison, and Hurst was asked about the coach's approach with them.
"His approach with us is to be the best unit possible," said Hurst. "He brings up people in the past that he's coached, and we talk a lot about some of the players that were on our team last year and two years ago and the legacy they left.
"We want to try and leave our own legacy and our own mark on Michigan football as a D-line."
Mattison said of film sessions with his group: "Nobody better get their feelings hurt. Everything that is done on that film is brought up. We are very honest in that room, but I don't worry about feelings because they know we're for them all the way, trying to get them to be the best they can be."
None of them were starters last year, but they played plenty, learned much and have been completely unleashed.
Gary noted: "I feel like, to be honest, when all is said and done we can be the best defensive line in the nation. ... It's great playing with the same guys as you, pushing to be the best."
