Kornacki: Bush Lowers Sonic-Boom Hits, Leads Nation's Top Defense
11/13/2018 10:32:00 AM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan middle linebacker Devin Bush lowers the boom so hard that at times it's downright sonic.
What's he sensing the instant before he explodes into the ball carrier?
"You see your target and lock in," said Bush. "You know exactly where you're attacking at, but the moment of impact is just slow motion. Everything slows down, and the moment you make that contact it speeds up."
Fearlessness is part of what makes Bush, a junior from Pembroke Pines (Florida) Flanagan High, such a devastating tackler. He said he's "always been like that," but it "became even more" when he started lifting weights in the garage with his father as a fifth grader and got stronger and faster, "building up confidence" as surely as his body.
The seed of that fearlessness?
"It comes from that chip," said Bush, looking down and back at his shoulder for emphasis. "The chip on your shoulder. But I also like taking risks. I'm just a guy who doesn't fear anything. The other man across from me -- I don't fear any man. I'm not backing down from anybody. You've got to show that you can beat me first."
Bush also hits with great velocity because he runs like a tailback. Although, he said he's never played offense on a football field.
"He's one of the fastest linebackers I've ever been around or seen," said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
Wolverines defensive end Rashan Gary added: "I know he's the fastest linebacker in college football. Having him behind me just gives me more security. I love having him fly around and be my captain, my brother.
"It's cool because going back and watching him on film is like, 'Wow! He made that play? That's crazy. He hit him that hard?' It's like crazy in the film room because sometime you've got to sit back and say, 'Wow!' But, Devin's the guy."
Bush has quite a catalogue of greatest hits, but what's his personal favorite?
"My No. 1 hit right now came on that screen against Nebraska," he said. "I've always dreamed about making a play like that. And it happened exactly how I kind of pictured it. It was pretty cool."
Cornhuskers quarterback Adrian Martinez took the shotgun snap to start that play and made a play-fake handoff that Bush didn't bite on. Instead, he read the screen to his right and bolted in that direction an instant before Martinez had even released the ball. That quick diagnosis enabled Bush to blow by offensive lineman Jerald Foster and tight end Jack Stoll before they could set up for screen blocks. They never touched Bush, who was all over running back Maurice Washington as soon as he caught the ball, and Bush hit him with his shoulder before driving Washington to the ground for a four-yard loss.
He gets hits with quality and in quantity.
?? @_Dbush11 #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/DPY9H2F5br
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) September 23, 2018
Bush leads the No. 1 defense in the nation in total defense with 61 tackles. His 8.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks rank second on the team. Bush has seven or more tackles in six games, sacks in four games, and has led the team or tied for the team lead in tackles in five of 10 games. The Associated Press recognized Bush as a midseason All-American, and he has won or shared U-M's Defensive Player of the Week honor three times.
Bush is one of five finalists for the 2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy for the best defensive player in college football, joining Kentucky's Josh Allen, LSU's Grant Delpit, Alabama's Quinnen Williams and Clemson's Christian Wilkins. All five players will be honored at the Charlotte Touchdown Club's awards banquet Dec. 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The team captain also was recognized as one of 10 semifinalists for the 34th annual Butkus Award, which honors the nation's best linebacker and also considers community service. A finalist in 2017, Bush is one of two players who are semifinalists for the second straight season (Josh Allen, Kentucky). He's also one of three Big Ten Conference representatives on the list along with Wisconsin's Ryan Connelly and Purdue's Markus Bailey. Butkus finalists will be named Monday (Nov. 19).
Bush's father, Wolverines defensive analyst Devin Bush Sr., who won a national championship with Florida State as a hard-hitting safety and was a first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons, instilled a love of the game in his son. Junior has watched video highlights of Butkus and other top defenders.
And while the physical punishment he dishes out gets most of the attention, Bush also is an accomplished pass defender. He has one interception and 13 pass breakups in his career, is tied for third on the team this year with four breakups, and never comes out on passing downs.
Bush said, "To be able to go out there for all three downs and having that aspect in my game -- being able to cover tight ends and running backs -- and still being able to blitz, that's something that makes my game that much more elevated and makes me a better player."
Devin Bush Sr. instilled a love of the game in his son.
Bush has 175 career tackles, but that total doesn't include two very unusual assists of a very different kind. He ran to the sideline in pursuit of a Maryland ball carrier earlier this season but realized outside linebacker Devin Gil was closer. So he pushed Gil, also his teammate on a state championship high school team, forward to make the tackle.
"The funny thing is," said Bush, "that's not my first time doing that. Against Rutgers my freshman year, the quarterback scrambled and Rah (Gary) was in front of me, and I did the exact same thing."
The Wolverines have fielded a highly ranked defense every season Bush has played, and this year they lead the nation in total defense with 219.8 yards per game -- 33.8 yards fewer than second-ranked Clemson. Michigan also leads in passing yards allowed (116.0) and passing efficiency defense (87.65).
"I take tremendous pride in what we're doing," said Bush. "That's the strength, our pride. We have a lot of pride on our side and a lot of things we want to achieve. We haven't gotten there yet, but we're on the right track. Each week, we lock in. If we want to achieve something, we just go do it."
The defenders are an improvement-conscious group, and I asked Bush where he's elevated his game this season.
"Stepping more into the leadership role as captain," he said. "Last year, I had an older guy (inside linebacker and captain Mike McCray) next to me, and I was kind of feeding off him a little bit, along with a couple other guys like Mo Hurst. This year, I stepped more into that role. I'm out there trying to lead guys."
Bush, along with offensive guard Ben Bredeson, became the first third-year juniors elected captains at Michigan, which decided to include third-year players for consideration for that honor for the first time this season.
Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown said Bush "has character that is off the charts" and is a "special, special" leader.
"He does great by his work ethic," said Harbaugh. "He's got great passion for what he's doing, and he resonates with people, it's real. It's good to see a youngster who has a passion for something and has a plan for what they're doing."
Bush pushes his teammates -- sometimes literally, as in the case of Gil (36) -- as a captain and leader on defense.
Bush strives for team accomplishment, but individual honors also could be coming. He was a second team All-American last season, and if he's upgraded to first team, Bush would join other Wolverines with that distinction by having a framed black-and-white portrait hung along the Schembechler Hall wall players pass each day.
"Man, that would be crazy," Bush said. "To be able to come back and see your face on the wall here is something I really want to do for my future, for my kids, my grandkids, my nieces, my nephews. Just to show them Dad or their relative did something and was a good player. Then, if any of them play football, I can always tell them I was a first team All-American."
Joining Erick Anderson (1991) as Michigan's second Butkus Award winner would take his status up yet another notch.
"I've seen film of Dick Butkus, and he was ridiculous," said Bush, shaking his head and smiling. "So much targeting!"
He burst into laughter with that reference to an era over one-half century ago when not only did targeting calls not exist but defenders could actually clothesline ball carriers by swinging their arms into their throats. It was a different and much more violent era when Butkus roamed the field for the University of Illinois and then the Chicago Bears.
"With something like that," said Bush of the award, "that's just something about having a good image about yourself and representing your team well, being a leader."
Bush, an honor student in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, isn't sure what he wants to pursue once his playing career is complete. But he enjoys competing in the classroom as well.
"I just enjoy being the best," said Bush. "I enjoy having something to represent with my name behind it. I'm two-time Academic All-Big Ten. I'm an All-Big Ten player (first team 2017)."
Devin Bush Jr. sets high standards for himself and then goes about attacking those goals with the same ferocity he channels in blowing up a screen pass. He uses his head and feet to get there ahead of everybody else and then lowers the boom.
