Uche Plays the Shark Role With Great Results for the Wolverines
11/2/2019 9:46:00 PM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Josh Uche plays like a shark, a predator in shoulder pads. So, it's no wonder that his hybrid position -- a combination of outside linebacker and defensive end -- is called the "shark."
University of Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown finds ways to use uniquely-talented players by designing positions that suit them. Jabrill Peppers and then Khaleke Hudson were linebacker-safety combos termed "vipers." Enter Uche, and cue the music from "Jaws."
Quarterbacks are the prey for this shark. Uche had two sacks on Maryland's first three possessions in Saturday's (Nov. 2) 38-7 win, giving him a team-high 7.5 for the season, and set the defensive tone.
Michigan's Giles Jackson, who took the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, said of Uche: "He's a special guy. He's always hungry to eat."
Jackson did not intend to make a shark analogy in describing his teammate, but what he said most certainly fit there. Quarterbacks can appear to be chum in the water for Uche.
Uche snuffed out the Terrapins' first drive by nailing quarterback Josh Jackson -- the son of longtime and retired Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson -- for an eight-yard loss on third-and-12.
Then safety Josh Metellus picked off a wobbly pass that popped high into the air after Michael Danna crushed Jackson as he released the ball to finish Maryland's next possession at the Michigan nine-yard line.
The Terps were at the Wolverine 11 for a third-and-10 play on their third drive of the game, but Uche made a quick strike to sack Jackson for a nine-yard loss and Maryland had to settle for a field goal attempt that missed.
"The pressures came at the right times and the sacks came at the right times, and we were able to keep them out of the end zone," said Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. "Those were big plays that were drive-stoppers."
Uche, circling the quarterback before taking him down, was right in the middle of that.
"We were able to execute, apply pressure, and did whatever Coach Brown drew up for us to do," said Uche. "We executed at a high level, and we got home.
"I think collectively as a group, we are playing at our highest level. I think as a group right now, we are hitting our stride."
The Wolverines had four sacks -- Aidan Hutchinson had one and Hudson and Carlo Kemp shared another -- and pressured Jackson pretty much the entire game.
Uche also has been at the heart of the play No. 14-ranked Michigan (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) has received in finding its collective "stride" while holding off Illinois, nearly coming back to win at Penn State and dominating Notre Dame to dash any hopes it had of making the College Football Playoff.
Six of Uche's sacks have come in these last four games.
The speedster from Miami also packs a wallop that makes him difficult for offenses to match up against. He's strong enough to deal with offensive linemen and fast enough to run down fleet quarterbacks and even future NFL receivers.
Uche had a sack and broke up a pass well downfield against Penn State's top deep speed threat, KJ Hamler, who was double-covered on the route by Hudson. All three went up for the football descending in their midst, and it was Uche who punched it to the ground.
It was an amazing play for a 6-foot-2, 250-pounder who also powers his way past hulking, powerful linemen.
"I mean, I was surprised," said Wolverine defensive end Kwity Paye. "I wasn't thinking Uche was that fast. Then I saw him go back and break up that pass. I was like, 'All right, that was great.' Uche has done a lot of great stuff for us. That was surprising he broke up that pass."
Uche (left) and Paye
Asked to explain his hybrid position, Uche said, "We run multiple 'D.' We're not really a 3-4 defense. So, Coach Brown has just done a great job of trying to get me in as much as possible and utilize the things I'm good at, and build some things around me. So, for the system I'm in, he's just trying to get me in as much as he possibly can."
Uche, who is on the Butkus Award watch list with the nation's top linebackers, has 27 tackles -- including 9.5 for lost yardage -- among those sacks. He entered this weekend ninth in the Big Ten in sacks, and is sure to move up in the rankings.
"Josh gives it 100 percent," said Harbaugh. "He's got a great, strong mindset, trains at a high level, wants to be good. He's getting better and better at football.
"He's just a relentless guy, a football player that you see it in every day at practice. He practices all the time and never misses one. Watching him in the one-on-one pass rushes every day, he's tough to block. He's on a mission when he's in pass rush, you can just see it. And, you know, that was the way our guys were getting to the quarterback, that was big today. Josh Uche, Aidan Hutchinson, Mike Danna, very impressive."
It all begins with the play of the line. If a team dominates in the trenches, the linebackers are freer to make plays. If the linebackers do their jobs, the secondary can focus on pass defense.
And when the 11 play as one sound unit, good things happen.
Michigan entered this weekend ranked eighth nationally in total defense with 270.4 yards allowed per game, and will move up by bringing down that average after holding Maryland to 233 yards. Ditto for their No. 6 pass-defense ranking (159.8 yards per game) after limiting the Terps to 104 yards in the air. And The Wolverines have gone 24 consecutive quarters while allowing just two runs from the line of scrimmage that exceeded 15 yards.
The defense has regained its identity since that 35-14 loss at Wisconsin.
The Wolverines have a bye week -- or an "improvement week" as Harbaugh terms them -- before hosting Michigan State on Nov. 16. Uche was asked when his thoughts will turn to the Spartans.
"I'm thinking about Michigan State right now," he said. "We think about both of them right now, honestly. It's something, being a 'Michigan Man,' that you're always thinking about. So, that game plan, you know, starts later today."
Uche and Hutchinson corral Maryland quarterback Josh Jackson
Setting up the defensive game plan for the Spartans began on the plane ride home, and then there's a game at Indiana before the regular season ends Nov. 30 with Ohio State visiting. Uche was not asked to clarify the "both of them" reference because everyone knew he was also referencing the Buckeyes.
The shark will play a big role in the last three games, and the prey becomes much harder to catch in those contests. However, Uche is playing at a very high level, too. It should be something to watch.
