McGrone's Brotherly Love, Football Impact Tied to Thriving With Responsibility
11/21/2019 10:00:00 AM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Wolverine middle linebacker Cameron McGrone is a difference-maker -- on and off the field.
He's made 49 tackles, and only Khaleke Hudson and Butkus Award semi-finalist Jordan Glasgow exceed his 31 solos on the University of Michigan defense. McGrone is tied with Josh Uche for the most quarterback hurries with four, tied with Aidan Hutchinson for third with 7.5 tackles for lost yardage, and is fourth with four sacks.
And he's done all that despite coming off the bench in the first three games. McGrone now has seven starts, and those games directly coincide with the Wolverines becoming the defensive unit everyone expected after allowing 25.7 points in the first three games against Middle Tennessee, Army and Wisconsin. Michigan has allowed only 11.4 points and 228 yards per game over the last seven -- during which only one run has exceeded 20 yards.
That he has been able to call the defensive checks required of his position as a redshirt freshman speaks volumes about McGrone, who also brings great speed and packs quite a wallop.
When I asked McGrone what he feels on his best hits, he smiled and said, "I get chills through my whole body. I don't get those opportunities that much -- to really lay the wood on somebody. When I do, I try to make the best out of it."
He smiled and added, "I get chills right now just thinking about it."
Twitter fans send him messages to @McGrone_Strong, playing off his last name.
"Yeah, man, I've been seeing stuff like that on Twitter ever since I've been playing," he said. "Somebody said, 'Cam, make 'em groan.' It's so funny."
He brings Devin Bush-like qualities to the Wolverines, but he makes an impact in much more than football. The love and care he brings to Aaron Redd, 10, his one sibling, who has autism, is all about the difference a dedicated big brother can make.
"He's definitely my guy," Cameron said of Aaron. "When he was diagnosed with autism, I knew it was going to be a challenge to get him going. We try to get him through things kids 'normally' do, and I put 'normally' in quotes. Autism isn't a bad thing, and he's been doing great in every area just like everybody else is doing."
Clockwise from left: Lynn Redd (mother), McGrone, David Redd (father) and Aaron Redd (brother)
Cameron said Aaron, now in fifth grade, has mainstreamed into traditional classrooms and adds "that he seems to get a foot taller each time I come home," chuckling with pride.
"He's trying to get into baseball now," said McGrone. "He's interested in baseball and my parents (Lynn and David Redd) are going to try to get him into a T-ball league."
The anxiety Aaron felt when over-stimulated by the noises and loud crowds at athletic events once kept him from attending Cameron's games, but his older brother worked on acclimating him by introducing him to clock buzzers, starter's pistols and loud music. By the time Cameron was a high school senior, Aaron was able to begin coming to his games and track meets.
"He's been able to see me play a big handful of times," said McGrone. "He's gone to most of our games this year and enjoyed every single one of them. He loves watching the marching band. He loves watching me out there. He'll say, 'Bubby, you played a good game today.' 'Bubby' is short for brother.
"To get him that experience and get him to college games and get him on the field means everything to me. So, I don't know if he's coming to the game at Indiana, but a whole lot of people are coming and it's going to be a crazy experience to play in front of them. I'm going to be playing in front of almost everyone I know."
McGrone, a five-star recruit rated the nation's No. 1 outside linebacker by 247Sports as a senior at Indianapolis Lawrence Central, is going home to Indiana for Saturday's (Nov. 23) game with the Hoosiers, and expects at least 50 family and friends to be in the stands in Bloomington.
He's returning as a pivotal player for the No. 12 Wolverines (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten).
"(He brings) physicality and speed," said Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, "and he's getting better and better with understanding all the adjustments to the defensive calls, his responsibilities and (those of) the others around him. He's just playing really good football.
"From the position he plays, there's a lot to do. He's involved in the run fits. He's involved in the blitz packages. He's involved in the coverage. So, from the beginning, he's had about as much as you can have. It's just a lot. It's been a full plate since the beginning. He's done a great job."
McGrone said of learning to make those adjustments: "It's been about playing and also talking to Josh Ross (the starter who was hurt in the season's third game at Wisconsin). For the first couple weeks, he wasn't able to come on the sidelines, but now he's dressing, and I'll get in his ear, and he'll tell me his thoughts, what he would possibly do or look for. So, to have all that experience around me with (viper) Khaleke Hudson and (outside linebacker) Jordan Glasgow on each side of me on the field, there are so many resources for me to get information and allow me to play my best."
From left: Glasgow, McGrone and Husdon
Glasgow said of McGrone: "He has a lot of responsibility, but he also has opportunity to make plays. He can go to the weak or the strong side depending on what he reads. It's a big responsibility. We had Devin Bush there last year, and he was able to make the plays he was able to make. And I think Cam is going to be able to make those same plays going forward.
"I feel Cam still has a lot to improve on, but he's going to be a much better player going forward. I don't think we've really seen all he has to offer yet. So, that's really encouraging and exciting."
McGrone (6-foot-1, 232 pounds) has already turned heads. He had a career-high 12 tackles with a quarterback hurry against No. 8 Notre Dame in the 45-14 win, and 11 tackles at Illinois with two coming for losses and one sack.
His favorite game has been the one against the Fighting Irish, played mostly in a cold, driving rain.
"That was great," said McGrone. "I'd been around half of their guys just from recruiting, and to be able to go out there and do my job as well as I did with my team, after coming off that loss to Penn State, and knowing we had to bounce back, and bouncing back in that fashion. It was best for us, and we felt so good. It was awesome.
"That atmosphere at night with all that rain, everybody was worried about it. But we went out there in pregame warmups and kind of embraced it. The offense did, too. We said, 'We don't care what the conditions are, it's our game, we're going to win.' We just really came together against Notre Dame and dominated on all cylinders. It was great."
McGrone's ability to change games begins with his speed, and he believes he could give the ultra-fast Bush, who leads the Pittsburgh Steelers with 46 tackles as a rookie, "a run for his money" in a foot race.
"Devin talked to me from time to time when he was here," said McGrone. "He'd give me tips on how he learned the defense and how he went about football-related things. Notre Dame week, he hit me up, and told me that if I ever needed anything, need any questions answered, he's right there. He told me to stay patient and just keep doing what I'm doing, and everything will take care of itself."
What has the immediate success as a starter meant to McGone?
"It's just a blessing," he said. "Coming from last year and not even playing (he entered one game on special teams), and to now help my team keep winning, that means a lot. There was a time when I felt I wouldn't be able to fill this position."
Really?
"Yeah," said McGrone, "but now that I'm getting the opportunity I'm taking full advantage of it. At the start last year, I kind of felt overwhelmed. There was just so much to learn."
He said switching between outside linebacker and middle linebacker added to his knowledge overload, but added that once he began focusing on just one position, he began successfully adjusting to understanding his role.
"Getting that game experience is the best thing possible," said McGrone.
That knowledge has allowed him to unleash his speed -- something he realized was his gift at 12 or 13.
"I started running track then," said McGrone, "and the coaches said, 'You're pretty fast. Your form's not the greatest (laughter), but you move.' I get that from my family. My (great) uncle and a lot of people in my family ran track. My cousin, Candyce McGrone, ran track at Oklahoma and Florida State."
Candyce was the NCAA 100-meter champion in 2011 for the Sooners, but ran her first two seasons for the Seminoles, and was part of their 4x100 relay that finished second in the NCAA meet.
"I kept practicing and got my technique better," said Cameron. "I ran the 100, 200, 4x100 and long-jumped. We finally got the school record in the 4x100 in our last meet after trying to get it for so long, and that meant the most to me."
His sprinter speed allows him to cover running backs on pass routes, while he's still strong enough to battle in the trenches.
"I definitely like it because it's a challenge for teams," said McGrone. "They're thinking I'm just a linebacker. Michigan State put me one-on-one with their back out wide, and I could cover him stride-for-stride. That was kind of demoralizing (for them). Then I can come back and pound linemen the next play.
"So, they're thinking, 'Dang, how can we get a mismatch?'"
His parents said Wolverine defensive coordinator Don Brown promised them he would make "a dude" out of their son, using Brown's description of becoming a player's player. Cameron is well on his way to "dude" status.
"To learn directly from a guy like Coach Brown, with all his experience, who is also my position coach, is just a blessing," said McGrone. "I am by his side and hear so much, and pick his brain as to why he does things.
"Our defense funnels everything towards the Mike (middle) linebacker, and that he has that much trust in me and gives me these opportunities to make plays, is great."
It's easy to understand his coach's trust. Give Cameron McGrone responsibility, and good things happen.
