luiji vilain

yeah nobody in this picture is around anymore [Bryan Fuller]

Another into the portal:

Vilain was a top 100 recruit who suffered two major injuries that wiped out his first couple years on campus. He saw scattered snaps a year ago and got into the rotation this year, particularly after Hutchinson went down, but hadn't separated himself from younger competitors.

Michigan has Aidan Hutchinson returning at one DE spot; it's likely that Gabe Newburg or Taylor Upshaw takes the other. Depth is okay with David Ojabo, Braiden McGregor, and Jaylen Harrell available as non-true-freshman options.

There is no content after the jump.

[Patrick Barron]

FORMATION NOTES: A fairly radical departure for Michigan, which went with two high safeties for ~80% of the day.

off coverage 11111

As per usual with radical in-season makeovers, things did not go that well. Man coverage was sprinkled in a lot of zones, instead of vice-versa, and sometimes it felt like third down man coverage was mesh bait as Michigan tried to get Indiana to throw at Dax Hill.

Indiana spent the entire day in a 3-wide gun except for some short yardage snaps with 2 TEs and the occasional pistol.

SUBSTITUTION NOTES: The starting secondary of Green/Gray/Hawkins/Hill never came off the field. Paige was the only other DB to get snaps; he was the nickelback and was out there maybe a quarter of the time.

Similar story in the LB corps, though each of those guys missed some snaps when Michigan went to dime packages. Shibley got a few snaps in the second quarter.

Hutchinson went out early and Paye got lifted regularly so Upshaw and Vilain both had their most extended playing time to date. Game Newburg and David Ojabo also got in. Ojabo continues to act as a "SAM" but he's a standup end, functionally.

Significant DT rotation with Kemp leading the way; Hinton, Jeter, and Welschof also rotated in, with Welschof's snaps mostly coming on passing downs. VanSumeren got 3-3-5 snaps that were not passing downs. That was ~15.

[After THE JUMP: canyons grand]

meet at the ball [Bryan Fuller]

Previously: The Story. Podcast 12.4A, 12.4B, 12.4C. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End. Interior OL. Offensive Tackle.

  Depth Chart
ANCHOR Yr. NOSE TACKLE Yr. 3-TECH Yr. OPEN-SIDE END Yr.
Aidan Hutchinson Jr. Carlo Kemp Sr.* Chris Hinton Fr.* Kwity Paye Sr.
Taylor Upshaw So.* Donovan Jeter Jr.* Mazi Smith Fr.* Luiji Vilain Jr.*
Gabe Newburg Fr.* Jess Speight So.* Julius Welschof So.* David Ojabo Fr.*

Because of certain personnel deficiencies on last year's defense Michigan's defensive ends had to play defensive tackle at the same time they were playing on the outside. They did an admirable job in a difficult situation. Now they're down the third amigo—CMU transfer and draftee Mike Danna—but return two All Big Ten players. Both are getting the kind of hype that could land them high in the next NFL draft.

Depth is a little sketchy, but the main question here is how much they'll be able to trust the guys on the interior and get after it.

Note that Don Brown says that Paye is the "open-side end" and Hutchinson is the anchor. The distinction between these two spots was minimal last year and will be minimal again.

OPEN-SIDE END: DENSE

RATING: 4.5.

49080276722_c51d31d399_k (1)

small state, large man [Patrick Barron]

A few years ago, a certain kind of recruitnik was big mad when Don Brown turned his attention to a rando from Rhode Island. Michigan had a half-dozen higher-rated defensive ends on the hook and no one on earth had heard of KWITY PAYE. Fast forward a few years and Paye is leading Bruce Feldman's "freaks" list:

1. Kwity Paye, Michigan, defensive end

Freakiest attribute: Speed in the 3-cone drill

…has generated a lot of buzz among the NFL scouting community for some remarkable wheels. He clocked the second-best 3-cone time on the team at a blistering 6.37 seconds, which would have topped anyone at the 2020 combine. Paye’s 40 is also moving at 4.57, with a solid 34-inch vertical and 30 reps on the bench press. Paye’s 40 time and 4.15 pro shuttle time are better than any D-lineman or edge player who tested at the 2020 combine. … rare blend of strength, control and balance

The last time Michigan had  guy lead that list it was Rashan Gary, the #1 recruit in the country. Paye was the #1 recruit… in Rhode Island. Moral of the story is that if Don Brown finds a guy in Podunk, NH you nod and smile.

[After THE JUMP: and then there's the guy I'm higher on]

eh, it'll be fine to good 

So many guys discussed I maxed out the site's ability to tag a post

Got some Guys, might just have some Dudes

Shouts: "JETER IS REALLY IMPRESSING!" Whispers: "We're starting a former middle linebacker and a recent fullback at DT."

On taking the Michigan job, leaders on the d-line, the return of a near top-50 recruit from injury, and more

Greg Mattison: coaching for 47 years and counting

Greg Mattison talks to the media

they're not that interesting but 30k people are watching them anyway

“Rashan will be — you watch. You tell me afterwards how Rashan does, ok. That’s all I’ll say on that.”

you know when you raise a Tyrannosaurus and it starts off cute but eventually it eats your whole flock of sheep and you have to tearfully release it into the NFL