January 14th, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
This is much needed good news. D-line has failed us for the last 3 years, making it all too easy for the best teams on the schedule to run over us. 2016's all NFL d-line made Don Brown's job easy. Hopefully our d-line next year can do that again.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:46 PM ^
Glasgow, Wormley, Charlton, Hurst, Gary, Winovich, and Mone all on the defensive line. Holy Pants.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:16 PM ^
OSU, Clemson, and even Alabama all built their dynasties on the back of their DL. When you have an elite DL you compete for championships.
January 16th, 2020 at 1:50 PM ^
A good line and even better in that first year when not running a 3-3-5.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
Is this one of Shawn's kids?
January 14th, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^
#11 or #12.... I don't recall
January 14th, 2020 at 4:27 PM ^
You meant to say Shawn doesn't recall?
January 14th, 2020 at 1:50 PM ^
Can he play defensive tackle??
Heard we need help there......
January 14th, 2020 at 1:59 PM ^
Yes, he can do about as well as a 280 pound DT can do in the Big Ten
January 14th, 2020 at 2:03 PM ^
IDK I think our run defense was fantastic against Wisconsin.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:58 PM ^
But can he recruit?
January 14th, 2020 at 2:00 PM ^
Can he defend the post?
January 14th, 2020 at 2:31 PM ^
I'm legit glad he's back and think we at the blog underrate his performance. Him with Smith and Hinton makes at least a competent rotation.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:38 PM ^
No doubt. I'm just burned out on football at the moment. Watching LSU and Clemson look like they are playing a completely different sport compared to us didn't help. Need 6 months to mentally recover.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:59 PM ^
I concur. Just the play of the quarterbacks alone. We haven't seen that kind of QB play since...ever? Tom Brady's senior year?
January 14th, 2020 at 4:34 PM ^
Chad Henne with 6:18 against the Sparties?
January 15th, 2020 at 7:32 AM ^
In the Braylon game, he pulled at least three interceptions off Jackson's chest.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:57 PM ^
That’s because they are playing a completely different sport. It’s called football. Not sure what we play.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:59 PM ^
Woo hoo...?
January 14th, 2020 at 2:06 PM ^
I guarantee if the title was "Carlo Kemp to grad transfer" you would be whining and crying about what a terrible job the staff is doing keeping players.
Can't please anyone here.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:33 PM ^
I love Carlo Kemp. He's just playing out of position. He should really be at anchor with Hutchinson. He can't stand up to the better guards and centers they face. But that isn't his fault. I think he'd be a really good anchor.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:44 PM ^
I concur, should be SDE and kick Hutch to the other side
January 14th, 2020 at 3:49 PM ^
He's playing out of position when he's at Nose, because he's a 3T. He should not be an Anchor.
The greatest 3T in my lifetime at Michigan was about 6'1 285. The top 3T drafted last year was listed at 6'1 287. Kemp is incredibly standard size for a 3T in four man front. He's smaller for a Nose.
It should be noted that nobody on Clemson's line is over 300lbs, and the line we started in the bowl is bigger than Clemson's at every position. This flavor of the week with our fanbase that our DTs MUST BE 300 LBS is not really based in anything. We need good DTs - their weight is largely irrelevant.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:08 PM ^
Is Clemson an outlier on this though? It does seem like some beef on the interior DL would be helpful. Is this something Venables is uniquely recruiting for or adept at using?
Does our competition in the B1G play into this at all (i.e. we know Wisco is on the schedule, and a brief search turns up that Minnesota, IU, and PSU all ranked top 25 for OL weight in 2019).
January 14th, 2020 at 5:19 PM ^
No, not really. Clemson has mainly been running the Tite defense of late (aka the 404 because you play your DEs in 4s and your lone DT in a 0). It's effective against modern spread offenses. Their DEs are both 6'2 265 and their lone DT is 6'2 295.
Clemson is not the only school to use this defense. Iowa State has been highlighted as one of its pioneers at the FBS level. We spent a good amount of the bowl game in Tite, and Alabama had their worst offensive game of the year until our offense couldn't stay on the field and the defense got tired. Paye, Hinton, and Hutch are a really effect front for running Tite.
It's pretty clear to me that this is the defense that Brown has been recruiting for the last couple cycles. We've placed an emphasis on long, athletic, positionless DL with frames to add weight, and safeties who can cover. Brown clearly wants to run more 30 front, 3 safety defense.
January 14th, 2020 at 6:04 PM ^
Ahhh yes, the 404 defense...otherwise known as the Http Not Found Error defense. Don Brown employs a subtle variation of this scheme called the Error: No Defense Found. It has proven highly successful against all opponents except the good ones.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:09 PM ^
It's all ball bearing nowadays.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:33 PM ^
Honestly it feels like the people who obsess over the size thing really are living in the past. You can't get away with slow not very athletic guys at any position in order to combat modern offenses. In the best case you get a guy who is 300+ and freakishly athletic for their size but there are not a whole lot of those recruits walking around. Size at DT will be fine assuming Hinton and Smith make their way into the rotation.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:12 PM ^
"It should be noted that nobody on Clemson's line is over 300lbs"
Maybe I'm crazy, but I bet Clemson would have benefited from having 315 lb Christian Wilkins and 342 lb Dexter Lawrence on the field last night.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:24 PM ^
Not unless Wilkins or Lawrence could cover better than AJ Terrell and Derion Kendrick, both of which are early round draft picks.
Clemson did not lose that game because their DL didn't weigh enough.
January 14th, 2020 at 8:15 PM ^
I give up. Who are you referring to? Can't be Henry Hill, he was more like 5'11" and 220. Also, he was a nose tackle.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:07 PM ^
That makes me feel much better about the D-line next season! Even if he isn't going to be a world beater, there is definitely something to be said for a being able to plug in a smart, reliable veteran
January 14th, 2020 at 2:10 PM ^
At worst, our DL will be a little better. Healthy Dwumfour and a bigger, stronger version of Kemp will be back. At best, Mazi and/or Hinton will pass at least one of them. I think there's a good chance that we run a ton of 3-3-5 next year based on Brown's tendencies, so the direness situation could be overblown.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:14 PM ^
"Healthy Dwumfour... will be back."
Welp.
January 14th, 2020 at 8:57 PM ^
Man, my post didn't age very well.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:16 PM ^
Great news.
In my opinion they should move him to 3 tech. and have Hinton and Smith play nose. That should be a quality 2-deep for the DTs.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:21 PM ^
Good news! I think Kemp can go from solid to consistent plus at DT.
Guys largely are who they are at this point but more depth/fewer snaps and another year of polish for a guy who didn’t play DL before college could defy that.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:37 PM ^
Very glad to see him back. I assume we don't go fishing for more interior DLs in the transfer portal now.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:14 PM ^
Kemp is undersized for the position that he's in. Michigan should try to poach a transfer that weighs 300+lbs to provide additional depth. We need more size in the interior. If we're banking on Kemp making a big jump in his 5th year, plus a Sophomore and RS Freshman to assist, we're gonna be sourly mistaken.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:02 PM ^
Can Kemp carry an additional 15-20 pounds? I know I can't...or I shouldn't. But another off-season in the weight room slugging protein shakes might be in the works for Carlo.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^
Good news. I also heard that Shea Evans is coming back.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:10 PM ^
I think this is fantastic news. DL was a weakness for us this year, especially DL depth.
IMO our DL will be much better next year, as Hinton and Mazi continue to develop. Now we've got the bodies to keep guys fresh, and won't be devastated if a guy gets injured.
I don't understand people who say college players "are who they are" by the time they're seniors.
IMO, most guys get better. A few decline, a few stay the same (and sadly a few get injured), but like young people in any discipline, most continue to improve.
This is especially true for linemen, because with age/training comes increased strength/power/technique. There are many, many cases of players who finally reach their full potential their final year on campus, and senior leadership is incredibly valuable.
All in all, we've fared pretty well in terms of attrition. Lots of good players returning in key positions.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:17 PM ^
Good players? Yes. Unproven players? Yes.
The development in the off-season is going to be crucial for this team, particularly on the offensive side, where so many players left an already "Eh" offense.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:19 PM ^
I agree with you, but I was referring to the guys we could have lost vs. those who decided to come back.
DL returnees - Dwumfour, Kemp, Paye
Other critical returnees - Collins, Thomas
If we'd lost all those DL guys and Ambry, we'd have been in deep trouble.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:18 PM ^
Wow, that didn't take long for this to become inaccurate - exit Dwumfour. Rats.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:37 PM ^
It's a fast news cycle these days
January 14th, 2020 at 3:15 PM ^
Great. Now let's get him over 300 pounds.
January 14th, 2020 at 3:38 PM ^
Not 300 lbs, do not want
January 14th, 2020 at 4:36 PM ^
Very optimistic about the DT's next year. Assuming Smith and Hinton progress Kemp, Dwumfour, Smith and Hinton are a solid rotation at worst. Then maybe get an unexpected contribution from someone else to actually have decent depth.