Michigan owned one of the nation’s stingiest defenses in this season and defensive line coach Greg Mattison has been recognized for his role in that success.

The program’s official Twitter account confirmed that Mattison had been named the winner on Wednesday evening.

Michigan’s defense allowed just 119.2 rushing yards per game this season, ranking as the seventh-best average in the country. Thanks to strong defensive line play, the Wolverines also tallied 46 sacks and 120 tackles for loss on the year.

The article detailing Michigan’s success along the defensive line – which can be read in full here – also explains that the Wolverines’ dominance on third down situations was the best in the brief history of the award:

Thanks to that ferocious front, Michigan was the toughest defense in FBS to move the chains against. The Wolverines surrendered only 37 conversions in 176 third down attempts, a 21.02 percent conversion rate that ranked more than three percentage points ahead of any other defense since the FootballScoop Coach of the Year programs began in 2008.

Overall, Michigan’s defense limited opponents to 261.8 yards per game and allowed just 14.1 points per contest.

The only other B1G defensive line coach be receive the honor was Michigan State’s Ron Burton in 2013.