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Michigan DC Don Brown on future, young talent defensively: ‘Next man up’
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Michigan’s 2018 season isn’t over just yet.
The Wolverines were highly-ranked throughout the season, but their last regular season game annihilated any chances and hopes at makes the College Football Playoff. Going into the bowl season, Michigan is 10-2 overall and No. 7 in the country.
Thanks to its 10-win season, the team is set to take on No. 10 Florida in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl at noon on Saturday, Dec. 29. The game will be televised on ESPN.
As with many bowl games these days, certain players that would usually be playing will not be. The reasons as to why are numerous, but defensively, Michigan will be missing some key pieces against the Gators.
Guys like DT Rashan Gary and LB Devin Bush were studs for the Wolverines this season, but won’t be playing on Saturday. They’ll be headed to the NFL sooner than later, and their time at Michigan has come to a close.
With the heavy-hitting losses particularly on that side of the ball, Michigan DC Don Brown talked Thursday about what’s to come for his defense and what the mentality is going into 2019.
“Next man up,” Brown said. “This kid [sophomore linebacker] Josh Ross has been playing all year. We’ve lost guys, including Devin, for a period of time in games, so he’s got to play. I have a lot of confidence in the young man moving forward.
“The good thing is I knew pretty early in the process Devin was hurt, so at least I’ve been able to prepare him for the challenges ahead.”
Brown also talked about some younger players:
“I think [he’s] doing a good job,” Brown said of freshman Cam McGrone. “[Redshirt freshman] Jordan Anthony is certainly reliable. He’s really put himself in a good situation. Those two guys in particular.
“On the back end, this [freshman cornerback] Vincent Gray is really impressing me. Obviously, [sophomore cornerback] Ambry Thomas kind of gets left out there. I think he’s playing really, really well. I have no fear about what his ceiling is or how good a player he is, all those things. I think he’s going to be a really good player.
“[Sophomore safety] J’Marick Woods really [is going upward]. This bowl period has been really good for him. [Sophomore safety] Brad Hawkins … really good for him. With [junior safety Josh] Metellus, J’Marick, Hawkins and our incoming recruits, I feel really good about that back end.
“I feel really good about what we were able to do at linebacker. We’ve really got everybody back with the exception of [fifth-year senior Noah] Furbush [and Devin Bush]. That’s a positive. We’ve got a couple holes we’ve got to plug in the defensive line, which is an ongoing process, but we feel good about what we were able to do in the early signing period.”
More of what Brown said can be found here.
Kevin covers Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.