Monday, July 12, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
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Michigan DefensiveLine
Football
Season Preview
'M' hopes to replace Graham on D-line
Hybrid end/linebacker
Craig Roh is one of the
potential Wolverines
to step up on 'D'
By RYAN KARTJE
ManagingEditor
Unfortunately for Michigan foot-
ball coach Rich Rodriguez, former
Wolverine defensive end Brandon
Graham had no choice after last sea-
son but to depart Ann Arbor for a big-
ger and better career in the NFL.
And with the 13th pick in the first
4 round of the 2010 NFL Draft, the
Philadelphia Eagles' pick created a
massive black hole on the Wolverines'
defensive line.
Which begs the most obvious ques-
tion of Michigan's off-season: How
will Rodriguez even come close to
replacing the production of one of the
country's most dominant ends?
The short answer - he won't.
There's simply not enough talent
on the defensive front to replace a
gamechanger like Graham. But does
that mean all is lost in the trenches for
Michigan's 2010 season? Absolutely
not.
What Graham brought to the
lineup, more so than any Wolver-
ines since LaMarr Woodley or Mark
Messner, was the ability to disrupt
the quarterback - something that is
epically important as college football
programs look to the air more and
more.
It sure doesn't help that Michigan's
defensive back corps will be even
more anemic with the loss of corner-
back Donovan Warren. So now, the
Wolverines have no choice but to find
some other way to rush the quarter-
back.
At first glance, sophomore hybrid
end/linebacker Craig Roh seems to be
the obvious choice. Playing opposite
of Graham last season (technically at
the linebacker spot), Roh looked solid
in big-time games last year as a fresh-
man, recording 10 tackles (two for
loss) combined against Ohio State and
Penn State.
As a senior at Chapparal High
School in Arizona, Roh recorded 16.5
sacks, but his rawness was a notable
concern. Now, with a season under his
belt and a freshman All-America bid
to boot, this year could be Roh's com-
ing out party.
Rob's potential is clearly the most
attractive replacement for Graham's
vacancy as defensive stalwart, but
redshirt junior Ryan Van Bergen may
be the most practical choice to fill the
gaping hole.
With most of his time at defen-
Defensive line is
full of possible
replacements, lots
of question marks.
sive tackle last season, Van Bergen
finished second on the team in sacks
(five) and made some huge plays,
including returning a fumble recov-
ery for a touchdown against Wiscon-
sin. Van Bergen will likely shift out to
Graham's old position, so the pressure
may be on him more than anyone up
front to come into his own this season.
The most interesting battles for
time on the defensive line this sum-
mer, however, will most likely take
place on the interior as a handful
rODSCOLA BRBERS
Supporting the UofM Community
Junior defensive lineman Mike Martin has proven himself as a leader in the trenches under Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez.
of different players battle for what
Rodriguez and defensive coordinator
Greg Robinson have all but assured
will be a platoon.
Mike Martin is the proven leader of
the defensive interior, and he should
have little problem getting into the
backfield and stopping the Big Ten's
best ball carriers in their tracks. In
the second half of last season, Mar-
tin amped up his performance in the
trenches, registering a combined 21
tackles in the Wolverines' final three
games, with one sack on Buckeye
quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
There's little question whether
Martin will show up this season,
probably on his way to one of the All-
Big Ten teams, but sophomore Will
Campbell remains an enormous ques-
tion mark on Michigan's line. The
five-star from Cass Tech is a monster
See DEFENSIVE LINE, Page 12
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