8 — Thursday, September 7, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Secondary adapting to new defensive scheme
Of all the position groups
Michigan had to rebuild on
the defensive side of the ball,
the secondary was expected to
have the most pieces to replace.
When it came to the defensive
backfield — especially at safety
— the picture was blurry, to say
the least. The two new starters
— junior Tyree Kinnel and
sophomore Josh Metellus — had
only one career start between
them.
With the way
they
played
Saturday
in
Michigan’s
season-opening
victory
over
Florida,
though,
you
wouldn’t
have
noticed
their
inexperience.
The
safety
duo
tallied
nine
tackles
in
their
first
career
starts,
including
1.5
tackles for loss
by Kinnel and
a forced fumble
by Metellus.
The
two
played the vast
majority of the
game, as defensive coordinator
Don Brown opted for a tight
rotation within the secondary.
Working in tandem for such
long
stretches,
Kinnel
and
Metellus had the opportunity
to continue growing as a joint
unit. Kinnel has spoken highly
of his new position partner
before. And Monday, he did so
once again.
“(Metellus) did everything
well. He was talking to me all
the time, making checks as I
was making checks,” Kinnel
said. “He covered a lot more
than me in that game, just
because of (the Gators’) offense,
and I felt like he covered really
well.”
While
two
safeties
is
typically the norm, Brown
and his staff utilized a 3-3-5
scheme, which they debuted
against Florida with positive
results. The shift gifted Kinnel
and Metellus with even more
help manning the secondary
in
sophomore
defensive
back
Khaleke Hudson.
Between
the free safety,
strong safety and
VIPER
—
the
hybrid
position
Hudson
started
at — the three
defensive
backs
shuffled through
a
variety
of
responsibilities.
Kinnel
spent
most
of
his
time as the free
safety,
while
Metellus
and
Hudson
moved
back and forth
between
strong
safety and VIPER
pretty
evenly
in
different
formations.
The ability to switch between
Hudson
and
Metellus
has
added an extra dimension to
an already-complex defensive
scheme. So far, the transition
has been seamless for the
trio of safeties. According to
defensive backs coach Brian
Smith, the added wrinkle has
been a “luxury.”
“That versatility, being able
to move in different places,
helps out the defense as a core
— getting guys lined up and
giving the offense different
looks,” Smith said.
Kinnel described the process
of switching as situational,
where
the
defense
has
to
read the offense and react
quickly. Since the shifts are not
necessarily incumbent upon a
run or pass play, the practice
keeps all three on their toes.
“As a (defensive back), you
always have to think that the
ball is coming your way every
snap,” Smith said. “That’s the
way you have to prepare for
it. … You can’t look at it any
differently or you won’t have as
much success.”
While the technical aspects
are still a work in progress, the
foundation seems firmly built.
Throughout
Michigan’s
fall
camp, the theme for its budding
defense was “flying to the ball,”
as Kinnel called it.
“Coach Brown and (defensive
line coach) Mattison told us,
‘Here at Michigan, we run to
the ball,’ ” Kinnel said. “And we
took that in, we took it personal,
and I think we did a pretty good
job on Saturday.
“I
thought
our
communication was on point.
There are some things that we
have to clean up… (but) when
we play fast and hard, it covers
up a lot.”
While the secondary looked
to be on the same page Saturday,
Smith admitted that it took a
long time for the unit to find
its footing. It wasn’t until the
final week of fall camp that it
all began to come together.
“That last week, they did
a great job communicating,”
Smith said. “That’s something
we had been stressing all camp,
all the way back to the spring,
being different guys back in
the secondary, not having been
used to working together.
“And you could it see that
last week. Guys were calling
out, making all the checks,
not just the safeties, the whole
secondary, the linebackers, they
all were working together.”
Though growing pains are
bound to reveal themselves
as
the
season
progresses,
whenever those troubles arise,
Kinnel, Metellus, Hudson and
the rest of the defense will be
able to look back at Saturday
and see what they are capable
of together.
“It definitely sets the tone,”
Kinnel said. “We got that out
on film that everyone can see
that we play fast and play hard.
We just have to keep it up, keep
getting after it.”
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Junior safety Tyree Kinnel earned the first start of his career this past weekend when Michigan faced off against the Gators in the AdvoCare Classic.
BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor
Despite sharing one start between the two of them, safeties Josh Metellus and Tyree Kinnel showcased their potential as
a duo against then-No. 17 Florida on Saturday, combining for nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
“As a (defensive
back), you
always have to
think that the
ball is coming
your way every
snap. That’s the
Way you have
to prepare for
it.”