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Friday, December 8, 2017 — 7
2017 Season in Review: Defensive backs
With the Michigan football
team’s 2017 regular season in
the books, the Daily looks back
at the performance of each unit
this year and looks ahead to the
future in 2018. In this edition:
defensive backs.
The
performance
of
the
secondary might be the biggest
surprise of the season for the
Wolverines.
For a unit that lost both of
its starting cornerbacks and
safeties — all of whom were
seniors — coming into this year,
it would have been expected
for Michigan’s pass defense to
take a step back. The apparent
successors
were
a
trio
of
sophomores and a junior who
had taken few, if any snaps,
for the Wolverines before this
season began.
But the quartet of defensive
backs — cornerbacks Lavert
Hill
and
David
Long
and
safeties
Josh
Metellus
and
Tyree Kinnel — outperformed
expectations in 2017, and then
some.
Despite
being
thrust
into starting roles, all four
looked like veterans, both as
individuals and a unit. But
the most veteran member of
the core, Kinnel, had the best
season.
Kinnel
excelled
in
his
free safety role, racking up a
whopping 67 tackles — five
more than sophomore defensive
end Rashan Gary — including
4.5 for loss. He tallied a career-
high 11 of those tackles in one
game against Minnesota, in
which he led the team in the
category with seven solo stops.
His
strongside
partner,
Metellus, wasn’t far behind
with 49 tackles of his own.
He
and
Kinnel
spent
the
year shutting down opposing
receivers, combining for 12 pass
breakups. Metellus also forced
a fumble in the season opener
against Florida.
The duo of Hill and Long
proved to be reliable forces
as well, recording 24 and 20
tackles,
respectively.
They
came up only one short in
the pass breakups category,
tallying 11, and also had two
interceptions
apiece.
Kinnel
had a pair of picks as well, and
only Metellus was shut out in
that regard.
For
much
of
the
year,
Michigan
boasted
the
top-
ranked
secondary
in
the
nation based on team passing
efficiency
defense.
The
Wolverines
are
currently
third, behind Wisconsin and
Alabama, with a rating of 100.17
— just the Badgers and Crimson
Tide have maintained double-
digit ratings over the course of
the whole season.
Michigan,
though,
has
allowed
the
least
opposing
passing yards in the country
with a total of 1712, an average
of just 142.66 per game. By
comparison,
Wisconsin
and
Alabama have allowed 2088
and
1964
yards
through
the
air,
respectively.
The
Wolverines have also given up
just nine touchdowns on the
year while accumulating nine
interceptions.
HIGH POINT: Michigan’s
secondary put together multiple
standout games this season, but
the two that stand out the most
are the Wolverines’ matchups
with Cincinnati in September
and Maryland in November.
The common thread between
both contests is the sheer
number of pass attempts from
both opposing quarterbacks, in
contrast to the lack of success
they found moving the ball
through the air.
While both signal callers
— Cincinnati’s Hayden Moore
and Maryland’s Ryan Brand
— threw for 132 and 136 yards,
respectively, it took them 15 and
16 passes apiece to reach that
figure. Worse yet, Moore and
Brand threw the ball 40 and
35 times, respectively, on those
days — good for completion
rates well below 50 percent.
To add insult to injury,
Michigan
picked
off
both
quarterbacks twice in those
contests. Kinnel and Hill came
up with the first set against
the Bearcats, while Long and
sophomore
VIPER
Khaleke
Hudson came up with the other
pair against the Terrapins.
LOW POINT: While the
Wolverines recorded four picks
in those two games, they came
up with just five more in their
10 other contests.
For a secondary with as much
talent as Michigan has, that
number should be much higher.
The other teams in the country
ranked near the Wolverines in
pass defense have interception
totals well into double-digit
territory.
Throughout
the
year,
Michigan struggled with the
turnover battle, as its offense
ran into trouble finding a
consistent
rhythm.
While
the defense can only save the
offense to a point, there were
certainly opportunities for the
secondary to lend a helping
hand,
but
untimely
drops
seemed to be a consistent theme
for the Wolverines’ back four.
The most significant came in
the second quarter against Ohio
State when Michigan had a
14-0 lead. Buckeye quarterback
J.T. Barrett telegraphed a pass
to Metellus, but the safety
couldn’t come up with it and
Ohio State scored on the next
play to kick off its comeback.
THE
FUTURE:
The
Wolverines
will
have
the
benefit of all four starters
returning to the team in 2018.
With a year of experience under
their belts now, it isn’t far-
fetched to expect that Kinnel,
Metellus, Hill and Long will
be even better in their second
go-around.
The biggest loss will be
senior
cornerback
Brandon
Watson,
who
served
as
a
backup-turned-starter
after
Hill’s concussion injury late
in the year. But Michigan has
plenty of young defensive backs
coming up the ranks.
Freshmen J’Marick Woods,
Ambry Thomas and Benjamin
St-Juste, as well as senior
Jordan Glasgow, are all in line
for playing time as part of the
second unit next season, which
means the secondary should
be in good hands for the near
future.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Junior safety Tyree Kinnel had a breakout season in his first year as a starter, racking up 67 tackles (4.5 for loss), seven pass breakups and two interceptions.
BY THE NUMBERS
Michigan’s 2017 Pass Defense
9
Touchdowns given up
67
Tackles recorded by junior
safety Tyree Kinnel
100.17
Team passing efficiency
defense rating
142.66
Average yards allowed per
game
BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor
MEN’S BASKETBALL
‘M’ to take on UCLA
Once again, the Michigan
men’s basketball team is in
need of a bounce back.
Last
week,
after
being
trounced by North Carolina,
the Wolverines (1-1 Big Ten,
6-3
overall)
recuperated
with a win over Indiana to
regain some
positive
momentum.
Monday,
that
semblance of
momentum
came
to
a
screeching
halt.
Michigan
jumped
out
to a 20-point
lead
over
Ohio
State
before
watching
it
evaporate
into thin air
in an eventual nine-point loss.
With the result, the issues that
plagued the Wolverines in
Chapel Hill resurfaced. They
still don’t have a clear answer
for their opponent’s best shot.
And it still isn’t clear who
will step up when they need a
basket.
“We did a lot, again, of what
we did in the North Carolina
game and the LSU game,” said
Michigan coach John Beilein
after his team’s loss to the
Buckeyes. “When things got
a little tough, we really had
trouble stepping up. So it’s
a big area we’ve got to work
at. We’ve got to somehow
get them to understand the
importance
(that),
at
that
time, people do embrace that
part of the game and get it
done.”
Now, the Wolverines will
welcome UCLA to Ann Arbor
on Saturday. And though the
Bruins have played a relatively
easy schedule so far, their 7-1
record and status as a marquee
program is enough to provide
a stout test for Michigan.
UCLA – which was No. 21 in
the AP Preseason rankings – is
led by guard Aaron Holliday.
Holliday is averaging 16.5
points per game and 5.5 assists
per game, and the junior is the
Bruins’ go-to player.
Beyond Holliday, freshman
guard
Jaylen
Hands
has
shown himself to be a lethal
offensive threat, particularly
from beyond the arc. Hands
has shot 50 percent from deep,
and while it’s a limited sample
size, the rookie’s 12.9 points
per game have made him a
viable weapon.
Despite UCLA’s preseason
ranking, it has disappointed
slightly so far this season. In
the Bruins’ first game, they
barely
edged
out
Georgia
Tech, were taken to overtime
by Central Arkansas and beat
a bad Wisconsin team by just
three points. On top of that,
they have a loss to Creighton,
and off-the-court issues led
to the suspension of three of
their players. It has been a
tumultuous start to the season
for UCLA to say the least.
Even still, Michigan will
have its hands full Saturday.
Holliday is one of the best
players the Wolverines will
face all season, and their
current rut won’t make it
easier to take on one of the
better teams in the country.
Don’t
expect
Michigan
to figure everything out in
one game, though. Beilein
said Monday that the season
would be “a journey” until the
younger players grow and the
older players step up. But he
does take some of the blame
for himself. He sees his team’s
inability to step up in crunch
time as his own shortcoming.
“We just have to continue
to toughen up,” Beilein said.
“Get some – what does Jim
Harbaugh say? Get some steel
in our spine when things are
tough, and not necessarily
look to the coach for the
answer. ... We didn’t make any
of those (big) plays, and that’s
my job to make us get better in
that.”
Against Gamecocks, Higdon gets
crack at his former favorite team
The ‘Old Ball Coach’ has an
admirer in Ann Arbor, whether
he realizes it or not.
Thursday afternoon, junior
running back Karan Higdon
admitted he “liked what Steve
Spurrier was doing” at South
Carolina before his retirement in
2015.
Really,
though,
Higdon’s
admiration for the Gamecocks
goes beyond the program’s former
patriarch. He rooted for South
Carolina in high school, and it was
a fandom born from familiarity.
He had a friend who went
there, and kids in his local area
took their talents to Columbia,
too. He was close friends with
the cousin of former Gamecock
wide receiver Ace Sanders —
who played at Manatee High
School, just over 18 miles away
from Higdon’s alma mater — so
the duo frequently tuned into his
games. And he said he loved the
way Marcus Lattimore ran.
As it turns out, Higdon visited
South Carolina a couple times.
It was an offer he coveted as a
recruit. It was also one he never
received.
If he did, this year’s installation
of the Outback Bowl might look a
little different. Asked what would
have happened if the Gamecocks
did offer him, Higdon didn’t
hesitate.
“I would’ve went,” he said
with a laugh.
Now,
though,
when
the
Wolverines face the Gamecocks
on Jan. 1, Higdon’s story will
have come full circle — thanks
to an unconventional set of
circumstances that got him to
Ann Arbor in the first place.
Higdon met Lattimore on one
of his visits to South Carolina.
The former Gamecock running
back was a fourth-round pick
in 2013, drafted by the San
Francisco 49ers. He never took
an NFL snap, as he struggled to
recover from an injury in 2012
in which he tore every ligament
in his right knee and dislocated
his kneecap, before eventually
retiring in 2014.
But Lattimore still met Jim
Harbaugh while they were a
brief player-coach pairing in San
Francisco.
Higdon
eventually
did,
too — part of
a
whirlwind
recruiting
process that saw
him
visit
Ann
Arbor
in
the
week
leading
up to National
Signing Day and
eventually
flip
his commitment
from
Iowa
to
Michigan.
And Lattimore was a part of it.
“Actually, before I came here
I stayed in touch with Marcus
Lattimore, and he helped me
make my decision to come here,”
Higdon said. “He informed me a
lot about the type of person Jim
Harbaugh was, the type of coach.
He led me. He was a big part of
me coming here.”
The decision has paid off.
Higdon leads the Wolverines’
backfield with 929 yards on
147
carries
and
11
rushing
touchdowns, and he’ll be the
first
Michigan
running
back
to
face
South
Carolina
since
the
Outback
Bowl in 2012.
That
game,
of course, didn’t
end so well for
one member of
the Wolverines’
backfield — as
Vincent
Smith
was the victim of a Jadeveon
Clowney tackle that popped his
helmet off and turned into an
internet sensation.
It’s
a
hit
that
Higdon
remembers well, and it’s one that
he cheered for — even if he has
never admitted such to Smith.
“Now me and Vincent are
cool so I’m like, ‘Dang,’ ” Higdon
said with a laugh. “But I was
(cheering). And that was the year
I had just visited there. … That
happened and I was like, ‘Gollee.’
And I had saw Jadeveon at the
game when I was visiting and
I was like, ‘This is a huge dude.’
And then he does that.”
Of course, Higdon won’t be
facing
anyone
of
Clowney’s
stature in Tampa, and the
Gamecocks rank 12th in the SEC
allowing 127.6 rushing yards per
game.
Higdon
could
very
well
become Michigan’s first 1,000-
yard rusher since 2011 at the
Outback Bowl. And if he does, it
will come against the team that
never offered him.
“I just loved them,” Higdon
said. “… They didn’t offer me, and
now I’m playing against them, so,
I’m back.”
EVAN AARON/Daily
Junior running back Karan Higdon admitted that he rooted for South Carolina in high school, and might have gone there.
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
They didn’t
offer me, and
now I’m playing
against them
MIKE PERSAK
Daily Sports Editor
UCLA at
Michigan
Matchup:
UCLA 7-1
overall;
Michigan 1-1
Big Ten, 6-3
When:
Saturday 12
P.M. ET
Where: Crisler
Center
TV/Radio:
CBS