8 — Friday, April 5, 2019 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Position review: Linebackers Back in 2015, the Michigan football team landed a coup. Devin Bush was supposed to go to Florida State. His dad played for the Seminoles and was a legend for them. Bush was a legacy, a highly-touted South Florida kid who’d have his pick of colleges. But Florida State didn’t have Jim Harbaugh or Don Brown. And those two convinced him to leave Hollywood, Fla. for Ann Arbor. Along with him came two high school teammates — now- senior safety Josh Metellus and now-senior linebacker Devin Gil. The elder Bush got a job as a defensive analyst for the Wolverines. And anchored by Bush, the Wolverines’ defense began a new era. In his final season at Michigan, the junior linebacker was electric. Though just 5-foot-11 and 233 pounds, Bush finished with 79 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks and six pass breakups. Bush was a consensus All-American and a finalist for the Butkus Award, for the best collegiate linebacker, and the Nagurski Trophy, for the best collegiate defensive player. Though overshadowed by Bush, VIPER Khaleke Hudson was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention after a strong junior season. Playing a hybrid role, Hudson’s versatility was a boon to the Wolverines’ defense. The graduation of Mike McCray in 2018 allowed others — including Gil and then- sophomore Josh Ross — the chance to show their stuff at linebacker. Ross was also named an All-Big Ten honorable mention. However, when Bush got injured and sat out the Peach Bowl, his absence proved that he was the true anchor of Michigan’s linebacking corps, leaving the Wolverines with a hole they struggled to fill. How others step up to fill that hole could determine how high Michigan’s ceiling is in 2019. HIGH POINT: Bush stood in the center of the painted- white logo at Spartan Stadium. Headphones in one hand, he went to work, kicking and digging his feet into the turf, defacing the once-pristine spartan. This was, after all, a rivalry game — one with no dearth of disrespect from either side. But it wouldn’t have been a good look for Bush to have that kind of pregame outburst without backing it up on the field. So Bush went in and showed Michigan State who was boss. Perhaps no play was more emblematic of the game than one Bush made in the fourth quarter, with the Wolverines up 21-7 and the Spartans facing second-and-1 at Michigan’s 24-yard line just after the two-minute warning. Score a quick touchdown and recover an onside kick, and a Spartan comeback would still be possible. Instead, Bush came after Michigan State quarterback Rocky Lombardi and sacked him for an 11-yard loss. On third-and-long, Lombardi was sacked again. The attempted fourth-down conversion fell short, and the Wolverines bled out the clock on a much-needed win. In a game where the defense made plays all day long, Bush’s pregame antics were symbolic. LOW POINT: In the fourth quarter of the Peach Bowl, Florida attempted a punt from its own 20. Hudson came up and blocked it in the end zone for a safety. Unfortunately for Michigan, all that did was decrease the Gators’ lead from 28 points to 26. And the linebackers were a large reason for the deficit. Bush had injured his hip in the third quarter of the loss to Ohio State and failed to get medical clearance to participate in bowl practices or play in the game. So he withdrew and focused on preparing for the NFL draft. The Wolverines’ first taste of life without Bush wasn’t pretty, to put it nicely. Ross started at middle linebacker in his place, flanked by Hudson and Gil. But where Bush once sped down the field, chasing the quarterback and wreaking havoc on opposing offenses, his replacements looked lost. Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks noticed the hole and took advantage. Franks not only threw for 173 yards and a touchdown, he was also the Gators’ second-leading rusher with 74 yards and a touchdown — this for a quarterback not exactly known as a dual-threat. Without Bush there to clog the running game, four different Florida players had runs of 30 yards or longer. Michigan could only watch as the Gators sped away. THE FUTURE: Losing a talent like Bush — especially one that has started for the past two years — is always going to hurt. But what the Peach Bowl showed is that the Wolverines may miss Bush even more than they thought, for the simple fact that he made the linebackers around him better. Hudson and Ross are talented, to be clear, and another year of experience can only help. But they’re not the same without Bush in between them. Ross started at middle linebacker in the Peach Bowl, indicating that he may be the future choice at the position — albeit one with a big learning curve. Gil, fifth-year senior Jordan Glasgow and redshirt sophomore Cam McGrone are others who could fill the vacant linebacker spot, but none incite particular excitement. Newcomer Anthony Solomon was a four-star recruit as an outside linebacker, but as with most freshmen, he is unlikely to contribute right away. And even if one of them does step up, none have the kind of talent that Bush did, and they won’t be the kind of defensive centerpiece that Bush was. Only time will tell what the future holds for the linebackers, but of all of the Wolverines’ position groups, it may be the one with the most questions entering 2019. The way the season ended only makes those questions louder. Position review: Secondary The stats don’t jump off the page. Michigan’s secondary had just 11 interceptions last season, tied for 60th in the country with middling teams such as Minnesota and Nebraska. Despite that, the Wolverines’ defensive backs played at an elite level most of the year. But the story — as with many of the Michigan football team’s other units — had a familiar ending. Secondary play crumbled in a loss at Ohio State in November and then again in the Peach Bowl against Florida, calling into question whether the unit was really ever that elite in the first place. That’s not to say there weren’t positives. Cornerbacks Lavert Hill and David Long had their praises sung all season long and for good reason. Regularly rated high by advanced stats, Hill’s and Long’s reputations preceded them. The pair received fewer targets as other teams feared their abilities, and when passes did come their way, they were almost always broken up. Hill and Long were both All-Big Ten First Team selections; Hill was also honored as a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press. The safeties also got their share of accolades. Senior safety Josh Metellus was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection and then-senior safety Tyree Kinnel garnered an honorable mention. HIGH POINT: There was Brandon Watson, and then there was open space. Maybe Penn State quarterback Tommy Stevens overthrew the ball, or maybe he underthrew it. Either way, Watson was the only player in the vicinity. The then-fifth-year senior cornerback caught the ball, ran and didn’t stop until he was in the end zone. The touchdown put the Wolverines up, 28-0, late in the third quarter and all but shut the door on any potential Nittany Lion comeback. The rest of the secondary also dazzled, holding Penn State passers to a collective 8-for-17 with two pass breakups. Then, in the fourth quarter following a touchdown, Long intercepted Trace McSorley on the first play of the next drive, giving Michigan the ball back at the Nittany Lion 12. Four plays later, running back Chris Evans punched it in for a one- yard touchdown to put the Wolverines up, 42-0. What had been a much- anticipated matchup against the No. 14 team in the country had become a laugher. LOW POINT: In Columbus three weeks later, Watson was once again the story. But this one didn’t have a happy ending for Michigan. On seemingly every play, Buckeye receivers targeted Watson in coverage. And on seemingly every play, they left Watson in the dust. The Wolverines’ press-man defensive scheme meant that the defensive line had to pressure the quarterback as much as possible, so as to avoid receivers getting free against man-to- man coverage. But Ohio State was prepared. Its screen passes and crossing routes were intended to get the ball out quickly, matching its speedy receivers against Michigan’s secondary. And the secondary — especially Watson — just couldn’t keep up in a 62-39 loss. The loss was a shock in a lot of ways, but perhaps the biggest was the extent to which the secondary, which had played at a high level all year, got torched. It didn’t take long for fans to tweet in despair asking why Watson was still in the game, begging the defense to do anything. Of course, in all likelihood, it wouldn’t have made a difference. Buckeye quarterback Dwayne Haskins threw for 318 yards and five touchdowns, a performance that cemented his status as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2019 NFL draft. The Wolverines never had a chance. The secondary wasn’t put in a position to succeed against Ohio State, but that doesn’t change the fact that in the biggest game of the year, a highly-touted unit came up short again and again. THE FUTURE: The secondary enters 2019 facing a lot of question marks, and not just because of how the season ended. Long decided to forego his final year of eligibility to declare for the draft, and Kinnel graduated, leaving two big pairs of shoes to fill. The favorite to replace Long is likely junior Ambry Thomas, who showcased his speed as a kick returner during his first two years. But Thomas’ technique is raw, and the fact that defensive coordinator Don Brown did not trust him enough to try him over Watson when things started to go sideways in Columbus isn’t exactly a good sign. At safety, junior J’Marick Woods is next on the depth chart behind Metellus, according to Jim Harbaugh, while junior Brad Hawkins is the favorite at nickel. Both played backup snaps throughout the 2018 season. But the X-factor here is five-star incoming freshman Daxton Hill. Hill had a whirlwind recruitment: He initially committed to Michigan, but decommitted from the Wolverines and committed to Alabama less than two months later, only to eventually sign with Michigan after all. The Tulsa, Okla. native was ranked the 14th-best prospect in the country and the top-rated safety. If Hill proves he’s ready, he could make an impact right away. Meanwhile, Lavert Hill decided to return and man the cornerback position for one more year. If he puts up numbers like he did last season, he’s an early favorite to garner All- Big Ten and perhaps even All- American honors again. ARIA GERSON Daily Sports Writer ARIA GERSON Daily Sports Writer EVAN AARON/Daily Linebacker Devin Bush entered the NFL Draft after his junior season, leaving a hole in the middle of the Wolverines’ defense that Josh Ross will try to fill. (Bush’s) absence proved that he was the true anchor. Linebacker may be the (group) with the most questions. KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily Senior cornerback Lavert Hill was selected for the All-Big Ten First Team and AP Third Team All-American last season, as quarterbacks regularly avoided him. The X-factor (at safety) is five- star ... freshman Daxton Hill. (Hill is) an early favorite to garner All-Big Ten ... honors. Secondary play crumbled in a loss to Ohio State ... (Passes) were almost always broken up (by Hill and Long).