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Michigan Football: Defensive Line Gets Love as Nation’s Best

By Zac Snyder

Nov 1, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive lineman Chris Wormley (43) defensive tackle Bryan Mone (90) linebacker Joe Bolden (35) safety Jarrod Wilson (22) and linebacker Jake Ryan (47) celebrate against the Indiana Hoosiers at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 1, 2014; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines defensive lineman Chris Wormley (43) defensive tackle Bryan Mone (90) linebacker Joe Bolden (35) safety Jarrod Wilson (22) and linebacker Jake Ryan (47) celebrate against the Indiana Hoosiers at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan football will be led by their defense in 2016, specifically the defensive line which was named the nation’s best by Bruce Feldman.

The Michigan Wolverines have some questions to answer before their 2016 football season kicks off next month. Of utmost importance is figuring out who the starting quarterback will be , but no matter who ends up winning that battle, the Wolverines will be able to depend on their defense.

All-American Jourdan Lewis returns in the secondary and Jabrill Peppers makes a well-publicized move to linebacker but it is the defensive line that may be the team’s best unit on that side of the ball. In fact, it may not just be the team’s best position group, but the best defensive line in all of college football.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports has ranked the Wolverines’ defensive line as the best in the country:

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"1. Michigan: Former Wolverines head coach Brady Hoke, an old D-line guy, did not leave the cupboard bare. This is a young group that blossomed last year and should be special in 2016. New DC Don Brown comes from Boston College and inherits a huge, talented group up front. And that could be a scary mix. “What he does from a schematic standpoint because he’s so outside the box with the way that he packages his pressures where they’re bringing five, six every snap trying to get ready for all that stuff in one week’s time is a bitch,” one veteran offensive line coach said. “The scheme will definitely help their production.”Seven of the Wolverines’ eight in their two-deep across the front could also weigh 280-plus with only back-up sophomore DE Chase Winovich being under that size. The headliner of the group at this point is a versatile — and agile — 6-5, 303-pound Chris Wormley, who had a breakout season in 2015, notching 14.5 TFLs. Maurice Hurst and 6-6 Taco Charlton are a pair of 285-pounders who combined for 15 TFLs in 2015. The most underrated of the group is 300-pound senior Ryan Glasgow, their anchorman who was a force in 2015 before going down with a shoulder injury the last month of the season. How valuable was Glasgow? The Wolverines allowed 2.42 yards per carry before he was hurt and 5.22 after he went down. “He’s pretty salty,” one Big Ten offensive line coach said. Glasgow, along with 315-pound sophomore Bryan Mone, who missed last season with a broken leg, will make it difficult to run against Michigan. The other name to remember is Rashan Gary, the 6-5, 295-pound uber recruit from New Jersey who several college coaches say is the best big D-lineman to come into college in a few years. Gary’s size, agility and versatility should be a great fit for Michigan."

The late-season collapse of the run defense in 2015 gives pause but the Wolverines’ defensive line is talented and deep. That gives new defensive coordinator Don Brown tools to work with and it will be exciting to see what he comes up with.

Expectations will be high, and deservedly so, with the return of several veterans, Mone back from injury and Rashan Gary coming in as the number one ranked recruit of the 2016 recruiting class.

Next: U-M Ranked Preseason No. 5 By PFF

Michigan rivals also got mentions with Ohio State in a tie for tenth while Michigan State was in a “just missed the cut” list.

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