Michigan Football Chatter: The Defense In 2020

Michigan's defensive is expected to be very fast and very aggressive in 2020.

Don Brown is an aggressive defensive coordinator and he'll have the horses to be that way in 2020, especially in the front seven. There are some questions marks in the secondary, but there's talent there, just of the unproven variety. 

Defensive Line

The starting four up front is going to be as good as any group in the Big Ten. Junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, senior defensive end Kwity Paye, fifth-year senior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp and sophomore defensive tackle Christopher Hinton will be strong, quick and athletic up front for Don Brown. Throw in the potential contributions of a few others and the unit is as deep as it's been in some time.

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Donovan Jeter has been one of the biggest and best surprises along the defensive line this offseason. The coaches are very excited about what the 6-3, 318-pounder can do, but they're not ready to anoint him just yet.

"Jeter was killing it last year early in camp and then he sort of fell apart, so the coaches are definitely approaching with caution," a source close to the program said. 

Don Brown went on and on about Jeter during a media session last week, so there's obviously high hopes there. If he can step up and provide legitimate depth, the trio of him, Kemp and Hinton will be a lot to deal with on the interior of the defensive line. There's still some battling going on there behind the starting four, but it's a solid group.

"Don is going to feel a lot more comfortable with four-man fronts this year," our source said.

Linebackers

The linebackers are extremely solid too. Redshirt sophomore Cameron McGrone and redshirt junior Josh Ross are as good as any duo in the country, and the potential of redshirt sophomore Michael Barrett at viper is exciting to a lot of people. Our source is very confident in Barrett's ability at viper and doesn't think there's actually much of a battler there between he and sophomore Anthony Solomon despite Brown's comments about the young Floridian last week.

Another player who received a lot of praise from Brown and will certainly see the field this fall is redshirt sophomore Ben VanSumeren. The 6-2, 253-pounder is running in the 4.6s and really loves contact. Our source said that he's been standing out as much as any newcomer on the defense and should be able to do some nice things for the Wolverines this fall.

"He's not Josh Uche off the edge necessarily, but he's going to put some pressure on offenses," our source said. "I'm not sure exactly where he'll be coming from, but he'll be coming."

Secondary

The secondary is where the most questions are. Senior Brad Hawkins and sophomore Daxton Hill are going to be great at safety, but there are quite a few unknowns at cornerback.

Redshirt sophomore Vincent Gray has one spot locked up but the other cornerback position is pretty open. Second-year men DJ Turner and Jalen Perry are vying for the spot, but redshirt sophomore Gemon Green may end up winning the job. 

"There's still so much competition going on in the secondary," our source said. "Young guys like Andre Seldon and Makari Paige are flashing often and the sophomores can really cover, but I don't think much has been decided back there."

The front portion of the defense is still getting the better of the offense pretty consistently, which is making it tricky to see just how good and prepared those guys are in the back end. They'll be tested early against Minnesota, who got a big shot in the arm with the return of first-team All-Big Ten wide receiver Rashod Bateman, and quarterback Tanner Morgan.

Brown is grizzled, experienced and loves to send exotic blitzes. He's got the players to do so in the front seven and is just hoping the cover men can do their jobs long enough for the pass rushers to be effective. We'll all get a chance to see how it looks in 12 days.