ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It has been thought that if there's a weak spot on this Michigan football team, it's the linebacker corps on the defense. However, to hear junior running back Jordan Marshall tell it, that's far from the truth.
Marshall has a bit of inside knowledge, as the running backs and linebackers often drill against each other. In his estimation, the linebackers are much further ahead than most people realize, noting that they have the depth, the capability, and, most importantly, the drive to be great.
"You have a group of guys that are just hungry and want to play football," Marshall said. "It's really unique because they all play a little different. You got Troy Bowles, you got Wu (Owusu-Boateng), you got Max Alford, you got Nathan (Staehling), you got Chase Taylor. I mean, it's hard to like even put in words. And people are like, that's the weak spot of our defense -- it's not. Like those dudes come to work every single day, and honestly we work against them every single day. Whatever chance we get -- is that one-on-ones, is that pass pro, is that rushing techniques? However we can help them, and they get us better, as well. We're just elevating each other's play, and I think that's the best thing we've done in camp.
"We've been physical, and we've had a physical camp, but we're also competing and trying to figure out -- I mean, again, like those conversations. We didn't have these conversations in the locker room where I'm coming in and Troy's like, 'Jordan, what was this play that you ran and why are you guys doing this?' And when you have guys like that that are trying to learn the game, they're gonna play so much faster when it comes to game time.
"And again, I'm excited to see them play, and this whole team to play. It's really exciting to see the growth not only we've made from just a spring. And I know we don't have media at practice and do all the fancy stuff a lot of these programs do, but I promise you guys, we're working very hard, and we're excited to go compete on September 5th. And linebackers, running backs, everybody's gonna be ready to go play. And it's been a physical camp, and the guys are excited to go hit someone."
At the moment, the pecking order for the position group is unclear, and it's anyone's game as to who will start. The early offseason intel suggested that Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Troy Bowles may have been ahead, but in fall camp, it appears that Chase Taylor and Nathaniel Staehling very well could be the starters. Either way, there will be a rotation between at least those four -- and likely Max Alford and Aisea Moa, who have previous knowledge of Jay Hill's system -- with two linebackers being on the field at all times.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Jordan Marshall defends Michigan football linebackers from criticism
Leave a Comment