After taking down Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer for his first sack of the season, Michigan senior edge rusher TJ Guy didn’t get to celebrate right away. His helmet came off before the sack, so he was concerned about whether or not the play would actually count.
“Bro, I thought they weren’t gonna count it, I was about to be so sick bro,” Guy said of the play Monday. “I was going to be so mad. … I wasn’t celebrating, bro.”
Since Guy’s helmet came off during live play, he had to go to the sideline for the next play while still wondering if he’d actually get credited for the sack. There, thanks to sophomore edge rusher Cameron Brandt, he finally got an answer.
“My guy CB on the sideline was like, ‘Yeah, boy,’ he was turning me up a little bit,” Guy said. “I was like, ‘Bro, did that count?’ He said yeah, so I was happy after that.”
Though the celebrations were delayed, Guy’s first sack served as a highlight of an effective first start on Saturday. Filling in for injured senior edge rusher Josaiah Stewart, Guy also recorded a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries in addition to his sack against the Golden Gophers.
And even when he wasn’t directly impacting the play, Guy helped the No. 10 Michigan football team keep the pressure on against Minnesota. The Wolverines recorded season-highs of five sacks and nine tackles for loss, maintaining their high standard of defensive line play even without their best edge rusher in Stewart.
It’s not surprising that Guy was able to step in smoothly. All spring, summer and fall, he received frequent praise for his work to improve during the offseason. After waiting his turn for three years, Guy took a big leap forward and earned himself additional playing time this season.
For the first four weeks of this season, Guy played behind Stewart and junior edge rusher Derrick Moore, but regularly rotated in when one of them needed a breather. While Guy rarely racked up stats in that limited role, Michigan’s D-line also didn’t skip a beat when he came in.
But there’s a big difference between rotating in here and there and playing most of the snaps. Edge rusher is a particularly tiring position, requiring lots of rotation for even the most well-conditioned players. Playing at a high level for a few snaps is one thing, but doing so for a full game is a whole different beast.
Guy faced that beast head on, and he succeeded. He stepped in for Stewart, and he stepped up.
“I had a couple doubts, to be honest,” Guy said about starting for the first time. “I thought I was gonna be a little tired, but wasn’t really tired at all, to be honest. It felt good to get in there and get a flow going and set up some moves.”
With Stewart likely returning against Washington this week, Guy might not get the opportunity to start again soon. But in his first chance, Guy showed that if Michigan needs him to start, he can fill in without a hitch.
The post TJ Guy shows ability to fill in as starting edge rusher against Minnesota appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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