Multifaceted defensive line having success playing off of its depth

With less than 20 seconds left in the first half of the Michigan football team’s game against Michigan State, the Wolverines had just gotten themselves back into the contest. That’s when Spartans quarterback Aidan Chiles rolled out right looking to make a play. But as Chiles’ protection broke down, it was the Wolverines who used that moment to seize momentum.

After a dismal first quarter, in which Michigan totaled just15 offensive yards, the Wolverines had finally gotten their feet beneath them. In a late surge, they forced defensive stops, scored a touchdown and appeared almost certain to run into halftime with a narrow one-point deficit. And then, Michigan’s defensive line got to work. 

As Chiles drifted right, looking deep downfield to get Michigan State into field goal range, senior defensive lineman Josaiah Stewart broke through his assigned blocker and raced toward Chiles. Just before Chilescould make a throw, Stewart dove headfirst with his arms outstretched, wrapped Chiles up and knocked the ball out of his hands in the process. Seconds later, junior defensive lineman Kenneth Grant chased down the ball down and fell on top of it, flipping the field and setting Michigan up for its own field goal with just a few seconds left. 

“It went by fast,” Stewart said. “The strip sack happened and then the next thing you know there’s three points on the board. I was too busy celebrating with my teammates, next thing you know we’re heading into the locker up to 9-7.”

The play was an obvious highlight for the defensive line, a group that has acted as the Wolverines’ motor throughout the season. But all night, and on that play especially, what stood out was the depth of threat that the line posed. Stewart made the tackle, Grant got to the ball and junior and senior defensive linemen Mason Graham and Derrick Moore generated the pressure that flushed Chiles. 

So as Michigan ran into the locker room with a lead, it was because of an entire position group executing, not just Stewart. And throughout the majority of the season, even as Michigan has struggled, the quartet on the Wolverines’ defensive line has wreaked havoc.

Graham, Stewart and Grant have all become well known for their game-wrecking tendencies. But other facets of the line, who are often overlooked, showed the impact of the Wolverines’ depth. For example, while Moore is often overlooked as one of the game breakers, Saturday he was instrumental in flushing Chiles on Stewarts’ sack.

“You go back and look at every single sack we have when he’s on the field, he contributes to it,” Esposito said of Moore Oct. 16. “Every single one. And a lot of our guys’ sacks are because of him, because he’s doing such a good job with a power rusher or a hesitation, or beating a guy around the edge and the quarterback flushed. … The band’s going to break one of these games and he’s gonna have three or four sacks in it.”

Moore didn’t quite collect four sacks against the Spartans, but he did collect one. At a crucial moment, Moore broke through and forced an intentional grounding from Chiles that pushed Michigan State to a second-and-24 on its final drive. But it wasn’t just Moore on the statsheet in addition to Stewart, sophomore defensive lineman Cameron Brandt also broke through on Chiles and landed his first sack of the season. 

With multiple threats and pressure from all angles, the Wolverines’ defensive line had another big impact on Saturday. Stewart’s sack and Grant’s recovery alongside Moore and Brandt’s sacks kept Chiles on his toes and kept Michigan’s defense off the field. So while the Wolverines may have several stars who will expect to hear their names called on the first night of this year’s NFL Draft, the entire unit’s cohesion has been the key to their success. 

“Our coaches and the guys we have in our room,” Stewart said when asked what has led to his individual success. “Our coaches put me and my teammates in positions to make plays and we just drive off that, and we have fun doing it. 

Saturday, Stewart, Brandt, Moore and Grant all got to have their moment of fun in a hectic game. Each of those moments was another highlight for the line, and in each moment, all four linemen fed off of one another. 

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