Over/Under: 1,500 — the number of hugs Rich Rodriguez gave Brandon Graham when he decided to stay for his senior season.

I just might take the over.

Graham’s presence saves one of the only position units that was rocked by departure. Terrance Taylor — graduated. Tim Jamison — graduated. Will Johnson — graduated. Graham, who would have been playing on a 2009 NFL roster, decided to stay.

Defensive line is an area in which Michigan always seems to reload. The Wolverines could lose a great DT one year and seemingly not miss a beat the next. But even for a defensive line haven, Rodriguez would be hard-pressed to replace so much talent and still remain solid in the trenches.

Graham’s presence automatically adds a dimension of terror to the Michigan front seven. I really can’t say much more about him — he’s good, really good, and the Wolverine defense is much, much better off with him there.

As for the other defensive end … well, it’s not really a defensive end. Greg Robinson is calling it the “spinner” position, and there seems to be a ton of confusion about what, exactly, that it is.

I know there are very few — if any — people out there who want to hear about my former playing days, but we used a similar formation my senior season in special situations. It wasn’t exactly the hybrid 3-4 — more like a 5-2 — but from my understanding those OLBs (which I was) on the line had very similar responsibilities to what this “spinner” will have.

Basically, he’s a glorified defensive end. You’ve got to be able to pass rush, which I always found easier than in a three-point stance. But you’ve got to do more than that, too. I can’t speak about Robinson’s formation, but my read was the tight end or tackle (which would make the most sense). In a pass situation, I would usually have the flats zone, and you have to be pretty athletic to get out there in time to cover. Or in man-on-man, which was pretty rare, you’d have the dump-off FB or RB and — maybe — the TE in a weird circumstance.

In a run situation, the most important thing was to never lose the edge. If you got blocked into the line of scrimmage, the running back could bounce outside and it would be “good night sweetheart.” In that situation, you HAVE to push everything back inside — that’s more important that actually making the tackle — because that’s where you have help from other defenders.

So, a lot of it is defensive end stuff.

There are people concerned that some less-than-stellar LBs are in serious consideration for this spot, but, in reality, those are probably the perfect players.

I was not athletic enough to be a middle linebacker, but I was undersized and quick for a DE. But I thrived in that position. You have to have good footwork, discipline and a fair amount of athleticism. The “spinner” is never going to lead the team in tackles, and that’s OK. That’s not necessarily his job.

So, the guys who are being talked about for the position — Brandon Herron, Marell Evans, Steve Watson and (in some circles) Brandin Hawthorne — sound like pretty good fits for the “spinner.”

I mean, I could be wrong about the relationship between the “spinner” and what I had in high school, but I’d be willing to bet there are a number of similarities in the positions.

The most promising of the defensive tackle bunch — now that Terrance Taylor and Will Johnson are gone — is Mike Martin. He’s a good player, who had a great freshman year, but he’s going to have to be a different kind of player this season, if he’s going to take a prominent role in the defense.

Last year, he proved his chops as a pass rusher. He can get through the trenches and wreak havoc. And that’s great, but he needs to be able to eat blocks, too. The best part of Taylor’s game was his ability to take on two blocks and just sit on the line of scrimmage. Those are two O-linemen who can’t move second-level and track linebackers or DBs.

Martin has more of a tendency to shed blocks, but, while that could be more exciting to watch, it’s not always the best thing for the defense. He’s got to hold his ground to give the LBs more time to react and read. If he can prove that he can be a space-filler, he’ll be a great defensive tackle.

A major player to watch out for is freshman Will Campbell. If Martin pans out to be just the pass-rushing type of player, it might be the massive Campbell would be a great complement opposite him, as he can eat up the blocks along the line.