The No. 2 Michigan football team’s defensive backs are no strangers to facing weapons in the passing game.
They’ve stymied 1000-yard receivers like Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Charlie Jones. And they’ve already vanquished a Heisman-nominated quarterback in C.J. Stroud.
On New Year’s Eve, more weapons in the passing game lie ahead.
“Good receiver group,” senior cornerback DJ Turner said of Texas Christain’s offense on Friday. “Some of them got good size and speed, and what a good quarterback. So we’ve got to come locked in.”
At the forefront of the third-ranked Horned Frogs’ passing attack is Heisman runner-up Max Duggan. The quarterback touts the stats deserving of that title: 3,321 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, with just four interceptions on the year.
Duggan is a bona fide threat to opposing defenses, and he’s the aorta to TCU’s anatomy — all the life of the offense pumping through him.
“He’s a tough guy,” Turner said. “He can run and pass, makes good reads. So we just know in open field, you gotta make a tackle. We just know all those things go into the quarterback and we got a good test in front of us.”
Sophomore safety Rod Moore felt similarly after watching Duggan in action:
“I can see that he’s a very hard player, like he’s gonna give everything he has,” Moore said Thursday. “We’re just going to have to do the same thing — give him everything that we have. But I was impressed.”
When asked, Turner didn’t feel like Duggan “reminded” him of anyone Michigan has faced this year. However, just like Stroud at Ohio State, Duggan is an amazing player that everything hinges around. If the Wolverines can cut off the source, just as they did in Columbus, they might just walk away victorious.
But, while Duggan might be the maestro Michigan’s defensive backs want to silence, their primary assignment will be the instruments in his orchestra.
The Horned Frogs boast an uber-talented receiving corps — a necessity in the air raid offense. While it’s a threat, the Wolverines have dealt with this kind of attack before.
“Offensively, they’re gonna present a good challenge,” Moore said. “I know their air raid offense, but we’ve seen that before (against Maryland). They have multiple weapons, but we’re just gonna have to stop them.”
TCU’s weapons are vast, but there’s a favorite among Duggan’s arsenal: Quentin Johnston.
“Quentin Johnston, he’s a good athlete, good player,” Moore said. “We’ve seen good players and good athletes, and we’re just gonna have to stop ’em.”
Johnston, boasting 900 yards receiving on the year, is a big bodied receiver with speed that poses a physical challenge. He can highpoint the ball, beat his man in a footrace and has proficient route-running ability.
So what do the Wolverines do against someone as dangerous as Johnson?
“Just trust the technique,” Turner said. “Just trust the technique.”
But, even if Michigan can stop Johnston, the Horned Frogs’ receivers are like a hydra: two more will take his place.
“I know that if we shut him down, there’s gonna be another one that rises up,” Moore said. “So we’re just going to have to go from stopping him to stopping each and every one of them.”
It’s an uphill battle for any defensive backs group, but the Wolverines have faced lethal passing attacks already this year and came out the other side triumphant. That experience will no doubt be critical in stopping TCU’s passing attack come Dec. 31.
When Turner was asked about the significance of that experience, his response was a bit more coy:
“It definitely doesn’t hurt.”
Against Duggan, Johnston and the Horned Frogs’ offense, the Wolverines will need to lean on the experience of their previous tests.
Or else, those weapons might create an insurmountable force.