Having to replace two starters in the defensive backfield: not fun. Having to replace two All-Americans in the secondary: damn near impossible.
That’s the task at hand for the Michigan defense right now as it prepares for Notre Dame, who gained 502 yards of total offense against Pittsburgh last Saturday. The Wolverines must fill the spots vacated by departed cornerback Marlin Jackson and safety Ernest Shazor. The two were the anchor of the defense last year, with Jackson basically sealing off half the field while Shazor provided staunch run defense and an imposing presence over the middle. No one will forget the hit he laid on Purdue wide receiver Bryant Dorian at the end of last season’s 16-14 win in West Lafayette.
“I looked up to them,” junior Leon Hall said. “Those are big holes to fill, but we have the personnel to do it.”
Hall is now the leader of the secondary, but, even with his experience and ability, the results from the first game without Jackson and Shazor were mixed. The fact that returning starting safety Ryan Mundy missed about three weeks of practice with a left shoulder injury didn’t help much either. Without the junior in the mix, the Wolverines used three new starters playing together for the first time.
“We’ve just got to learn on the fly and get comfortable,” Mundy said of the new starters. “It’s just one of those things that time will tell.”
It was evident throughout parts of Saturday’s game against Northern Illinois that the secondary was still trying to gel. No play made that more apparent than the 76-yard touchdown scamper by Huskies running back Garrett Wolfe. It appeared that fifth-year senior cornerback Grant Mason had containment on the outside of the play, but he let Wolfe get to the sideline instead of funneling him back toward the middle of the field. That was all the space Wolfe needed as he headed toward the endzone.
“They ran the ball my way, and I was supposed to dig the wing, and I think I left a little too much space between me and the wing,” Mason said. “That gave my safety a little indecision of where he was supposed to be at.”
That safety was Mundy, who only played sparingly due to his injury. But he thinks that the unit did not suffer with senior Willis Barringer starting in his place.
“Everyone forgets this, but Willis started two years ago — so he’s not a new guy out there,” Mundy said.
Michigan’s secondary used the whole depth chart, playing everyone who was listed as a starter or a backup. With so many newcomers in the rotation, mistakes were bound to happen, but the unit needs to take shape quickly with Notre Dame coming to town Saturday. The Fighting Irish were able to move the ball with ease in its game against Pittsburgh, and will provide a challenge to the unsettled secondary.
“When you look at the statistics, you’ll see great balance with the people that got the football,” coach Lloyd Carr said of Notre Dame. “The tight ends got the ball, the wide receivers got the ball, and the backs got the ball in the passing game.”
Although it’s possible the Wolverines did not show all of the wrinkles in their defense, Saturday will be a true test to see if last year’s problems are a thing of the past or still haunting the team.