Thirteen Wolverines Named All-Big Ten on Defense, Special Teams
11/28/2017 11:20:00 AM | Football
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Thirteen athletes from the University of Michigan football team were awarded with defensive or special teams All-Big Ten honors, the conference announced Tuesday (Nov. 28). Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst was a unanimous first-team selection, while fellow defensive linemen Rashan Gary (first, coaches; second, media) and Chase Winovich (first, media; second, coaches) secured first- and second-team honors. In all, 10 defensive players for U-M were recognized, with three specialists earning league accolades as well.
Hurst, Gary and Winovich were three of Michigan's seven defensive players to record 50 tackles or more, an extraordinary achievement for three defensive linemen. Each set a career high in tackles (Winovich, 74; Gary, 62; Hurst, 59), tackles for loss (TFL) and sacks, and were the collective motor behind a defensive unit that leads the Big Ten in four defensive categories and ranks top-three in six other categories despite replacing 10 of 11 starters currently on NFL teams.
Half (six) of U-M's opponents were held to their lowest yardage mark of the season, and nine opponents were held to 20 points or fewer, including seven at 14 points or less. Michigan forced three-and-outs at a higher clip than any defense in the nation (51.4 percent), the only team in the country above 45 percent.
Hurst's 13.5 TFL rank sixth in the conference and bring him to 33.5 for his career, which lists 17th all-time at U-M, and that figure includes 5.0 sacks this fall. Winovich's 17.0 TFL leads Michigan and the Big Ten and ranks tied for 11th in a single season in program history, and his 8.0 sacks are tied for tops in the league. Gary also registered a career high in both categories, with 11.0 TFL and 5.0 sacks. Together, the trio was responsible for so many stops in opposing backfields they were responsible for minus-164 yards of offense for opponents.
Among linebackers, U-M had three honorees: sophomores Devin Bush (first team, coaches; second team, media) and Khaleke Hudson (third team, coaches) and fifth-year senior Mike McCray (honorable mention, both).
Michigan's tackles leader, Bush is tied for seventh in the conference with 94 stops, including 35 solo tackles. His 9.5 TFL include 5.0 sacks, and his nine pass breakups include the first interception of his career, recorded at Wisconsin. Bush is a Dick Butkus Award finalist, regarded among college football's top linebackers, and the Pembroke Pines, Florida, native was hailed by the Sporting News as a midseason All-American.
Hudson secured third-team honors, and ranks second in the Big Ten and on the Wolverine roster with 16.5 TFL among his 72 total stops. Playing the hybrid viper position, Hudson will remain in the U-M record books not just with his tied-for-13th single-season TFL mark, matching LaMarr Woodley's 2006 campaign, but also for his 15-tackle, 8.0-TFL performance against Minnesota (Nov. 4). That tackle for loss figure matched an NCAA record and set a new Michigan standard, and the minus-46 yards he caused against the Golden Gopher offense are also a single-game high at U-M.
U-M's defensive captain, McCray sits at 75 tackles on the season, one shy of his career-high mark from 2016, and his 13.0 TFL, which rank seventh in the Big Ten, and 5.0 sacks, are also career bests. The Trotwood, Ohio, native has accepted a bid to play in the prestigious Reese's Senior Bowl and has now earned All-Big Ten recognition in consecutive seasons to close out his Michigan career.
In the defensive backfield, sophomore cornerbacks Lavert Hill (second team, coaches; honorable mention, media) and David Long (honorable mention, media) were recognized, as were junior safety Tyree Kinnel (honorable mention, both) and sophomore safety Josh Metellus (honorable mention, both).
Combining aggressive pressure with lockdown coverage has helped Michigan produce the nation's top-ranked pass defense, allowing just 142.7 yards per game through the air. Hill (5.0), Kinnel (4.5), Long (2.0) and Metellus (1.5) combined for 13.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks while intercepting six passes and returning one for a touchdown, with 29 pass breakups in all.
The cornerback duo of Long (12.2) and Hill (25.2) ranked No. 1 and No. 5 in the country with respect to passer rating against, according to PFF College (as of Nov. 16), and they headlined a unit that generated a 100.17 pass efficiency rating.
In the special teams area, U-M had three players pick up honorable mention recognition: true freshmen Brad Robbins (punter; coaches) and Donovan Peoples-Jones (return specialist; media) were recognized in the punt game, while place kicker Quinn Nordin earned honorable mention accolades from both the coaches and media.
In his first year of action, Nordin has racked up 79 points (15-of-20 field goals; 34-of-37 PATs), which ranks as the second-highest scoring single-season effort for a kicker in his first year earning a varsity letter (Remy Hamilton; 101 points, 2004). The Lou Groza Award semifinalist became the first Michigan kicker in his first year to hit multiple 50-yarders in a single game (50, 55 vs. Florida) and the 17 points he tallied on five field goals and two extra points against Air Force (Sept. 16) are second most for a single game in program history.
Robbins averaged 40.9 yards per punt, pinning 18 of his 58 attempts inside the opponents' 20-yard line while forcing 22 fair catches and as many 50-yarders as touchbacks (four). After taking over the job at Purdue (Sept. 23), Robbins held his own during the first four weeks before going on a tear: in his 29 attempts against Rutgers (Oct. 28), Minnesota, Maryland, Wisconsin and Ohio State (Nov. 25), Robbins generated 1,192 total yards (41.1 yards per attempt), forcing 10 fair catches with just three touchbacks and with seven punts returned. Taking away the touchdown return at Wisconsin, Robbins allowed 45 total return yards over those six returned punts, a testament to the U-M coverage team as well.
Peoples-Jones found early success in his first year at U-M, especially returning punts, where he averaged 8.5 yards per return attempt. His 79-yard touchdown return against Air Force is the longest by any U-M returner since Steve Breaston had an 83-yard return in 2006, and was the longest on the conference this season. That return marked the first career touchdown for the freshman wide receiver, who also registered a 42-yard return against Ohio State.
Fifth-year senior fullback Henry Poggi was named the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree. An alternate offensive captain, Poggi scored his first career touchdown on his first career carry at Maryland, in front of friends and family and close to his home town of Baltimore.
The Big Ten will announce All-Big Ten offense on Wednesday (Nov. 28), and will announce individual award winners on Thursday (Nov. 29).
Following is a breakdown of Michigan's players on the All-Big Ten defensive and special teams ballots:
All-Big Ten Defense (Coaches)
First Team: Maurice Hurst, Rashan Gary, Devin Bush
Second Team: Chase Winovich, Lavert Hill
Third Team: Khaleke Hudson
Honorable Mention: Mike McCray, Tyree Kinnel, Josh Metellus
All-Big Ten Special Teams (Coaches)
Honorable Mention: Quinn Nordin, Brad Robbins
All-Big Ten Defense (Media)
First Team: Maurice Hurst, Chase Winovich
Second Team: Rashan Gary, Devin Bush
Honorable Mention: Lavert Hill, Mike McCray, Tyree Kinnel, Josh Metellus, David Long
All-Big Ten Special Teams (Media)
Honorable Mention: Quinn Nordin, Donovan Peoples-Jones
