Michigan Football: The secondary was a big key against Florida

A big key for Michigan football in its win over Florida Saturday, was the play of the secondary.

So, returning starting safeties for Michigan football?  Yeah, Zero.

Returning starting corners?  Uh Huh, Zero

Related Story: Important Takeaways from Michigan's win over Florida

Good news however.  There is proven strength on the D-Line and at Linebacker; yes, Jabrill Peppers and Ben Gedeon are gone, but Mike McCray is the real deal, and Khaleke Hudson and Devin Bush have game experience and have looked good in camp.  It will be interesting too to see what Drew Singleton, a freshman from the same high school (Paramus Catholic) that produced Peppers and Rashan Gary. can add to the linebacking corps.

There’s good news and less good news emerging from the last practices before the Florida game.  The sorta-kinda-what-the-heck less good news comes from secondary coach, Mike Zordich who called out the young secondary, naming names and generally expressing disappointment and frustration.

“We’ve got new faces, and they’re not coming together,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re just afraid to make plays, because they have the ability and they’ve shown the ability. They’ve done it in live situations. They show flashes. They just need to grab it.”

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Not a great endorsement, but Zordich, who was an All-American at Penn State and an NFL safety for the Chargers, Jets, Cardinals and Eagles, went one step farther in expressing disappointment with Brandon Watson, a game-experienced senior.

“Being the oldest guy out there, I would think, ‘Hey, I should be in charge back here, I’m going to take this thing and let’s go,’ ” Zordich said. “But that’s not happening.”

Grammarians will note that Zordich appears to state that he is the oldest guy out there rather than Watson, but coaching is about coaching, not grammar, so let’s give that a pass.

The good news is that his guys appear to be giving him  a pass as well.  In  addition to Watson, Lavert Hill had been identified by Zordich as a disappointment, but as reported by mlive.com, Hill responded with balanced reasonability when presented with the coach’s public criticism.

On Saturday, the secondary faced its first test against Florida and the group held up well. The Gators completed just 14-of-26 passes for 181 yards. Defensive backs also combined for five passes defensed in the win, including two by Hill.

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The defense of Michigan football dominated Saturday and the secondary’s ability to hold up was a big reason for that.