Michigan Football: 5 key takeaways from the defense this spring

Ben Mason is going to be a factor at defensive end

With Jim Harbaugh, there always seems to be an element of surprise and one of the biggest surprises of the spring came on the first press conference when the head coach announced that Ben Mason was going to start playing both ways.

Mason, a 6-foot-3, 254-pound fullback, excelled in that role last season, scoring seven rushing touchdowns and excelling in short-yardage runs. He also did a nice job as a lead blocker in the power run game, which was a key part of the Wolverines offense last season.

However, with Josh Gattis taking over the offense and curtailing the role of the fullback overall, the coaching staff moved Mason to the defensive side of the ball. And after some of what has leaked out about his play on that side of the ball this spring, the signs are encouraging.

Mason probably won’t be a dominating edge rushing or anything like that, but as a strong-side defensive end, Mason is strong enough and tough enough to set the edge on the line of scrimmage. That alone is valuable and should help fill the void left by Gary and Winovich, who were each stout in the run game. All in all, Mason to defense has been a big positive so far.