Michigan Football: 5 things we learned from Wolverines 2019 season

The defense needs some DUDES

There have been a lot of problems with the defense over the past few years. But this season, one of the biggest was a mediocre pass rush.

When the season was all said and done, the defense registered just 32 in 13 games, which is 2.3 per game and in the four losses to Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State and Bama, U-M sacked the quarterback just four times. Against Ohio State and Bama, the sack total was one.

That’s not good enough. It’s nowhere near good enough.

There were some bright spots, like the eight sack game against Iowa, but 3.5 of those came from Khaleke Hudson and Jordan Glasgow. A lot came from bringing pressure. Kwity Paye was dominant that day and the rush was great in the win versus Notre Dame, but It let down far too often.

Aidan Hutchinson is getting closer to being an All-Big Ten player, yet, he’s not a dynamic edge rusher. Braiden McGregor, a 2020 signee could be, however, he’s fresh off a season-ending injury and may not be ready to start next season.

The Wolverines are also losing their top edge rusher in Josh Uche, as well as Mike Danna, meaning a mediocre pass rush has two key pieces to replace.

The defense needs impact players everywhere, yet the need on the defensive line and also in the secondary for playmakers is dire.