Notebook: Amorion Walker’s progress, where Michigan is excelling on defense, more

The Michigan offense has picked it up and started to play like one of the nation’s elite groups, matching a defense that’s been playing at a high level most of the year. The Wolverines’ defenders have yet to be tested by a good offense — that probably won’t come until mid-November at Penn State — but the coaches have seen great improvement over last year’s group in many areas, regardless. 

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The front seven, especially, has been outstanding. The run defense in particular has been stifling. But they’re all playing well together on all three levels, co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach Steve Clinkscale said Wednesday, doing plenty to complement each other. 

“I think we’ve been doing a really good job running to the ball. Our effort and angles have been a lot better this year than what they were last year,” the Michigan assistant told reporters. “We’re tackling better, we want to keep improving on tackling, but it’s a lot better. We’re disrupting the ball — I think we had two forced fumbles last week. I don’t think we had any the year before. 

“We’re getting to the ball; we’re intercepting the ball. At every level, somebody is affecting the ball. Our communication has been unbelievable. If you take those fundamentals — we call them our pillars —you take those into every game and every situation, we have a great chance of being successful. We want to continue to rely on those, and when we add little nuances regardless of who we’re playing, the guys can still continue to run to the ball, have great angles, disrupt the ball, destroy blocks and have great communication.”

It was evident Saturday at Nebraska that they were working on punching the ball out to force some fumbles, something defensive coordinator Jesse Minter noted would be a priority. Grad linebacker Michael Barrett got one punch-out, but it just escaped Michigan senior DT Kris Jenkins’ reach. 

But that’s nitpicking. The Wolverines are getting to the ball quicker than they did a year ago, and the run defense is even better … and it was good last year. The tackles and the ends are doing a great job bottling up quarterbacks, and there are almost always several hats to the ball. 

“If you watch our D-line, our front seven, that run wall—they’re doing a great job staying square, using their hands, staying in their primary gaps, and that allows us in the secondary to do things that we weren’t able to do all the time,” Clinkscale praised. “We’re free a lot of the time to make open-field tackles without taking on blocks. We’re all working hand in hand. The run works together and the pass game with the front end and the back end. If we continue to do that, I think we’ll get better every game, every week, regardless of the opponent.”

Michigan corner Amorion Walker is coming back strong, but Josh Wallace has made the most of an opportunity 

Michigan sophomore corner Amorion Walker missed some time with a lower body injury, but he’s back practicing and trying to make up for lost time. The former receiver played 5 snaps at Nebraska last week and is working back into game shape. 

“Like I always do … this week we want to add a couple more snaps for him,” Clinkscale said. “If he’s feeling really good while he’s out there and he’s going, we’ll let him go. If he needs to continue to take it one step as a time, we’ll do that as well. 

“What he did during the time that he was out has helped him be able to step right back in it. He was in every meeting, was watching all the film, taking notes, answering questions, taking the quiz. Every week he’s taken the quiz I give the guys that were playing, regardless of him being out there. He knows all the tips and reminders. That has helped him when it’s time to go out there and play.”

His habits are such that as his body continues to be comfortable, he’ll able to take a step in the right direction, Clinkscale noted, adding, “he’s got a great upside. He’s very a very good man coverage guy, he’s long, and he’s very fast. We continue to teach him the zone concepts and things like that. It will be his biggest mountain to climb, but he’s doing a very good job with that.”

In his absence, UMass transfer Josh Wallace continues to shine. He’s improved each week, can play field or boundary corner, and has even played some nickel. That’s made him a valuable addition to the secondary. 

“I don’t know if you guys have watched but he’s played a decent amount of nickel the last two weeks,” Clinkscale said of the Michigan corner. “He’s good in zone; he’s really good in man in the slot. I want to continue to improve his blitzing, which we’ve talked about. I’m very, very pleased, and I’m extremely thankful … I’m appreciative that he and his family decided to come play here, because he’s been a great addition to the guys. 

“He’s very similar to Mikey [Sainristil] as far as his leadership ability and his accountability. He’s around here all the time trying to get better and learn. I’m excited about him, I hope the year continues to get better week in and week out for him. I think he’s got a great, great upside … he has very, very good instincts, probably his number one quality. Teaching him zone coverages was very easy.”