Michigan DE Brandon Graham vs. Notre Dame RT Sam Young
You wouldn’t know it by looking at the box score - one-assist games rarely stand out - but Brandon Graham played quite well in last week’s season opener against Western Michigan.
Graham had no sacks, no solo tackles and no official quarterback hurries, but he spent plenty of time in the Broncos backfield harassing quarterback Tim Hiller.
“Brandon had a lot of pressures,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. “I think he probably got frustrated because he was close a lot of times. There were three or four times he was right there and he may not have made the sack, but he made the play with pressures.”
Coming off a 10-sack season, Graham will be hard-pressed to repeat that production this year. He faced constant double-teams against Western Michigan and said he expects more of the same Saturday against Notre Dame.
“I practice (going against double-teams) every day just so I can’t say that I didn’t know,” Graham said.
Plenty of NFL eyes will be on Graham this weekend as he takes on hulking Notre Dame right tackle Sam Young. Both players rank among the top five seniors at their positions according to ESPN analyst Mel Kiper, and Graham is looking to atone for his quiet day against Notre Dame last year (two tackles, one for loss).
Graham, who had 3 1/2 sacks against the Irish as a sophomore, said the 6-foot-8, 320-pound Young “jumps out” on film because of balance.
“He’s a big guy, strong,” Graham said. “He’s got good feet. If you don’t stay low, he’s going to knock you off, so that’s the goal. Just try to stay up under his pads, go out there and play.”
While Graham and Young won't match up every play - Graham plays on both sides of the line in Michigan's defensive front - both are crucial to their team's success.
Young is one of four senior starters on an offensive line that did not allow a sack in last week's 35-0 trashing of Nevada. Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen was a near-perfect 15-of-18 in that game with more touchdowns (four) than incompletions.
Graham said getting Clausen out of his comfort zone is a must for Michigan Saturday.
“The goal is to get him moving left and right out of the pocket,” Graham said. “If you sit back in that pocket then he’s going to tear us apart. You got to get him moving, make him make mistakes on the run.”
Dave Birkett covers the University of Michigan football team for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidbirkett@annarbor.com
Comments
mfaninstlouis
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 : 8:03 p.m.
I am shocked Graham only had one assist. He seemed to be all over the field.
tulsatom
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 : 5:29 p.m.
Brandon Graham and the rest of the defense needs to step up and have an even better day against ND than they did against WMU in order for the Wolverines to come out victorious. The offense also needs to play as well or better than last week. This isn't the same ND team that got beat 38-0 a couple of years ago. They've been having top 5 recruiting classes the past few years and the young talent has experience now. So does U-M.
michboy40
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 : 5:17 p.m.
Brandon is going to open things up for the blitze packages, and for the other D'Line guys. They need to produce and force ND to play Brandon more one-on-one. Would be great to see him get a piece of Clausen at a key time in the game.
blue
Thu, Sep 10, 2009 : 4:35 p.m.
Graham was a beast against WMU. Even though he didn't put up any numbers, he's looking real good and I'm sure he's going to get his this season ND game included.