The Michigan Wolverines defense ranked 89th in total defense during a 2-4 season in 2020. Defensive coordinator Don Brown was fired, and head coach Jim Harbaugh brought in Ravens linebackers coach Mike Macdonald to inject new life and schematics into that side of the ball.
Brown did have some good years at Michigan as a whole, but didn’t fare well against Ohio State when the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines 62-39 in 2018 and 56-27 in 2019. The Buckeyes were able to run crossing patterns at will, and Brown’s blitz-heavy, man-coverage scheme didn’t fool OSU one bit.
Enter 2021.