Latest news with #Hausmann
USA Today
4 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ernest Hausmann says Michigan's defense, with Wink Martindale, is ready to dominate
Across college football, many take Michigan football to take a step back on defense, with Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Josaiah Stewart, and Will Johnson all moving on to the NFL. But the Wolverines showed in the ReliaQuest Bowl that the players behind them are good enough to beat high-level offenses. Even so, as the maize and blue are now in fall camp, they're keeping the confidence gained from such a win, but otherwise erasing that, the Ohio State win, and everything else from their mind. Senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann said at Big Ten media days that retaining the hunger and the chip on their shoulder from the season in 2024, not meeting expectations is what's driving this 2025 team. "In our minds, it's Michigan versus everybody, no matter what," Hausmann said. "No matter what our ranking is, we don't look at the rankings. We don't care about that ranking at all. Because at the same time, at the same day, we have to put the helmet on each game and have to play high-level football, execute a high level to win a football game. And we saw that. "We went 8-5 last year. That's not the Michigan standard. We had to change some things. We have to change some things because we can't do what we did last year. We went 8-5. That's not the standard, like I said. It's Michigan versus everybody, so we have to go back to the basics. We have to go back to what we, as Michigan, what do we hang our hats on? We found our men in black towards the end of the season. But it's a whole new roster. We got to find that. And how do we find that earlier in the season, right? From game one. The only focus right now is New Mexico. That's the only focus of game one right now." One big thing that isn't being discussed too much is that there is continuity, not just personnel-wise, but with the coaches on the defensive side of the ball. Despite running the same scheme from 2021-24, there have been three coordinators -- Mike Macdonald, Jesse Minter, and Wink Martindale. The changeover from Macdonald to Minter was smooth, but there were some hiccups early with Martindale and his crew. But, as the season wore on, the defense got better and better as the staff and the players acclimated to each other. Hausmann expects that that is one thing that will continue, because the returning players got to know Martindale so well that they started to innately understand more of the why rather than just the what. "It's huge -- it's huge having that continuity," Hausmann said. "Because like I said before, relationships are huge, right? And understanding how people want to see things called and how people see things right from different coaches, and all this is the beauty of football. And I think that's one of the things I preach about Coach Wink, right? I love seeing his game plans each week. Because they vary. They vary each week. And seeing how from Monday, seeing the game plan, how they all fit together from Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then finally Friday, right, seeing them all piece together for a final game plan. "And towards the end of the season, right, I'm the one with the headset communicator, right? So towards the end of the season, right, you can kind of get in the mind of Coach Wink and kind of understand how he calls things to the point where I'm almost anticipating what he's calling. I already kind of know what he's going to call before he calls it. And that's the beauty of it. And I love that about it. And I think that's going to pay dividends going into this year, just as everybody understands how he wants things played, how he sees things right." Fans will get the opportunity to see the Michigan football defense in action starting on August 30 when the Wolverines host New Mexico for the season opener at The Big House.
USA Today
8 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ernest Hausmann says beating Ohio State remains Michigan's focus for 5th straight win
The Game is the most storied and hyped rivalry not only in college football, but perhaps in all of sports. And Michigan football struggled to make a game of it for nearly two decades. But in the past four years, when expected or when it appeared to be an insurmountable task, the Wolverines rose to the occasion. There's never been a time in Ann Arbor when the locker room didn't take Ohio State seriously, but still, the mentality had to change. In 2021, it did, and it's continued to evolve. There's signage asking players 'What have you done to beat Ohio State today?' inside the strength facility, as well as in the Al Glick Fieldhouse, where the team holds indoor practice. The 'Beat Ohio' drill was introduced to implement a new level of physicality. Like it was during the Bo Schembechler years, there's something that helps prepare the maize and blue every day for the scarlet and gray. So, to have four straight wins in the rivalry, it's a defining element for these Wolverines. "It means everything," senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann said at Big Ten media days. "You come to Michigan, the standard is to beat Ohio State each and every single season. And so winning that game means everything. That is your livelihood, and that's why you come to Michigan." As Buckeye fans started getting frustrated over a sudden lack of wins in the rivalry, there were informal polls that indicated that they'd prefer a win over Michigan over a national championship. They ended up getting the reverse scenario, and this offseason has been spent modulating the previous stance. But with that, despite the Wolverines players having won on the field, they've likewise had to watch Buckeye players and fans celebrate a national championship -- something many Michigan players had done the year before. Still, Hausmann says that the OSU natty does nothing to diminish the Wolverines' achievement, especially since by the time Ohio State had won it, Michigan had already moved on to the 2025 version of The Game. "For us, it doesn't change anything," Hausmann said. "We know we played that game. We played the game 60 minutes just like they did, put the helmet on, and we won that game. So it doesn't mean anything to us. It doesn't diminish our win at all. But at the same time, we understand that that's last year. It's over with. As soon as that game's over, that next day, the clock starts again. As soon as we walk into that facility after that game, the clock was on for the next game, the next season." Beating Ohio State for a fourth-straight time, especially as a three-score underdog, helped propel the maize and blue to an equally unlikely win against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The team will somewhat dig into the past to help them realize what they can accomplish this upcoming season, but Hausmann says, don't expect them to rest on their laurels either -- the focus is not on what was done, but what can be done. So the four wins have happened, but a fifth is not guaranteed. It's up to the players and their work now to ensure that they continue to stack numbers in the W column. "You can use that as momentum going forward," Hausmann said. "Like I said, every year is different. It's a new roster, and you have to have that level, the same level of preparation, even more each season, understanding that it's so much harder to do the same thing again twice. And like I said, now to do it for a fifth time, it's that much harder, right? So we have to take that account every single day and make sure that we keep ourselves at standard each day."
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Michigan's Ernest Hausmann, Jaishawn Barham on 2025 Butkus Award watch list as top LBs
Michigan football hopes it has something of a secret weapon, or perhaps, a pair of secret weapons. The Wolverines are much more confident than the pundits in college football about their front seven, but it isn't just the defensive line that the maize and blue are optimistic about. Though the linebacker duo of Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham were hit or miss last year, both appeared to have the lights turn on later in the season. And given what they showed behind the scenes in spring ball, there are expectations that the linebackers will dominate in 2025. While the media at large doesn't seem to have much interest in the duo, the award-givers do. On Wednesday, Michigan football announced that both Hausmann and Barham have been added to the preseason Butkus Award watch list. The Butkus Award, named after former Illinois star Dick Butkus, is given to the nation's best linebacker. And while Hausmann and Barham will likely be the most prominently featured linebackers this year, Jimmy Rolder has been considered a third starter and will share playing time with the duo. Additionally, Georgia transfer Troy Bowles could see a lot of playing time (he's recovering from an offseason injury and wasn't available in spring ball), while sophomore Cole Sullivan is also coming on strong. And freshmen Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Chase Taylor have also earned rave reviews this offseason. Still, Hausmann and Barham, in Wink Martindale's scheme, figure to take a big step forward in 2025. Fans will get an opportunity to see both on August 30 when the Wolverines host New Mexico.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ernest Hausmann lauds Bryce Underwood's maturity, preparation for Michigan's QB position
At the moment, Michigan football does not have a starting quarterback. But everyone -- at least outside of the program -- has a pretty good feeling about who it will be. Former five-star and No. 1 overall recruit in 2025, Bryce Underwood, got the bulk of the reps in spring ball. He has physical capability that cannot be taught. It may seem like a formality, but head coach Sherrone Moore says the Wolverines will still go through their paces, especially with Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene finally healthy. While everyone waxes poetic about Underwood, perhaps the best compliments he could receive come from the defense he went up against in spring ball and the one he's about to see in fall camp. At Big Ten media days, senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann joined the chorus praising the true freshman, noting what he does when people aren't looking and how that makes a difference. "Bryce is as good as advertised," Hausmann said. "But the thing that I'm really impressed about Bryce is the way he's matured beyond his years. You would never know that he's 17 years old coming into a college program, a five-star recruit, heavily recruited, has high expectations. You would never know that by looking at him, by talking to him at all. "The quarterback position it's completely open. We don't know who's going to be playing. We don't know who's going to be Week 1, Week 2, Week 3. It could all change, right? But I'm just very impressed at how he's really carried himself as a person because he fit right in well with his quarterback room. Because the whole quarterback room, they love to work. They do so much work behind closed doors that people don't even see -- that I don't even see. But I just know he's a perfect fit for that. He's going to continue to push that room, make that room better. I'm very excited to see what that room does this year." So, what stands out in particular to Hausmann? He shared an anecdote that shows just how mature Underwood is, even at 17 years of age. "Like I said, it's his preparation, right?" Hausmann said. "I remember one moment, I'm seeing him before practice, right? Most of the time, people are getting taped up, ready, but he's out there walking through his plays by himself. And so it just goes to show how bought in, how he cares about his preparation. "Like I said before, the whole quarterback room is so bought into preparation. They all do things like that that we don't see behind the scenes, and it's just so special. And as a defense, I can tell my whole defense. We can trust that. We can trust that room." The Michigan defense needs Underwood to work out just as much as the offense does. The offense was constantly stymied by subpar quarterback play in 2024, which meant that the defense had to work extra hard to get the ball back. It didn't always work out as planned. By the end of the season, the defense was the unit getting the job done. Though the offense had some timely drives -- particularly against Ohio State and Alabama -- it just wasn't the brand of complementary football that Michigan is accustomed to having. But now, beyond even Underwood, Hausmann says there's a trust that exists between the defense and the quarterbacks. But Underwood, in particular, has done enough to earn a seal of approval from Hausmann and company. "It's your daily actions that gain the trust of others, right? And he's shown and he's proven to us that he's a high-level person beyond just football players, and that's what we love about people," Hausmann said. "If you're a high-level person, we know what you're going to be on the field. Because with someone, you want to know what you're going to get out of the person on the field. You don't ever want to ask or expect. With Bryce, you know what you can get out of him. He's a high-level competitor. Like I said, he just fits that quarterback room perfectly well, and I'm excited to see who ends up being the quarterback." Fans will get their first opportunity to see Underwood in an actual college game on August 30 (even if he's not the starter) when Michigan hosts New Mexico for the season opener.
USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ernest Hausmann says toughness drove Michigan's 2024 wins over Ohio State, Alabama in bowl
Sitting at 5-5, no one expected much of note for the Michigan Wolverines for the rest of the way in 2024. Considered a favorite, but not by much, against Northwestern, the maize and blue took that game before shocking the world with a win in Columbus against Ohio State. The Wolverines then finished off the run with another surprising win, this time against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The final three wins were indications that Sherrone Moore hadn't lost his team. But what's more than that, linebacker Ernest Hausmann says (when asked about beating OSU), the team came together with the common denominator being toughness. "We always pride ourselves on being the most toughest team out there on every single field. And, when you get to November, that's what it's about," Hausmann said at Big Ten media days. "It's about who is the toughest team because it's a product, when you get to November, about your offseason training, really. Because every single team is banged up. Every team is hurting, everyone's going through something that late in the season. "And so really, who really took the offseason training to have your body right, in a good enough condition where you can execute, and still be playing with the principles and the foundation of what we're built on. And that's toughness. And we hang our hats on that. But we have to do that each and every day to make sure we still strive for that." Now a leader on the Wolverines, Hausmann is working to instill that same mentality in the younger players who are on the defense and in his room. The proof is in the pudding: being able to out-tough opponents works, and though there were some speed bumps on the way to the final wins of 2024, being able to handle adversity mixed with physicality is the path to success. "I hope the young guys understand that, because it's huge that, those last couple of games, even if we talk about Ohio State first game, understanding that it's a long season," Hausmann said. "It's a very long season. And to see the growth that we took -- I'm just talking from a defensive standpoint, the people in my room -- and just seeing how as players, you have a responsibility to find a way to adjust, right? If something's not working, we're not having the success that we want, you have to find a way to adjust. The world's going to keep going on. You still have a game that Saturday, and you yourself have to figure out what you've got to do differently, and to be able to change that. And I think we did that well as a defense and really paid dividends for our successes towards the end of the season." Fans will get an opportunity to see the new-look Wolverines on August 30 when Michigan hosts New Mexico for the 2025 season opener.
