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Michigan Football edge rusher Tariq Boney exceeding freshman expectations
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- Michigan Football edge rusher Tariq Boney exceeding freshman expectations
Michigan edge rusher Tariq Boney isn't sure how much he squats. He says it's somewhere around 590 pounds. At least, that's what he's been told by the staff of the Michigan football team.
But he doesn't need the exact number on hand, because the Wolverines didn't bring him on board to be a championship powerlifter. They recruited him so he could go after opposing quarterbacks. And he's been making some progress on that effort.
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"I expect the best," Boney told reporters Tuesday night. "I know that I will go in and put my best foot forward and just see what happens next."
Boney was a four-star recruit out of high school, but one of the top five recruits from Washington D.C. Entering the season, he wasn't necessarily expected to figure heavily into the edge rotation, one of the program's best groups at the position in years. The Wolverines entered the year boasting the likes of John Henry Daley, Dom Nichols, Cam Brandt, Nate Marshall, and fellow true freshman Carter Meadows at the position, making it a brutal competition for Boney for defensive snaps.
But he's handled that competition adeptly. Boney has played in five games so far, with his first coming against UTEP on Sep. 19, and has combined for nine tackles in addition to the first two sacks of his career. In addition to his hulking frame, Boney possesses a solid burst and straight-line acceleration that's enabled him to beat blindside protectors and blow up plays in the backfield before they can even develop.
For his development, Boney credits Nichols and Daley's mentorship. Daley and Nichols, a senior and junior respectively, are credited with providing Boney with valid experience.
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"It's been monumental," Boney said. "Monumental to me because they've seen a lot of things, played a lot of snaps. I just learned from them and seeing them inside of the game."
Boney also credits Michigan defensive coordinator Jay Hill for his evolution.
"I've learned the most football I've ever learned in my life these last couple months," Boney said. "And just him calling players for us and me seeing things differently."
Hill's schematics open Boney up to do some damage. The presence of an extra defensive back allows for a disguised coverage that leaves a running back or scrambling quarterback unprotected for an edge rusher. And the traditional four-man front splits up double teams, leaving Boney with far more open boxes to attack.
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Whether it's a blend of his size, schematics, teamwork, or all three, the work Boney is putting in is his own, and he's reaping the rewards. He's gone from a freshman who thought he'd need to wait to play, to earning snaps in one of the nation's deepest pass-rush rotations — and something tells me his volume is only about to go up.
