Welcome to the Tuesday edition of Morning Brews.
Today it’s going to be football-centric and about two players in particular, one on offense and one on defense. Tarik Black and Rashan Gary.
Let’s get to it.
Rashan Gary took a sharpie and wrote “best defensive line in the nation” in his locker pic.twitter.com/XLeZqrMV2M
— angelique (@chengelis) June 10, 2018
Rashan Gary is one of the best defensive lineman in the country, but he is one piece to the puzzle which is the Michigan d-line. Luckily for Gary, the rest of the bunch is pretty damn good as well and are taught the ropes by an exceptional defensive line coach in Greg Mattison.
Putting all those pieces together creates for a nice looking and complete puzzle. Gary’s locker message, “best defensive line in the nation” is a big goal and one that is realistic to achieve. Gary said he didn’t need to write that sharpie message in his locker to remind him but he does like seeing it, maybe it makes him want to punish offensive linemen, quarterbacks, and ball-carriers more than he already does.
The bottom line is, the best player on Michigan’s team is confident and has set the bar as high as it gets when it comes to the performance of the U-M d-line in 2018.
But, Gary didn’t stop there. He said he has to win a National Championship.
“I need a national championship. I need that. That’s something that me and (Devin) Bush and our whole 2016 class was talking about is winning that National Championship. That’s something I need a taste of. I’m not thinking about (the NFL). I’m focused on the season and my brothers.”
2018 Comeback POY. pic.twitter.com/YfVMCV422F
— Tarik Black (@LetmeRockk_) June 10, 2018
Wide receiver Tarik Black missed most of the 2017 season with a broken foot. Before the injury, Black was the best receiver on the team, recording 11 receptions for 149 yards and 1 touchdown.
But a tweet from Black shows he is recovered and focused on doing big things for Michigan in 2018, calling himself the 2018 comeback player of the year. To be deemed that, Black will have to produce at a high clip for the Wolverines, and that’s clearly something Black expects to transpire.
While you can buy or sell what Black and Gary are saying, there’s no doubt they have set expectations sky high and are training to reach their goals.