Maize n Brew’s Bracket for the best defensive player of the Jim Harbaugh Era: Round 1 Results

The first round of Maize n Brew’s bracket for the best player of the Jim Harbaugh era is complete. The defensive region was voted on this past week by you all, and there weren’t as many upsets on this side of the bracket as the offensive side.

Still, it is interesting to see how close (or really, really far apart) some of these results came in at. Let’s see who you voted into the next round.

No. 1: Aidan Hutchinson vs No. 16: Khaleke Hudson

The winner: No. 1 Aidan Hutchinson

It’s officially the biggest win of the first round for Aidan Hutchinson who got all but 11 of the 927 votes. The dominant performance by the Heisman runner-up does not come as a surprise as Hutchinson may be the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket.

What you said:

Defense is kind of a forgone conclusion, no?.. it’s gonna be Hutchinson. Vegas odds: -5000 - Nate on Facebook

No. 8: Josh Uche vs No. 9: Kwity Paye

The winner: No. 9 Kwity Paye

As a No. 9-seed Kwity Paye came in with the upset over Josh Uche. The two played together in Ann Arbor, and Paye’s career was a tad shorter due to COVID. As the winner, he gets the chance to run into the buzzsaw of Hutchinson in the second round.

What we said:

This may be my favorite matchup on the bracket because both were athletic freaks. - Dan Plocher, Maize n Brew

No. 5: Mo Hurst vs No. 12: Mazi Smith

The winner: No. 5 Mo Hurst

Big Mo took 79% of the vote in the battle for the best interior defensive lineman during Harbaugh’s time at Michigan. He impressively staved off the recency bias of Mazi Smith to move on to the next round.

No. 4: Jourdan Lewis vs. No. 13: DJ Turner

The winner: No. 4 Jourdan Lewis

Jourdan Lewis — another vintage Harbaugh player — also topped a recently departed Wolverine in DJ Turner. He amassed a staggering 93% of the vote to earn the No. 1 cornerback spot. Now, he’ll face former teammate Mo Hurst in the next round.

What you said:

Final Four for me: Hutch and Chase on D, Corum and Butt on O. Honorable mention to Jordan Lewis. - Christian on Facebook

No. 6: Chase Winovich vs. No. 11: Daxton Hill

The winner: No. 6 Chase Winovich

This one was a little closer than I thought, as Chase Winovich took 63% of the vote. Winovich was a fan favorite in his time in Ann Arbor, so I thought he would cruise to an easy win. A 60-40 split is not what I imagined, and it may not bode well for the superstar he’ll face in round two.

What you said:

Dax feels at least a little low. He contributed from his first year and by his 3rd, was such a key piece for the defense able to play different positions and disguise coverages- he was just critical to making everything work. ...that being said, I would have only moved him up a few slots - not enough to overtake CW, who I definitely voted for. - Acala

No. 3: Devin Bush vs. No. 14: Lavert Hill

The winner: No. 3 Devin Bush

Devin Bush took an early lead and never looked back, stomping (pun intended) the Lavert Hill voters by acquiring 98% of the vote. That memorable moment against Michigan State seemed to be the catalyst for his domination, and some are saying it could be enough to push him to the Final Four.

What you said:

“This is an incredibly hard thing to decide… an embarrassment of riches on defense. My vote is the guy who tore up MSU’s logo with his cleats, in more ways than one. Funny to watch them painting and patching it afterward. Devin Bush. Hutchinson a close second. Rashan Gary another close second. Winovich another second. How many close seconds can we have MnB?” - Fredfier

No. 7: David Ojabo vs. No. 10: Taco Charlton

The winner: No. 7 David Ojabo

O-JA-BO. The one-year starter topped Taco Charlton in a race that was not as close as I expected. To be fair, it probably didn’t help that Charlton fizzled out of the NFL extremely quickly, and Ojabo could still amount to something at the next level. The next round certainly won’t be easy for the Michigan defensive end as he’ll face one of the top players in this bracket.

No. 2: Jabrill Peppers vs. No. 15: Josh Ross

The winner: No. 2 Jabrill Peppers

Peppers got 95% of the votes from the fans and will face Ross’ former teammate in Ojabo in the next round. Could we be smelling a possible upset? I doubt it, but maybe it will at least be a tighter contest.

What you said:

Jabrill Peppers was special all over the field. - Bob on Facebook

Now, I wanted to reference the omission of Rashan Gary which caused quite a stir across all our platforms. Gary was a really good player at Michigan, but the team that made the rankings decided guys like Ross and Hudson were more deserving because of the production and impact they made on the team.

Gary has turned into a stud at the next level, which I think is why so many people have caused an uproar. But he had just 3.5 sacks in his final season at Michigan, and 10 total during his college career. And, they never seemed to come in big moments or big games. We respect the hell out of him, but Ross and Hudson just barely received a nod over him.

Here is the updated bracket following the first round:

Tune in on Sunday as we start the second round of voting!