Wolverines defense faces up-tempo challenge

Ann Arbor — Michigan’s defense has been preparing all camp to face, among other things, the type of no-huddle, up-tempo offense Central Florida brings to Michigan Stadium on Saturday.

Central Florida coach Scott Frost, most recently the offensive coordinator at Oregon, has hashtagged his way into the hearts of Knights fans, telling them his offense will be “#UCFast” and the defense will be “UCFierce.”

Central Florida is coming off a victory over South Carolina State in which it ran 91 plays.

Michigan defensive backs coach Brian Smith, who works with the safeties, said he was pleased with the play of the secondary in the 63-3 rout of Hawaii last weekend. The defense scored two touchdowns — Delano Hill and Channing Stribling each returning interceptions.

And Smith said the defensive backs are prepared for the different look they will see from the Knights.

“We’ve been preparing for it all camp the way we practice, up-tempo, but this team is definitely going to focus on the up-tempo,” Smith said Wednesday. “It’s up to us to get lined up and be prepared for it.”

Smith said since his arrival, he and defensive coordinator Don Brown have preached to the players they must be able to play man-to-man defense.

“Because Coach Brown is going to bring pressure,” Smith said. “That’s the key to the whole defense. You’ve got to be able to hold that man-to-man, and our guys have taken to that challenge. We’ve got a confident group. They’re confident in their skill-set.

“We’ve got some speed. ... Sometimes, focusing on knowing our assignments we can play fast. It’s one thing to be fast physically. When you’re playing fast, when you’re confident in what you’re doing, that’s when you become a good defense.”

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Hall of Honor

Mark Donahue (football), Lorne Howes (hockey), Kate Johnson (rowing) and Jon Urbanchek (men’s swimming and diving coach) will be inducted into the Hall of Honor on Sept. 30.

The group will be publicly recognized Oct. 1 during Michigan’s game against Wisconsin.

Donahue was a two-time All-America guard (1976-77); Howes a two-time All-America goaltender who helped lead Michigan to back-to-back national championships in 1955-56; Johnson a Big Ten rower of the year in 2000 and 2001; and Urbanchek, who coached from 1982-2004, led Michigan to the 1995 national title and 13 Big Ten titles in 22 seasons.

The Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes those who have made significant contributions as athletes, coaches and administrators at Michigan.

Quotable

Frost, on playing the Wolverines: “If you’d ask me whether I’d like to play Michigan or some other team in Michigan that might not be ranked in the top 10 in the country, I might not give you an honest answer on that. But listen, this game is on our schedule. I don’t want our kids to be afraid to play anybody. I think our guys are excited to go up there and look that challenge in the face and take swings at them.”