Michigan football has been relatively banged up at the edge rusher position this year. John Henry Daley, coming off his Achilles tendon rupture, missed the Rutgers game, while Dom Nichols missed that game and the Indiana game before it. But they've been struggling with injuries since the Iowa game.
Nichols came on strong to start the season with 1.5 sacks in his first outing, vs. Western Michigan, but he's only had half a sack since. Edge rushers coach Lewis Powell shared his status on Wednesday, saying that he's getting closer to being better, but he's clearly not at full capacity.
"He's been hurt with a lower leg injury and has not been 100%," Powell said. "He's been fighting and been trying to get back, but I feel like he's getting closer and closer to 100%, and he kind
of re-aggravates it every week. But we're getting closer to for him to be a hundred percent, so we're excited. Just going to continue to push him, and I think he'll get back to where he needs to be."
Daley has been a little better, and the stats show it. He has a team-leading six sacks on the season, two of which came against Michigan State last week. While he's been in the same boat since getting injured on the penultimate play against Iowa, Powell says he's closer to being the player he was envisioned to be coming into the season.
"Yeah, John Henry's looking like John Henry," Powell said. "Better and better every week, and he's getting banged up, but he continues. He's a tough kid, and he shows up every week ready to work even though he's not a hundred percent, but he's going to come out and grind it out, so I like his progress. He's looking better and better every week."
Both continue to be listed as questionable on the latest availability report on Wednesday evening.
With those two having been limited, there have been heavy doses of sophomore Benny Patterson and freshman Tariq Boney. Powell loves what he sees from both of them, but also says that Lugard Edokpayi is starting to come on.
"Those guys are violent, and they're hungry," Powell said. "While John Henry and Dom were down, these guys stepped up, and I felt like there was no difference. They're both productive, and we also have Lugard. Lugard is making strides towards the end of the season, and we're excited about the whole group."
Fans will get another chance to see the edge rushers in action on Saturday, when Michigan faces Oregon in Eugene. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. EST, and the game will be broadcast on FS1.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan football edge rushers Dom Nichols, John Henry Daley injury update
