The Michigan Wolverines have been playing short-handed on the defensive side of the ball for the great majority of the season. All-American cornerback Jourdan Lewis has been noticeably absent for each of Michigan's three games in 2016 and, in addition, Jim Harbaugh's team has been without its best pass rusher in Taco Charlton since the first half of the season opener against Hawaii.
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On Saturday against Penn State, though, it appears that will change as Harbaugh indicated in a recent interview with 97.1 FM in Detroit (h/t MLive.com) that both Lewis and Charlton are likely to appear.
"God willing and the creek don't rise we'll get Jourdan back and get Taco back," Harbaugh said. "Noah Furbush is back practicing. If all goes well, yeah, they'll be playing."
"You like to see how they feel the next day (after a practice) with what kind of soreness they have. We don't know that yet but we're hopeful."
Though the Wolverines have performed admirably under Don Brown in the first three games, this will be a completely different unit with Lewis and Charlton available. In 2015, Lewis was arguably the best cornerback in the country, effectively shutting down half of the field for the opposing offense, while Charlton was routinely disruptive off the edge while holding up well in the running game.
Michigan's defense suffered a few hiccups in the first half against Colorado before settling in nicely, but with two of the best players on the roster likely back in the fold against Penn State, we can really begin to see what the ceiling is for the vastly talented Wolverines on defense this season.
