ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan expects to have cornerback Josh Wallace for its top-10 showdown against Penn State, his position coach, Steve Clinkscale, said Wednesday.
“Yeah, yeah, he’s all right,” Clinkscale said. “All my guys are all right. Everybody’s working hard, everybody’s getting healthy or healthy. It’s football. It’s November. Hell, I’m injured!”
Wallace missed the second half of last Saturday’s game against Purdue for undisclosed reasons and was seen heading to the locker room early with a potential injury.
Before that, he played one of his best games in a Michigan uniform, Clinkscale said.
“Josh had a hell of a half,” Clinksale said. “I think he got Player of the Game. He did a really good job. All of the points of attack were pluses. He was 100% at the point of attack. He’s starting to understand the game, too.”
Wallace is a grad transfer from UMass who came to Ann Arbor after playing four years with the Minutemen. He has appeared in all nine games for the Wolverines, including six starts at cornerback, on a defense that remains one of the best in the country heading into massive games against Penn State and Ohio State.
“Josh, when he was at UMass, he didn’t have a specific corners coach all the time,” Clinkscale said. “He’s like a sponge. With him being a graduate already, he’s over here. I walk by the meeting room, he’s in there watching film nonstop on his own, and he’s doing a really good job of trying to be like the veteran guys.
“He’s a great addition. Really, we wouldn’t be where we are on the defense if it wasn’t for Josh. Like I said, he can play corner and nickel. He’s really doing a good job at the point of attack. DBs can grade out at 100% and never be at the point of attack. But that one play at the point of attack, if you screw up and it’s a touchdown — well, you might as well not be out there. So at the point of attack, that’s the grade that’s more important for us. So he’s doing a great job.”
Wallace shared U-M’s Defensive Player of the Week honors against both Purdue and Indiana. He and the Wolverines face Penn State at Beaver Stadium on Saturday at noon.
And for the record: Steve Clinkscale detailed the injury he’s working through: “Life!”