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Michigan's Taco Charlton staying hungry through bye week

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

Michigan senior defensive end Taco Charlton is making up for lost time, as he has racked up four sacks in his last three games following an injury.

Charlton was injured in the second quarter of the team's season-opening win over Hawaii, causing him to miss the next two weeks due to a high ankle sprain.

"They didn't give me a specific timetable at first, but then you start looking up high ankle sprains and you think 'wow, I really might be out this long,' Charlton told Nick Baumgardner of Michigan Live. "You miss one and it hurts, and then the next game gets worse. I was struggling watching those games."

Initially, Charlton was told he could miss up to five weeks - half a season's worth of games. In his draft year, the Ohio native was not going to allow himself to miss that much time.

"I used it as motivation to get back and get healthy again," Charlton said.

Returning against Penn State, Charlton showed how hungry he was, recording 1 1/2 sacks in the Wolverines' 49-10 victory.

A week later, Charlton added another half-sack against Wisconsin, before getting another two in Michigan's shutout victory over hapless Rutgers last week.

"I missed two-and-a-half games, almost three games," Charlton said. "I knew I wanted to get back and make an impact ... It feels good to be back out there on that field."

His four sacks on the season are tied for the team lead with Chris Wormley, and good for a share of third in the Big Ten.

With Michigan on bye this week, Charlton is continuing to rehab his ankle in hopes of improving on his 5 1/2 sacks from a year ago heading into next springs NFL Draft.

"I'm still not 100 percent yet, but I'm almost there," Charlton said. "There's still some things I want to get 100 percent right and feel comfortable with all my pass-rush moves again.

"Once I get that I'll definitely be a happy person."

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