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this does not seem functional for several reasons I will now elucidate

For a while there it looked like Harbaugh had taken the Big Ten Network guys' phones and given them the Tom Brady treatment, but Dave Revsine must have a backup, because he's providing a rare glimpse inside Blue October.

In past years this has been something more than a post-length manual retweet of one guy; Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith also gave their thoughts. So far this is the only thing we've gotten from them:

Hopefully they'll poke their heads out at some point. Tom Dienhart skipped twitter for a couple of articles on the BTN website. One is for real. One is described as "fun notes":

[Graham] Glasgow also told me he is living with his grandmother for the semester. A good way to focus.

That is one way to make sure you don't trip up on your probation.

Following blockquotes are from Revsine's twitter feed unless otherwise noted. BTN will broadcast their react from Michigan practice at 6 PM.

GENERAL

Tom Dienhart had some general thoughts on twitter:

A very business-like practice at Michigan today. No music blared. A classroom environment with lots of teaching. Nobody walked or lingered.

Dressed in his uniform of a blue “M” cap, long-sleeve shirt and—what else?—khakis, Harbaugh spent most of time with QBs. Always instructing.

Staffers describe the Michigan camp as a “submarine.” It is all business with no distractions.

Glad to hear they got rid of the lingering. Hate lingering. Almost as bad as loitering. By the way, if you want to find lingerers and loiterers just check the replies to any Dienhart tweet.

Some non-position-specific stuff from Revsine:

Harbaugh is incredibly involved in the passing game at practice - gives a lot of feedback - very hands-on with that group

It's obvious they're really, really well coached. Practice was all business, drills were efficient, feedback was great

Update: Dinardo has a few general thoughts as well.

Much like in the past few years team has more talent than most B1G teams they play except for the 2 best.

As always starts w O/D lines no lack of talent in either area They've recruited well in both areas & r good enough

I would not be surprised if both QB played in opener against Utah. Game play sometimes is best way to decide

Defense very solid good depth & has good young players that will have time 2 develop. Off needs more dynamic skill

QUARTERBACK

QB - Morris consistently took 1st snap in drills - but no idea if that means anything - it does at some places, it doesn't at others

QB - if I had to guess, I'd say both Morris and Rudock would play against Utah - not sure there's clear separation

It's tough to say - both had their moments. Morris has a great arm. Rudock doesn't make many mistakes. Tough call

Asked about Morris:

His arm - he can really spin it. Issue will obviously be TO's - have to be dramatically better there as a team

Dienhart was more decisive about the QB battle:

1. Jake Rudock figures to win the quarterback spot. The Iowa senior transfer is the one signal-caller who gives Michigan the best chance to win out of the gate. … Rudock threw the ball well today and worked with the top units along with junior lefty Shane Morris. Rudock is a savvy vet with lots of starting experience.

FWIW. I'm betting that the quarterback battle will legitimately go until the day before the Utah game and that Rudock wins it decisively.

Zach Gentry looked "tall"; a fan asking about him was advised that this was a two-man race.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Other obvious trouble spot LY was OL. I think that group will be vastly improved.They have always had talent there - evident again 2day

No real surprises on OL - looked like Cole, Braden, Glasgow, Kalis, Magnuson. Drevno singled Blake Bars out as having had good camp

Even if we're nervous about Braden at guard, I'd be more nervous about guys flipping everywhere like we've seen the last few years.

They are really well coached on the OL - constant constructive feedback. Would be shocked if they're not better

Easy call to make with 5-ish returning starters and Tim Drevno running the show.

Dienhart noted the second team line:

The second unit had junior Logan Tuley-Tillman at left tackle; junior David Dawson at left guard; junior Patrick Kugler at center; sophomore Juwann Bushell-Beatty at right guard; senior Blake Bars at right tackle.

That's as expected until you get to JBB at guard and Bars at tackle.

RUNNING BACK

On the starter:

Hard to tell - I did notice Smith a few times. Guess would be by committee at 1st & see if someone emerges

RB - lots of good well-known options here - again, I think difference in OL will help immensely.

On Isaac:

Big - man he has great size for a RB. Because of the structure of practice, I didn't come away w great feel for RBs

Dienhart gave Smith the slight edge; Ross Taylor-Douglass is apparently a tailback this week.

WIDE RECEIVER & TIGHT END

Revsine literally shouted out everyone on the roster who was practicing at TE.

TE could be a real area of strength - obviously we know about Jake Butt, but Poggi, Winovich, Williams (nice TD grab) all look solid

Did I mention Hill and Bunting? They're good too. Lot of interesting options there.

Wheatley is probably on the shelf for a bit, so that's everybody. Apparently Hill is back at it?

I still think big-play explosiveness will be an issue for this team - no one totally jumps out on that front

Yeah. That contradicts this…

WR looks to be about what it was a year ago - issue will be whether a deep threat can emerge. Better OL play could obviously help there

…because last year they had one Devin Funchess, for all the good that did them. Remember when they just punted it to Funchess like six times a game because their offense was real bad and that was a good idea? I don't either.

The Grant Perry hype train continues unabated:

I'd be surprised if Grant Perry doesn't contribute some at WR. Tough to tell on Brian Cole - kind of up and down

Dienhart:

Some nice options at wideout, with senior Jehu Chesson and senior Amara Darboh. Freshman Brian Cole was running with the second unit. I like the kid. Sophomore Maurice Ways also saw lots of action. Grant Perry was another freshman who was active.

Drake Harris was a "young guy who could help"; Peppers did not get snaps on offense, but as Revsine points out that's a thing they would likely keep under wraps when BTN visits.

DEFENSE & SPECIAL TEAMS

Relatively little here. On the DL:

Good group - rotated a lot of guys through. I think they'll once again have a very solid defense

On the secondary:

A lot of known commodities, obviously, on defense. Looks like Lyons will definitely help in secondary.

Dienhart:

DE Taco Charlton was leading post-practice sprint drills among linemen. He is an impressive specimen.

Dienhart also provided looks at the two deep at linebacker…

The linebackers look good. One unit had senior James Ross; senior Desmond Morgan; senior Joe Bolden. Another had junior Ben Gedeon; sophomore Jared Wangler; senior Allen Gant.

…and DL:

One front lined up thusly today: Wormley at end; senior Ryan Glasgow at tackle; senior Willie Henry at tackle; Ojemudia at end. The other unit combo was Charlton at end; senior Tom Strobel; junior Maurice Hurst; senior Royce Jenkins-Stone, listed as a LB on the roster.

So Charlton is an SDE, which makes sense since all the other candidates to back up Wormley got moved to TE. Strobel lining up at nose(?!) would be a very, very strange thing. Would expect Godin to be the #4 DT without Mone. No mention of Marshall is odd.

Meanwhile, the secondary:

Stanford grad transfer Wayne Lyons could be a proverbial “cut-above.” The top unit today was Lewis and Clark on the edges with Peppers and Wilson at safety. The other unit had junior Channing Stribling and freshman Tyree Kinnel on the corners with junior Dymonte Thomas and Lyons at safety.

No Delano Hill or Watson mentioned; Clark pushing for the boundary spot will give me the heebie-jeebies until it doesn't.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Potential punt returners and some Peppers hype:

PR looks like it'll be Peppers and Chesson. Peppers looked great overall today and DJ Durkin said he's had an outstanding camp

An ominous note at kicker:

PK remains up in the air - still doesn't look like an area of strength. Aussie P Blake O'Neill got off some boomers – impressive

This from Dienhart on the three PK options:

Three kickers took turns at the uprights: freshman Andrew David; sophomore Kyle Seychel; senior Kenneth Allen.

Comments

TreeBoy

August 19th, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^

I dont care if we lose every game (OK yes I do) as long as focus and intensity is always on maximum. Looks like Harbaugh is making his players lean and mean. No private chefs, no sitting around. 100% commitment to the grind is all that is acceptable.

Yo_Blue

August 19th, 2015 at 3:48 PM ^

Don't forget this is Gerry Dinardo talking.  He of the glittering 59-76-1 record as a head coach.

76 losses in 12 years!  Bo had 48 losses in 21 seasons at Michigan and another 17 at Miami in 6 seasons.  That's 65 losses in 27 freaking years.  Yeah, I care what Dinardo thinks when it comes to strategy.

mGrowOld

August 19th, 2015 at 2:54 PM ^

Well if Harbaugh is trying to channel his inner Bo by replicating the Michigan teams of his youth-having an undependable kicker would certainly seem mandatory.

PopeLando

August 19th, 2015 at 3:43 PM ^

Poor RR, I remember one game where he gave the kicker a chance late. Of course we missed the FG, and you could tell Rich just wanted to cry. Instead he said something like, "he f+$&ing missed it!" Boy, do I miss Rivas. But there's no way Baxter has special teams the least bit unprepared for this season. Honestly, this is the area I'm most excited for.

Indiana Blue

August 19th, 2015 at 3:52 PM ^

Sounds like punting is solid, but that doesnt add points directly.  We really need to have a dependable PK ... at least from 40 yards or closer, say around 90%.

Best part is PK's usually have very little hype before they prove themselves.  We'll all know on his first PAT ... better be HIGH and HARD !!!

Go Blue!

JeepinBen

August 19th, 2015 at 2:59 PM ^

I think the DL is going to be rotated freely and frequently depending on the team/situation. I think Hurst/Henry might both be on the field for passing downs, or one of them with Wormley inside too. Your best pass rushing DL might be Taco/Henry/Wormley/Marshall, or some other combo. Wouldn't shock me to see lots of different combos.

LKLIII

August 19th, 2015 at 3:03 PM ^

The guys mentioned something similar on the podcast, but I am not overly concerned about the lack of a speed burner at RB or WR. What we need are consistent possession guys. It seems like Harbaugh teams of yore didn't go with the speedsters on offense but the tough guys who could guarantee you the 4-12 yard plays. The chunk plays on a Harbaugh team still come, but they come from pre snap motion and confusing the defense. So the YACs come due to nobody being around the RB or WR due to blown coverage, not due to some amazing feat of athleticism. Of course I'd love to have an "all of the above" approach but the fact that we don't yet have an amazing WR doesn't spook me that much.



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