Earlier this week marked the return of The Enemy, Ranked, while today marks the return of Fall Football Bits. With just 23 days to football season for the Michigan Wolverines and with fall camp underway, the insider buzz is starting to leak out, giving us enough nuggets to bring Fall Football Bits back. Today will be an offense-only piece because the first week of practice is without pads, making it much tougher to assess the defense. Therefore, most of the rumors at this time concern the offensive side of the ball. We will check in on the defense next week when there is enough material to go off of. 

 

Quarterback

What we want to hear: Cade McNamara has grown in innumerable ways thanks to a season at the helm in the B1G. He's no longer throwing the ball into the back of his center's head and is even looking a bit quicker. JJ McCarthy's shoulder is 100%, he's downloaded the full playbook, and has gotten rid of all the freshman mistakes. 

What we're hearing: Right now Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy are locked in an extremely tight duel, according to just about anyone who has offered insight. We've heard all kinds of phrases to describe it, "50-50", "a battle", "reps split down the middle". That appears to be the most factual description, while different insiders have consulted their own sources to try and interpret what it means, with Balas' source trotting out the ole "Cade will start the year, but JJ will pull through mid-season" theory ($). Those who have gone through the hassle of trying to describe individual practices are mostly rehashing what we know, that Cade has limitations with his arm and (occasionally) accuracy, while JJ makes the back-breaking naive error trying to do too much in between stretches of brilliance. In other words, not a ton has changed. 

Harbaugh gave some interesting quotes about QB on Jansen's pod, one comparing the competition to the back-and-forth nature of a long-distance track race and then he talked about when he'll make a decision on the starting job: 

It could come eight, nine practices in. In the past, that’s kind of when you really want to check. If it’s clear at that point, then we could have a true starter at that point. But it may not. It may go past that. Because they’re very close

One last note: we've heard next to nothing about the likes of Bowman or Davis Warren (why would we?) but we have gotten confirmation that the staff has drawn up packages for Alex Orji ($), to take advantage of his athleticism. Goodbye VillariCat, hello OrjiCat. 

What it means: I've long been of the belief that if JJ and Cade are actually running 50-50 at this point, after McCarthy had a limited spring with the shoulder issue, that Cade's days as the starter are drawing to an end. I still believe that, but I guess the big question is whether the two are getting 50-50 reps because they are truly even or because the staff wants to keep both sides happy. I tend to believe the former because that's what people are saying, but it's important to keep in mind the possibility of the latter. While I would probably err on the side of upside in picking a starter if the guys are tied (read: JJ), I would assume that the staff, given their tendencies, would err on the side of safety (Cade). I reckon JJ will need to be a bit better in camp to win the job out of the gate, especially after Harbaugh sent McNamara to B1G Media Day. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: try and guess which walk-on TE gets mentioned today]

 

[Bryan Fuller]

Running Back 

What we want to hear: Blake Corum is now officially the 5'8" version of the Incredible Hulk and is primed to take a run at the Heisman. Donovan Edwards is Christian McCaffrey 2.0 and even Tavierre Dunlap is starting to get the word "Haskins" muttered by observers under their breath. 

What we're hearing: Much like last August, the buzz at RB isn't terribly plentiful because everyone knows that the lead dogs are legit. Blake Corum needs no hype train from the coaches; that can be obtained by pulling up game tape of last season. Donovan Edwards also is a pretty known quantity, even if he's played just one season in Ann Arbor. Both got fawning praise from Harbaugh on the Jansen pod, but nothing terribly notable was said and references to them in insider reporting has been scant. No surprise there. 

We have gotten some rumblings on the #3 RB spot, though. The sexy name right now appears to be the same sexy name from the Spring Game, Kalel Mullings. Matt Weiss spoke to the media a few days ago and confirmed that Mullings is practicing on both sides of the football, but really all the buzz has been about him at RB. Josh Henschke reported that RB3 is a "toss-up" between all conceivable options, Mullings, Tavierre Dunlap, and Leon Franklin, but gave the most favorable review to Mullings ($). The general buzz about this spot on the depth chart has clearly come with the understanding that it is unsettled, as Balas used the phrase "there's no Hassan Haskins to move the chains when nothing's there" ($). Doesn't sound like the coaching staff feels they have the next horse ready yet, and I certainly wouldn't discount the idea that Mullings could be RB3. 

What it means: Corum RB1... small gap... Edwards RB2... large gap... Mullings/Dunlap/Franklin RB3, with perhaps Mullings a nose ahead of Dunlap. Stay tuned on the RB3 battle, because that one feels like it's going down to the wire.  

 

Wide Receiver 

What we want to hear: Everyone who was good last year is back and this time, they're even better. The three freshmen receivers are here and they're all studs, and even old fogey Ronnie Bell is ready to rock and roll with a knee that is as good as new. 

What we're hearing: Let's start with the best news, that Ronnie Bell appears fully healthy and operational. Harbaugh gave a very positive update on the podcast: 

Every day, I think (Bell) does something that I might have been worried about. ‘Can I do that? Can I make this cut? Can I make this play? Can I leave my feet and make a catch and come down?’

He then tells a story about Bell going up for a jump ball with DJ Turner and coming down with it just fine, which apparently brightened Bell's mood because as Harbaugh put it, "I’ve never seen Ronnie in a better mood the rest of the practice because you know he was worried about that". Each day seems to clear a new hurdle for Bell to get back to full functionality. For now, he's on track. 

Outside of that anecdote, the receiver room seems to be chugging along just fine. The most interesting piece of information came from a Josh Henschke report late last week where he noted that coaches are heaping humongous praise about the potential of Andrel Anthony and Darius Clemons, two young receivers who seem to have garnered a lofty descriptor ($). If you're wondering how Michigan plans to feed everybody if guys like Anthony/Clemons are getting hype and Bell is back to full health, we've seen reports from multiple insiders saying that the offense is set to be "more balanced" this year and that five-wide is on the menu this year to keep everyone happy. 

What it means: This positional group is incredibly deep, but we already knew this. There's not much else that is terribly new here outside of the Ronnie Bell health news, and it's hard to build a depth chart at the moment. My hope is that as August rolls along, we get more information as to who is in position to get the most snaps, unless it is an even rotation among five or six guys. Check back in later for more information at this positional group. 

 

[Patrick Barron]

Tight End

What we want to hear: Erick All is going to win the Mackey Award and Luke Schoonmaker is Zach Gentry reincarnate. Matt Hibner and Louis Hansen are ready to start if needed and this room has depth for dayyyyyyys. Even Colston Loveland is ready to dunk on some B1G DBs like he did in Idaho. 

What we're hearing: Let's start by spoon-feeding you the hype from the head coach himself: 

The guys are Schoonmaker, Erick All — they’re both phenomenal. I’ve said this and I really believe it: they could be two of the best in the entire country.

Like many spots on the offense, the insiders haven't paid as much attention to the big guys at TE because they are known to be good players. The Harbaugh quote above sums up the gist of what we've heard: Schoonmaker and All are both really good, we all know that, next. Also like the other spots, chatter has surrounded some of the reserves. Max Bredeson, the walk-on brother of Ben, has had his name pop up in a couple places, with Henschke asserting that he's impressing and could be in line for some reps ($) and Harbaugh dedicating a whole paragraph to Bredeson. That (rambling) paragraph included the following quote on Bredeson: "Max is gonna play, no doubt about that". At 6'2", he's the smallest TE in the room so I could see him having a FB-like role. 

Colston Loveland retains the buzz he had in the spring and there continues to be the pervasive sense that he will get to see the field as a true freshman in some capacity. The coaches love that kid. Finally there was a line in that same Henschke report that caught my eye, one about Matt Hibner, a player we haven't heard that much about frankly. Evidently coaches are glowing about his athleticism and where it ranks among the roster ($).  

What it means: This is close to what we want to hear. Schoonmaker and All are the starters and will get the lion's share of the snaps. Hongiford, not mentioned at all really, figures to still have a blocking-first role, closer to tackle-size while Bredeson is closer to FB-size. All snaps beyond that will be a grab bag of options at this ridiculously deep position. Draw straws between Hibner, who they need to keep happy as a third year guy, Selzer, who played last year in a deep cut capacity, and Louis Hansen, who needs to see the field some. Methinks that Loveland may be constrained to mop up duty in an effort to preserve the redshirt. 

 

Offensive Line

What we want to hear: The offensive line that just won the Joe Moore Award is even better with the addition of Olu Oluwatimi. All the returning starters have made jumps and Zak Zinter is primed for All-America status without a club on his hand. Trente Jones is going to make us forget about Andrew Stueber and oh, every backup on the two-deep would start for half the teams in the B1G. 

What we're hearing: There hasn't been a ton of individualized praise along the offensive line, just the general belief that the unit should be as good as last year, if not better. The more detailed buzz centers around the physical transformations that some guys made. As Seth detailed last week, Trevor Keegan is 19 pounds lighter than he was last season and insiders are asserting that this was "bad weight" that should make him quicker and more effective. Olu Oluwatimi has continued to get the hype he got back in spring practice and we got a Balas quote saying that Mazi Smith hasn't faced a player as strong as Oluwatimi since Cesar Ruiz ($). Otherwise, this is a line with a bunch of known quantities and an exceptionally high floor, so it's understandable we're not hearing a ton. 

Where the juicier information lies is with the backups. Right now it would appear that Karsen Barnhart is the sixth man at all positions but center, while Greg Crippen is still the reserve at that position (as he was last year). There's good news about Reece Atteberry, who suffered a bad leg injury in the spring. Harbaugh gave us a positive update on him on the Jansen pod: 

Reece Atteberry got hurt in the spring, but he’s had some real physical, dominant plays already in the fall camp.

Seems like he's penciled in on the two-deep at one of the guard spots. One sentence before that, Harbaugh rhetorically asked whether Jeff Persi can backup at LT, and given that framing, I'd assume he occupies that spot on the depth chart right now. Josh Henschke provided us with the fifth name on the two-deep, second-year prospect Gio El-Hadi ($), but I haven't heard any individual praise for him yet. 

The final nugget of interest here is not a player on the two-deep but someone Harbaugh name-droped on the podcast in a manner that I was pretty surprised to read. Here's his quote on true freshman OT Andrew Gentry: 

Good young guys. Andrew Gentry’s really the one that pops the most right now. He’s one offensive lineman that could get a lot of play as a true freshman, Andrew Gentry. 

As you may recall, Gentry has been away from football for two years while serving his Mormon mission trip. The assumption was that he would need quite a bit of physical transformation and practice before he could even begin to see the field given that long of an absence. That he's being name-dropped as someone who could see the field at all as a true freshman is pretty unexpected. We shall see if the hype continues. 

What it means: The continued absence of any discussion about a RT battle makes me feel pretty good about writing Trente Jones' name down in sharpie at that position. Which means that the five starters are locked in and there's a lot of reason to believe the starting OL will kick ass again. Karsen Barnhart is next man up, followed by Persi at tackle, Atteberry at guard, and Crippen at center, with El-Hadi having the ability to play wherever. Those five are the leaders to be the line that comes in with the reserves against CSU, Hawaii, and UCONN, while someone like Gentry is probably only coming in on a final drive in one of those games. That he's being mentioned in that context at all, though, is very good news for his future and development arc.