A Very Visual Podcast: Next MGoPodcast is a Zoom call with the U-M Club of Greater San Francisco, at 8pm EST tomorrow night, with a Q&A afterwards for those who sign up and pay the gate.

Football is dead. Long live football!

The greatest game ever conceived by mankind is on hiatus but Michigan is going to get as much practice in as they can.

#Michigan still practicing, for those curious. pic.twitter.com/F9uBjGoiPt

— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) August 17, 2020

Practice means practice stories, so let's do the bits. Offense today, defense tomorrow-ish.

Quarterback

Some Joe over here. [Patrick Barron]

What we want to hear: Milton took a huge leap forward but McCaffery would have started last year if he was healthy but Milton is so so so good now that it's JOE TIME! Also this whole novel coronavirus can be solved by abolishing Ohio State football. Also also your father is proud of you.

What we're hearing: According to Sam (on multiple WTKA segments), Dylan has been working out at the McCaffery production facility while Joe Milton hung around with Devin Gardner. That seems to have paid off for for Joe:

I was told Milton was “killing it.”

In the OPINION of several inside, Milton was the early frontrunner for the job. That doesn’t mean he’d been anointed ‘the guy’ or told he was in line to be the starter. It’s just the sentiment from many that were watching and/or taking part.

I was told, “as far as learning the offense and the leadership part, it's a huge improvement… and everyone on the team sees it.”

ITF also had an insider sharing that Milton is running with the ones($) at the moment. These are all heavily couched in the "This doesn't mean he's the guy but it's a real competition" frame. Also they bring up Cade.

What it means: I've been on Team Joe because of the upside, and I'm a Devin Gardner stan, and now that I am finally getting the good Joe I don't really buy it. "It's a real competition" at quarterback is how camp was always going to start, and a quarterback competition always starts with how far the competition has come. Sometimes when you get what you want to hear it's because it's what you want to hear, and sometimes it's what someone else wants you to hear.

[After THE JUMP: More things you won't believe.]

Running Back

The world versus the one thing you asked of it. [Bryan Fuller]

What we want to hear: Chris Evans ran a wheel route and Gattis saw it, and for a moment the heavens parted and there were trumpets and a brilliant flash of light, and also everyone agrees your politics were right all along.

What we're hearing: Gattis saw Chris Evans on film:

“We’re excited about Chris," Gattis said. "He’s a veteran player and he’s played a lot of football. I remember being in this conference, seeing Chris play as a freshman and seeing the impact he was able to make early on. He’s got a unique skill set because of his versatility, not just as a runner but his ball skins are pretty elite for a guy at his position.

And then all this. Also he's wearing #9, which means one more #12 won't make it all the way.

Nothing else on the other guys except Christian Turner is opting out of the season. Literally the only other thing on the RBs is a note in ITF about Blake Corum($), who is driven.

What it means: You walk into a white room and find Chris Evans on your college football team, yet the only wheel route they throw him is against Rutgers that one time in 2017.

Where are we?

Wide Receiver & Tight End

Four minus one. [Barron]

What we want to hear: Cornelius Johnson is going head to head with Nico Collins. He's going to be the next great one. The Roman Wilson speed is real. Scientists at the University of Michigan have discovered a vaccine for COVID-19 already exists, and it is Mackinac Island Fudge Ice Cream.

What we're hearing: Not a single ring from someone calling me to participate in a clinical trial for the ice cream thing. But Roman Wilson is fast:

Both coming into Ann Arbor were noted as true speedsters and I’m told by a few sources it has translated once they hit the practice field and was put on full display in the summer. Henning and Wilson’s speed is on another level and will make this offense very exciting.

Wilson in particular is already the starting Z receiver in camp($) according to Sam:

Simply put, the Hawaiian speedster has a gear that Michigan hasn’t seen on offense in a long time. He had been nursing a soft tissue injury for much of the spring, so he wasn’t yet back to full speed when he ran the second fastest forty among the freshmen back in June. (His 4.43 was second only to Eamonn Dennis’ 4.37). The buzz from inside Schembechler is that he looks fully back. The only receiver that had registered more big play was Nico (of course).

Uh, okay. Ronnie Bell has been practicing, even went on Jansen's in-house podcast a few weeks ago, and isn't going to lose his spot I don't think.

The Johnson front has been quiet since someone raved to Lorenz($) about Cornelius's offseason. The other thing to note is that Nico is out there with them. It's a longshot that he sticks around for whenever there's football next, but as long as he's still there, there's a chance.

At TE the word is Luke Schoonmaker has bulked up and can run block now. That was to be expected.

What it means: The Wilson talk is very similar to the start of the Ronnie Bell story, which is pretty much in line with what we thought Roman would be. I am surprised we haven't gotten more about Johnson yet give the depth chart, or more about Sainristil and Giles Jackson, but I guess that's old news and the program thinks we want to hear about the new bloods.

Offensive Line

Only a matter of time before we have a new Ryan Hayes photo. [Fuller]

What we want to hear: Just kidding, Mayfield is coming back and will be here for the next three football seasons. Not that we need him. Also that next football season can start in four to five weeks, depending on how fast they can manufacture and distribute the Mackinac Island Fudge Ice Cream to people on the front lines.

What we're hearing: Plenty of weird stuff, mostly about one of the last guys I thought we'd hear from at this juncture. We'll start with the not weird: Ryan Hayes has his fake 40 down below 5 seconds and is going to be brilliant, via Sam Webb and [checks notes] Bears OL coach Juan Castillo:

The Hayes/Barnhart duo is superior athletically to Runyan/Bredeson right now. You’re talking about two multi-sport guys that can really move. I don’t know if either Runyan or Bredeson could dunk a basketball. Hayes and Barnhart can. That’s not a knock… I’m just highlighting the athletic upgrade.