Yeah I would take a Speight comparison as saying he has limitations but he can top out at a B+/A- college QB which is all this brand of Michigan really needs. I'd happily take another Speight

There was nothing "magical" about it...dude was a HOSS and blitzers would literally bounce off of him.  

JJ not throwing the deep ball was a schematic decision. There's plenty of teams that refuse to throw it now because its almost always a wasted down.

If you have a QB that can complete underneath passes at an incredible rate with an elite running games its almost as if you could have one of the most efficient offense in college football.

Let's not forget Michigan tackles pass pro was as bad as it gets. 73 vs Washington got beat immediately on almost every pass play.

Yeah, the Speight hate I never quite got.  He was basically a plus version of Cade McNamara.  He's not a first-round talent but most college football teams would be happy with him.

WR is a massive blinking yellow light. The entire passing game is really when you account for how the team is built right now and how it generally operates. Run first, fine, but when that run game isn't bashing team's into the center of the earth things get hairy real quick from a straight drop back perspective.

There are issues at every level of the passing game to varying degrees, but it spans volume, scheme, talent, and execution.

Volume wise, they just don't throw the ball enough to attract the WR (and to a degree QB) talent that could elevate the passing game.

Scheme wise they have issues getting guys open consistently. There are stretches where they can run Morgan on a deep post that's open for a TD against Bama or run Wilson on some motion to get him a quick 6 yard out. But you also have to look at the Washington game where guys were blanketed on a 3rd down (I think) where every WR was completely covered and every guy basically ran a 6 yard route (curl, pivot, and out). Maryland in 2022 running basically 4 verts into Cover 8 like 3 times giving JJ nothing to throw to. Guys got pressed off the field entirely or zones would cause confusion.

Talent again, not great, however Wilson and CJ tore up the Senior Bowl to a degree so it's odd that they could get completely wiped out of a game rather often. They also don't really develop talent all that well. Wilson got better over the years but CJ didn't. Clemons had the physical tools but never turned into anything. Anthony we all remember. Bell probably hit his ceiling given his size and physical traits, but still. They also kind of struggled with pass pro from time to time. Barnhart was a turnstile against good DEs. Henderson struggled this year for stretches as well. Before him they had Jones who just had mental lapses in '22 before his injury. Hayes was pretty good, but not great.

Execution sprinkles in across all of this. CJ puts a DB in a blender and JJ rips it 4 feet over his head. Guys end up 3 yards apart from one another or right in the passing lane (the 3rd down before the Corum conversion against Bama). Just weird stuff that doesn't look right.

Also, does anyone remember the last time they ran a straight go route? Like a Nico Collins, fuck you I'm going to catch this ball, 50/50 ball? think it was Edwards this year in the OOC schedule, but other than that I remember Baldwin against Wisconsin in '21? Maybe 1 or 2 after that. This kind of plays into the volume and scheme thing, but they haven't figured out how to use Edwards consistently in 3 years (injuries played a part in that) and while Loveland is really good, they also just don't spam the "throw him the ball button" when he gets LBs who can't keep up with him.

"Also, if Morris is WR2, who is WR1 and why?

If anyone is WR1, it has to Loveland just based on film. "

This is literally what they say and it is typed in the recap. 

They are saying he's the #2 guy in the passing game not the #2 guy at the position

I believe it said Morris as WR2 behind Loveland/Edwards - which by default makes him WR1.

But calling him that connotes expectations, so they cleverly call him WR2*

What about Porshe?

I think there’s optimism, in large part, because there’s been no visual confirmation that it’s a bad idea. Until proven otherwise, we’d like to believe that he has progressed into a viable Big Ten QB. And Campbell’s most recent comments about his footwork and mechanics were exactly the things an Orji-truther would want to hear.

Yeah, the simplest explanation for why Orji never passes is probably because they don't trust him too.

An offense consisting of only short throws and power runs 

This was closer than I like to our offense this year, but we did ok. 

Michigan will not have an NFL-passing game next year.  They have to replace the OL, QB, both WR, Corum, and TE2.

Michigan does return Brederson, Edwards, Mullings, and Hall, and adds Cabana and Marshal.

Given that, there's no way Michigan is going to install any sort of pass-first offense until they're absolutely sure they can't win with the running game and a passing offense as constraint (QBOhNoes, screens, RB flares, RPO's, TE leaks and so forth).

One of the things I’ve been thinking about is whether Wink will stick with the heavy rotation on D that Minter did last year. I think that helped keep the D fresh late in the year and helped develop additional contributors.