Spring Items: Offense
[Bryan Fuller]
Hello. Here are some spring practice items. Please read responsibly: these are impressions from a couple of practices, not even a whole spring session. The latter is notoriously unreliable; the former is even more so. Even if everything in here is the gospel truth the rest of spring and fall camp will change the picture considerably.
BTW: more rumblings at Touch The Banner.
Quarterback
Not a lot of intrigue: Wilton Speight is an unchallenged #1. John O'Korn is still a nose ahead of Brandon Peters for second-team snaps. Peters is flashing talent but is still behind the veterans with his command of the offense. He will offer a little dual threat if and when he ascends to the starting job. Speight's been up and down early.
Running back
Similar situation here: Chris Evans is the guy. He's added a little muscle—up to 212 at the latest—and has full command of the offense. He knows why he's doing the things he's doing, and occasionally makes spooky jukes based on his anticipation of the situation. Breakout year is likely.
Because it's running back Michigan will rotate a bunch. Various reports note that Ty Isaac is looking good and Kareem Walker is coming on, which continues a theme from Michigan's bowl practices. Higdon has been limited with a minor injury.
Kingston Davis's decision to transfer was his alone—Michigan was already at 85 before his departure—and is likely because he was fifth on the depth chart with more guys arriving this fall and it was fullback or nothing for him. This should be a very deep and good platoon.
Wide receiver & tight end
One of the biggest questions entering spring: who is the #1 receiver? Early returns are very encouraging about Donovan Peoples-Jones. Top five receivers are immediate impact guys about 33% of the time, and Peoples-Jones looks to be in that group. It took him just a few practices to establish himself. He's also got a minor injury and hasn't been in pads for a few days but that hasn't stopped the rumbles.
Kekoa Crawford lacks DPJ's explosiveness—as do most humans—and looks about like he did when he got on the field this year: very good blocker, big target, good routes. Strong belief he can be a quality #2 receiver this year, and an okay #1 if necessary.
With Grant Perry still being held out, Eddie McDoom is getting a long look in the slot and "doing McDoom things," which I interpret to mean breaking tackles on end-arounds. A surprise name is Nate Schoenle, a redshirt freshman walk-on from Ann Arbor. Schoenle has good size—listed at 6'2" on the roster—for a slot and when he committed his coach thought he had a shot:
“Nate’s a late bloomer but his upside is pretty steep, so they’re getting a pretty good preferred walk-on candidate,” said Gabriel Richard coach Mike Girskis. “He’s got fantastic speed, decent size and he’s working really hard in the weight room. His potential is exceptionally high from what I can see; I think he’s going to start as a project and wind up a steal.”
Girskis has called Schoenle the best receiver Gabriel Richard has had, citing his 40-yard dash time of below 4.5 as proof of his ability to excel at the college level. He also said his high academic scores are evidence of his capabilities as a quick learner.
Those academic scores were enough to get him pre-admitted to Ross. He's making the most of his opportunity. Slot is a place where 'Bama's running out Oregon State and BGSU transfers, so Schoenle's in the right spot to make an impact as a walk-on. There's one report that's not sure who #29 is; a dollar says it's Schoenle.
Folks who have been intermittently available include Drake Harris and Moe Ways. Tarik Black has also sat out some; when he's in he's a tough cover with his size and physicality. He's a contested-ball guy at worst with some long speed upside.
At tight end (or maybe wide receiver), Zach Gentry has been making a ton of catches early with the second unit. Nate Eubanks is getting a significant amount of run, some problem with drops. With Asiasi gone, TJ Wheatley is getting first team reps—Bunting's been held out some. Wheatley looks like a terrific receiver but his blocking remains a work in progress.
Offensive line
Ruiz is key
As always, difficult for sideline observers to discern much about the most complicated spot on the field but one thing seems clear: Mason Cole is going to move back outside. Michigan is running Patrick Kugler, Cesar Ruiz, and redshirt freshman walk-on Andrew Vastardis at center, and while Cole has probably taken some reps there all the reports I have talk about him on the outside with various mentions of the other three guys at center.
Kugler is leading right now but the Ruiz hype is real. Like Mike Onwenu he's shed a significant amount of weight and is still stunningly large for an underclassman: he's at 320, down from 340, and people expect him to push his way into the starting lineup sooner or later.
Onwenu, meanwhile looks the part, "bullying" various folks lined across from him. You can mark his name down in pencil as a starter.
Right tackle is currently Juwann Bushell-Beatty, with Bredeson sticking inside at guard. I assume they'll look at Bredeson on the outside if they think Ruiz and Kugler can play together; this is not based on any practice reports but rather your author's charting of last year's OL.
OL numbers are currently very low with a couple of guys not in pads, with a significant number of walk-ons on the second unit. Michigan of course tried to recruit a bazillion OL last year, and until the rest of the folks arrive in fall it's going to be patchwork.
I don't think those people were acting like they knew something with Peters. I think they were just frustrated with Speight down the stretch and it made them feel better by saying dumb things like "Peters will start next year, book it."
Typical fans being fans thinking the unknown is better than the known when the known isn't playing well. Toss in STARZ and/or HS hype and you get those types of comments.
It's Peters now, but it was once every RB behind De'Veon...or behind V. Smith...or behind Fitz. Anytime a walk-on starts not named Glagow we look at the highly touted recruit behind him to pass him.
#FansBeingFans
besides, Mason Cole came back for his senior year to play slot receiver, not center or tackle. You can bet on that.
I do feel bad for Cole. He's not a NFL tackle, so this year will most likely hurt his development and stock.
But how is he an NFL center? He had a rough time handling the bigger NTs we faced last year, and that's all he would get in the NFL.
I'm not a guy that's going to search the archives big11, but I'm glad you've come around on this. We had a few gentle debates around signing day where I maintained necessity would put Cole back at LT, and I expressed that in my non recruiting-expert opinion Ruiz would be starting at C sooner than later. You, I'm sure you recall, were adamant Cole stays at C.
If Kugler acutally beats Ruiz out that is a great thing. Ruiz could play LG, moving Bredeson out to RT. Our best options as things exist in 2017. Things WILL get better though!
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/raback-it-harbaugh-will-not-be-coming-here
...don't think that will be topped with anyone predicting/assuming/etc. Cole was coming back to play center (which could've actually been true at the time).
Hate to say it 96, but you lost your fastball during that long hiatus - and your secondary pitches are leaking oil too!
Tease.
Other than suggesting other RBs are doing well, I don't see how this conflicts much with the OP. The line taking a step back isn't something that was evaluated in the OP, and is a splash of cold water, but isn't unexpected given the roster situation after last year.
Alas, the line wasn't great last year, either.
It's all the same info at this point. Which is not a compliant, because it suggests that either everyone is stealing the same info or there is a consensus. In this case, we know it's a consensus because of the sources. I really don't think Steve, Isaiah, Sam, umbig11, Magnus, Brian, MM14, and most importantly - the coaches (mainly Brown and Mattison), are all colluding against MGoBlog. Would be funny though.
We know Speight is the starter. We know Evans is the starter w/ guys pushing him and carving out their own roles. We know the EE freshman WRs are going to play. We know Cole started the spring getting snaps at C and has since moved to LT. We know Bredeson and Onwenu are for sure starters.
On defense we know the starting DL and we know Hurst/Gary is going to be an unreal combo. Literally everyone has said we're more athletic at LB, which is silly because...duh. You swap Bolden for Bush even LAST year and that statement is true. Bolden could defend the run like a champ, but he was stiff as a board. Meanwhile Bush was playing spot LB and special teams llike a human wrecking ball.
We know Hudson is the Viper. We know the staring CBs for now and we know the EE true freshman can play. We know Kinnel will be the new boring S in honor of Jarrod Wilson while Metellus currently has the other S spot in more of a Ernest Shazor fashion.
Bonus: We know Dwumfour is dinged, but practicing and the kid can play (as in, he's solid and will be a solid option as a backup NG/DT)
Unanswered questions (to my knowledge)
- Panda still hammerin'?
- Can McDoom catch or is he still a gadget play kind of guy?
- Are we really running more spread concepts like the 10,000 freshman WRs were told?
- A lot of names...but who are the backup DEs at the moment?
- Does it look like we'll play with a SAM more snaps than last year (instead of Viper) or is Furbush still the starter for a position that doesn't get nearly as many snaps?
- What is the real deal with Brandon Watson?
- Can Metellus actually cover or is he just a human missle right now?
Great info...and the comment on Metellus is the biggest "nugget." We have to have two safeties who can cover.
I remember reading a post on here when Don Brown was hired, I believe by Brian, where it said Don Brown's safeties are more like CBs than LBs.
With all of the spread teams we play, we have to have guys who can cover. Delano Hill is a guy who was underrated as well in this area. He wasn't great in coverage, but he wasn't this stiff, slow, run-stop only safety either.
We know Metellus can hit...Rutgers knows too. I'm very interested to see how he covers.
I am mildly surprised that Ron Johnson wasn't mentioned at DE. However, I won't read too much into that. He could already be contributor due to the fact that he made significant strides during the bowl practices last year. I guess it depends on how you interpret the question from the reporter. Many have stated he has played some inside too.
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2017/04/carlo_kemp_donovan_je…
You answered exactly what I meant on spread. Does no Butt and iffy blockers + 10,000 freshman WRs = more 3 or 4 or 5 WR sets?
I figure we're going to be 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB a ton this year...sometimes we'll pull that TE for a FB or another WR.
Which makes me wonder...I wonder if Hill is a better blocking TE than Wheatley and Gentry and if he'll play both FB and TE this year. Love his versatility.
We're replacing Gedeon (the freak) and Peppers. Saying the LBs are more athletic than last year does mean something, even if you don't count Peppers as a LB,
That's embarrassing.
Yes, Gedeon.
And how does it mean something? You're swapping GEDEON for Bush. That's a given.
That's like Speight graduating and Peters coming in as the starter and everyone going "the QB position got more athletic!" Well, no shit.
It's a 1 for 1 swap...and then you're talking about all these RS freshman getting backup snaps in practice as well. I guess I'm just saying it's a given, it's not an observation or inside info.
Guarantee we got more athletic at SDE with Gary rather than Wormley. RB got more speed with Evans over Smith. None of this is news any more than saying we got younger at CB.
You are absolutely right. Many seem to forget that the Iowa and OSU games would have been victories if we could have achieved 1 more first down in each game. O-line has to be able to deliver 10 yds in those situations - even when everyone knows we are running.
Its been said both here and on TTB by umbig11 that the rumors about the DL leaving arent rumors.
Shelton's gone.
It sounds like Michigan is going all-in on a different center this spring. This sounds to me like a calculated gamble--if one of Kugler or Ruiz can play C without killing everybody, an experienced Cole at LT will be a serious asset and we have a fighting chance to have four solid OL slots filled with only the RT position asking real questions. IF Onwenu is as good as we are hoping he is, and IF Bredeson congeals as a solid G for his second year, and IF one of the centers is able to play adequately, you've got Cole as a very good college LT and 4/5 of a line that is decent.
And then you just need to see what happens at RT.
OL is still the biggest question, but I'm moderately encouraged here. Hearing Onwenu and Bredeson are both solid at G is encouraging; hearing Cole is basically repping at LT now is very encouraging.
This means, of course, that if Cole starts taking serious snaps at C again we can panic.
I think our catching TE options look really good. Gentry is, per his combine numbers, tremendously athletic. I'm a bit concerned that the blocking isn't coming together there.
The upgrade in athleticism in the last two recruiting classes is readily apparent just in the statement that Crawford, a 4.5 outside receiver, is consider the one that "isn't that explosive."
Only makse sense to move Cole to tackle. We have 3 passable centers, we have at most 2 passable tackles, we only need 1 center, we need 2 tackles.
Ugh..QB is going to have to win games this year for Michigan... Can't be a game manager IMO... I don't see Speight as that type of QB
the concept that a football player from FGRHS could not just make but make an impact on a quality Michigan team takes some getting used to. The best player of my time there went all-state but could only get looks from D3 schools.
We are stuck with 22-year-old WS because of the other coaching theory of losing 3OL starters, 4 skilled position starters and you want to have the QB experienced. Looking at 4 losses
Look, I'm not a huge fan of what Speight did last year either and I've been fully on the Peters bandwagon, but if Harbaugh thinks Speight is the best guy for the job then so be it. He's forgotten more about football than anyone here will ever know.
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