All B1G Teams - Offense
The all B1G offensive awards were released today, as voted on by the coaches. There are no UM players on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd teams. I’m still letting that sink in.
https://bigten.org/documents/2020/12/15//2020_Big_Ten_Football_Awards_Tuesday.pdf?id=6872
December 15th, 2020 at 8:28 PM ^
Fire Bakich!
December 15th, 2020 at 8:29 PM ^
Newsflash: Michigan wasn't very good
I doubt we will have any defensive players either. Maybe Paye but he was out for a significant chunk of time too.
December 15th, 2020 at 8:30 PM ^
And some people want Harbaugh back...?♂️
December 15th, 2020 at 8:35 PM ^
I would recommend changing your screen name if you hold that position lol.
I agree with you by the way- just pointing it out haha.
December 15th, 2020 at 8:37 PM ^
I don’t know that this has ever happened before? Not one player? But by all means, let’s bring the head coach and offensive coordinator back. Between not having a single player on offense make the first second or third team, a large portion of the fanbase complaining about how difficult our schedule has been and how brutal it is to have been scheduled to play Iowa, this HAS to be rock bottom. Please let this be rock bottom.
December 15th, 2020 at 8:48 PM ^
Objective proof of horrible player development.
December 15th, 2020 at 9:27 PM ^
"horrible" player development would imply some, probably less than adequate or sufficient to perform the tasks at hand, level of player development vs. what we had this year was NO FUCKING PLAYER DEVELOPMENT!!!
December 15th, 2020 at 9:28 PM ^
Is it proof, or is it just evidence?
I have evidence of good player development: Michigan had more players drafted in 2020 than any team except national champion LSU, including 4 offensive linemen and 1 wide receiver.
December 15th, 2020 at 9:45 PM ^
You're generally very well informed from every thing I've read, I'd be curious on your opinion of high vs low draft picks, and their significance to a program? Does a high volume of late round draft picks equate to coaching success, or is it more that those players are drafted on athletic potential (like a DPJ)? Do recruits just look at total number of players drafted, or does their number in the draft play a part as well?
December 15th, 2020 at 10:20 PM ^
Half of all UM players taken in the draft were flyers taken in the 5th round. WI, IA and PSU had the same number of players taken in rounds 1-4, with OSU far ahead in that metric. I don’t see that being an insurmountable barrier to having 1 player good enough to crack the top 3 rounds of offensive players this year.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sportingnews.com/us/amp/nfl/news/nfl-draft-picks-college-2020-lsu-alabama-ohio-state/1iycgnobmpgni19tzye7kh35kt
December 16th, 2020 at 12:52 PM ^
That is only evidence if you can show that those numbers exceed average.
53% of 5 star players are drafted.
20% of 4 star players.
6% of 3 star players.
Based on that metric - the last draft was an over performance.
They underperformed on 5 stars, but overperformed on 3/4 stars.
December 16th, 2020 at 5:19 AM ^
Well let's see, we played 6 games, and if I'm correct only 1 player on offense started every game (Bell). The other players, QB, LT, RT, LG, RG, C, TE, RB, and the other receivers all missed at least a game with injury, except RB where each back started at least 1 game, except Evan's. Is it really that surprising or even a big deal? There is a ton to bitch about, but this isn't one of them.
December 16th, 2020 at 6:30 AM ^
Yeah between youth/inexperience, injuries, and the fact that somewhere around 25 different players had a start on our offense, that’s going to cause some offensive issues that will keep players out of conference accolade territory.
December 15th, 2020 at 8:35 PM ^
Speed in Space!
December 15th, 2020 at 9:51 PM ^
Lost in Space
December 15th, 2020 at 8:41 PM ^
Hassan Haskins and Andrew Steuber were honorable mentions, and the only Wolverines present as All Big Ten honorees (offense).
December 15th, 2020 at 8:47 PM ^
Haskins was criminally mis/underused. That kid is a really good back.
Fire (young) Harbaugh, too.
December 15th, 2020 at 8:50 PM ^
While I agree that Haskins did not get enough carries this season, is that really on Jay H? I would think that the play caller is the one designating personnel packages for a formation or an offensive series. So if anything, that’s on Gattis and/or Jim H.
Jay H probably earns his extension in large part due to the emergence and development of HH into a really reliable 1A/1B back.
December 15th, 2020 at 8:58 PM ^
Thank you. I really wish someone with some higher level playing experience would weigh in here about whether a rb coach directly dictates the rb rotation. It doesn’t seem like they would to me, but I don’t really know for sure.
December 15th, 2020 at 9:34 PM ^
I can tell you unequivocally that the running backs coach does not decide who gets playing time. There ARE times when a position coach has to put someone in during an emergency (guy gets sent out for losing his helmet for 1 play, guy rolls an ankle during a 2-minute drill, etc.) without clearing it with the play caller/OC.
But aside from that kind of one-off situation, the guy in the game is the guy that the head coach and/or coordinator has decided to play that week or in that situation.
I have seen coaches get their asses chewed out on the sideline for making substitutions on their own or making decisions without clearing it with the coordinator beforehand. One time I thought a coach was going to get fired in the middle of the game for something like that.
December 15th, 2020 at 11:32 PM ^
Very informative. Does that change in the NFL?
December 16th, 2020 at 8:13 AM ^
This makes sense... By watching Michigan play offense, I've noticed that the backs in a play are always in for that type of play. So it appears that the backs are somewhat situational depending on the play call itself. If that's true, there is no way in hell Jay has anything to do with the RB rotation. Because if he did, he's calling the plays. And there is no way in hell that the RB position coach - always one of the junior assistants on the field - is calling plays.
First impressions die hard, and some people can never get past them.
December 16th, 2020 at 5:24 AM ^
Some posters have a narrative they just have to push. Our deepest position group where he has recruited all of them, except Evan's, and the highest rated RB out of the state in 20 years.
December 15th, 2020 at 9:24 PM ^
I'm not letting that sink in...
December 16th, 2020 at 1:11 AM ^
Should've knocked first.
December 15th, 2020 at 8:45 PM ^
Realistically, who did we expect to be on this list?
I had Jalen Mayfield being an all-conference guy, and he got hurt in game two. Nico Collins would have been on this list, but he opted out.
The rest of the OL were first-year starters, and the young wide receivers were getting the ball thrown to them by last year's third-stringer.
I understand that Michigan should have SOMEONE on this list, but at the same time...when your best two players opt out/get injured, how much juice do you have left to get somebody on this list?
(I can really only think of a couple guys who should have been considered if used properly: Ronnie Bell and Hassan Haskins. And both of those guys are 3-stars from Missouri without much recruiting hype, without top-notch speed, etc.)
December 15th, 2020 at 8:51 PM ^
I think it’s more the statement made by no one being on this list. Out of the 1st-3rd teams, UM should have someone on the team regardless of who opts out. It’s not that someone on the team was slighted or shafted, it’s simply a damning statement about the reality of where we are.
December 15th, 2020 at 8:52 PM ^
I would expect in year 6 Michigan would have a stockpile of players that even with players opting out you would see 2-3 Wolverines somewhere on 1st-3rd All Big 10 teams.
December 15th, 2020 at 9:02 PM ^
That seems like a reasonable realistic expectation, regardless of extenuating circumstances.
December 15th, 2020 at 9:25 PM ^
I have a theory about "All-Big Ten" selections that essentially parallels the concept of Lifetime Achievement Awards. I think there are a lot of guys who get voted in just because they're long-time contributors/starters.
I think it's worth noting that all of Michigan's players on the 2019 list were multi-year starters at the time: Bredeson, Runyan, Ruiz, Onwenu, Patterson. If you go back to 2018, they were also mostly known commodities at the time: Patterson (started at Ole Miss), Ruiz (started some in 2017), Bredeson (started some going all the way back to 2016), Higdon (multi-year starter), Runyan (started one game in 2017, dad was a star, etc.).
This 2020 team was full of unknown and unproven players, so guys like Vastardis, Barnhart, Stueber, Filiaga, Milton, All, etc. didn't have much of a chance. Hayes and Mayfield had a chance because they played before, but they both got hurt. Eubanks maybe had a chance, but he was hurt to start the year.
Skill position guys can burst into the discussion a little easier because of their obvious stats (receiving yards, rushing yards, passing yards, touchdowns, etc.), but in general, I think this year was largely doomed. Michigan was cursed this year by injuries, schedule, opt-outs, COVID, etc. I'm not saying Harbaugh/Gattis deserve no blame, because there might have been opportunity for guys like Haskins, Bell, etc. to make the list.
But if we're being totally honest, Michigan was playing football with one hand tied behind its back by youth, injury, and COVID. It's tough to have a high-powered passing or running offense when literally every OL position changed throughout the season...after losing 4 guys to the NFL:
LT: Hayes > Barnhart
LG: Filiaga > Keegan
C: Vastardis > Carpenter
RG: Stueber > Zinter > Filiaga
RT: Mayfield > Stueber
December 15th, 2020 at 9:50 PM ^
Every team dealt with Covid and injuries, graduation, and players declaring for the NFL. Without googling, I’m fairly sure that 2 of the 4 offensive linemen OSU has on the 1st-3rd teams were true sophomores. All B1G teams played with a hand tied behind their back. Some rose to the occasion and dealt with adversity, others went to OT vs Rutgers. We are the bottom of the barrel in the East, that is objectively true and can’t be explained away.
December 16th, 2020 at 7:28 AM ^
Michigan was bottom 5 in returning experience nationally. On top of that we played 10 different offensive linemen. Lost both DEs, a starting linebacker, and a starting safety to injuries.
You’d be REALLY hard pressed to find another team that was as affected by all of this as Michigan was. It’s no excuse for the poor effort, preparation and flat out poor play, but we can still acknowledge that Michigan faced more of an uphill battle than pretty much every team
December 15th, 2020 at 9:30 PM ^
I would expect, like back in the old days, we would maybe have 1, or maybe even 2 if we were lucky, on the FUCKING NATIONAL All American Team. Let that sink in also.
December 15th, 2020 at 9:37 PM ^
No chance. The only returning starters this year were two redshirt sophomore tackles - both of whom got hurt - and a 3-star receiver.
Not sure if this is true, but I saw somewhere that Michigan was #127 out of 130 teams in returning experience for 2020.
I think a lot of people really underestimate what Michigan lost to the NFL and to graduation (and COVID).
December 15th, 2020 at 10:00 PM ^
People didn’t underestimate it, they chose to ignore all context because they don’t want Harbaugh’s to coach here any longer
December 15th, 2020 at 10:08 PM ^
Magnus layin down the FACTS in this thread.
December 15th, 2020 at 10:54 PM ^
I think many would agree there were legitimate questions on offense coming into the season. What most of us saw this year was talent, scheme, and execution at the level of Illinois and Rutgers. I don’t think that is an exaggeration given how the Rutgers game went.
The question is, even in a worst case scenario, should Michigan ever be in that situation in year six of a head coaches tenure? Throughout the Bo, Mo, and Lloyd years, I can’t recall any of those teams that looked this poor for even one game much less five in a row. That can not be ignored on account of by bad luck.
December 16th, 2020 at 1:18 AM ^
I agree with this having watched just about every Mo and Lloyd coached game. The team might have looked like ass for a game, MAYBE two, but then it would pull together. Games were rarely if ever "unwatchable". Messes were cleaned up in a hurry. OSU matchups were a true rivalry based on a coin flip, with Michigan winning a majority of them. The JH regime started out fine for a few years but then mysteriously fell into a dark abyss with bewildering transfers, roster holes, QB issues, inexplicable losses to crappy teams, lack of road wins to ranked teams, and on and on. It seems unlikely to me they will be able to pull the program out of that abyss.
And I am not trying to glorify the past and I do not have selective memory. I remember the bad losses to Florida St, Washington, Tennessee, Oregon, Syracuse, USC, Iowa. But those bad memories are few and far between over the course of 16 years. The bad losses in the JH regime are piling up and its only been 6 years.
December 16th, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
That is partially due to the team keeping starters in, even when winning by a reasonable amount, over the last few years. It's too a large extent a self created problem.
December 16th, 2020 at 5:28 AM ^
We don't reload guys. It takes a staff a long time to get to that level. Hell only a handful of teams do that. Bama, OSU, Clemson, and maybe Oklahoma. Its obvious LSU doesn't, Florida doesn't, and no other team in the B1G does. We aren't even close to that.
December 15th, 2020 at 8:48 PM ^
We have one of, if not, the best RB in the B1G but we like to not give him the ball. But we do like to waste 2nd and goal plays with him in order for him to throw a pass on 3rd and goal
December 15th, 2020 at 9:53 PM ^
Shocked the greatest tight end to ever play at Michigan didn't get the award.
December 15th, 2020 at 10:00 PM ^
.. and here we are Harbaugh year 6... but well deserving of an extension!!
December 15th, 2020 at 10:29 PM ^
It's an honor just being nominated.
December 15th, 2020 at 10:48 PM ^
Whatever. This season will forever have an asterisk on it as a glorified scrimmage season.
December 15th, 2020 at 10:52 PM ^
We were 5th in the big 10 in scoring, so you’d think the offense would get a little recognition, but when you look at the individual players, the numbers just aren’t there. Haskins, criminally underutilized as he was, finished 9th in rushing yards per game. Bell was 10th in receiving yards per game. There was no consistency on the line and the QBs underwhelmed (or didn’t start for some odd reason.) It is what it is.
December 15th, 2020 at 11:04 PM ^
Sadly but our only All-Big players are likely Paye and Hill. Too many injuries to candidates like Mayfield, Vastardis, Ryan, Hutch, McGrone and Hawkins. That was a lot of talent out due to injury.
Plus opt-out candidates Collins, Thomas, and McCaffery as all potential All-B1G. Yikes
Edit - the loss of that amount of talent torpedoed our season. Next man up is a cool concept but those losses were devastating.
December 16th, 2020 at 12:38 AM ^
Well if by ‘Offensive’ the Big Ten means noxiously insulting, then surely our entire offensive line must be in the running for first team honors. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure we will have a lot of picks on the All-Futility First Team.
December 16th, 2020 at 7:18 AM ^
Would’ve thought we’d have more. Especially after dropping 11 on Wisconsin.