Big Ten Network Preseason Practice Tour
Apparently they were in Ann Arbor yesterday. Lots of fluff but had good things to say about the offensive line, the inside linebackers, coaching and the defense in general.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:47 PM ^
They're talking about D Linemen looking better with Mike Macdonald, but they didn't bring up Ryan Osborn. FootballScoop had reported Ryan Osborn was heading to Georgia, to coach there. But then Michigan got him! Macdonald/Osborn, a very, very nice composite!!
August 14th, 2021 at 3:18 PM ^
I think the point was that they were looking better under Macdonald’s new system. Since Macdonald is the defensive coordinator and Shaun Nua is the defensive line coach, it would seem strange for them to mention, Osborn, a mere analyst, who has never coached above division 1-AA.
August 14th, 2021 at 4:22 PM ^
He's coaching EDGE players, which include DEs Hutchison and Upshaw. Nua is only coaching interior D Line.
“The reality is Nua is more like a D-tackles coach right now,” Upshaw said. “Coach Osborn is really our main guy.
August 14th, 2021 at 4:33 PM ^
On Ryan Osborn having coached a position in the spring
“There was a — we’ve addressed that. Things that — early spring, I was coaching the quarterbacks. It was my job to be on that and make sure a guy’s not overcoaching his position. Ryan Osborn’s an analyst, he’s gotta do analyst duties. A correction has been made and we’re all on top of it. Myself included. Once we became aware of that, put a stop to it.
“It’s not Ryan’s fault, he’s a coach. He wants to coach, he wants to talk. It’s my job — and now they know. Now they know what the assignments are. And that happened very early in spring ball when we became aware of it.”
August 14th, 2021 at 7:09 PM ^
This came out yesterday. I wasn't aware of it.
August 14th, 2021 at 9:26 PM ^
The rule about analysts coaching on the field has been a rule for years though. It was pretty well known when the article came out about him coaching the edge guys, that it was against the rules and wouldn’t continue happening or we would be in serious trouble moving forward.
August 14th, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
Did Gerry DiNardo say that the O-line looked just like Alabama?
August 14th, 2021 at 12:45 PM ^
They mentioned numerous times that the players didn’t have pads on so it was hard to get a feel for lineman with no pads. But I believe it was him who said he thinks the interior of the offensive line will be very good.
August 14th, 2021 at 6:03 PM ^
IMO - Michigan has Big Ten elite talent: OL, DL, LB, RB, WR, S
Only question marks seem to be: QB, DB, TE, and coaching.
It's also difficult trying to be Bama and Harvard.
Cheers
August 14th, 2021 at 6:54 PM ^
OL, RB and safety I would have expected. WR is not a shock, but DL and LB are interesting.
On DL - certainly Hutchinson is elite. Does it go deeper than that?
LB is the biggest surprise. Who would you say rises to the level of elite?
On the remaining position groups:
QB - elite talent on the O-Line and at WR and RB can help make an average qb look much better.
On CB - at least they have a coach who doesn’t seem like a huge question mark.
On TE - would it be the end of the world if we ran more 4 WR or two back sets and minimized the use of TEs?
August 16th, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
The question mark around the TE position is also interesting due to the level of hype that All has been garnering so far. Wonder if that reflects more on the hype bein oversold, or if the hype on All is legit but there's not much depth behind him.
August 15th, 2021 at 11:14 AM ^
Are QB, DB, and TE important positions? Kidding, of course. I think D. J. Turner is going to have a good year. I know DJ Turner's family, and that kid is competitive as hell and a great athlete, despite being a bit undersized. Prediction: he will be an all-Big 10 caliber db this year. Book it.
August 14th, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
Joshua Perry, who played at OSU, seemed very impressed with the linebackers and mentioned this new scheme seems to fit them better. He also said he likes the build of the interior lineman and the size they have now. He also clearly thinks Aidan is a dude. Aidan could be an all-American this year.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:08 PM ^
I hope the OL plays well and our RB do a better job. The running game needs to improve if we are going to have a half decent season.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:32 PM ^
Haskins did close the season with two one hundred yard games despite the fact that we had lost our two starting tackles and were playing a true freshman at guard and those two games coincided with the first two games for a new starter at center.
I don’t think running back is the position I would be worried about.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:53 PM ^
The RBs need more speed than Haskins has. Corum has it. I'm hoping he pans out as well as I think he can. Which means he will likely get more carries, and more yards, than Haskins this season. The great thing about Haskins is he is fearless into the hole.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:51 PM ^
We need to score more points, continually fretting about "establishing the run" detracts from that goal.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:55 PM ^
Disagree. Good offenses can run the ball well. It's really hard to throw well when the D knows you can't run it. 5-7 yards on 1st or 2nd down run is massive, and if the D knows you're able to do that regularly, the way they defend the pass is vastly different.
August 14th, 2021 at 7:24 PM ^
Everything you said applies in the opposite direction as well, that's why scoring should be the goal. Rewatch Alabama eviscerate Ohio and tell me if they care about getting 5-7 yards on 1st or 2nd down.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:52 PM ^
We had a lot of OL injuries last year, and with the poor QB play, especially at the beginning, that definitely contributed to the crummy run game. We return our main RB pieces, add Donovan Edwards, return our receiver talent and have a QB with consistency. If the OL stays healthy this time, our offense could actually take a pretty massive step forward from last year.
August 14th, 2021 at 3:57 PM ^
The team had issues but the running game is pretty far down the list. The problem was we were too far behind or in bad down and distance too often to run the ball.
Haskins averaged 6 yards a carry and the team averaged 4.6 yards per carry. Can't ask for a lot better than that. Given the OL injuries and QB issues last year, it's amazing they did that well.
This year with what looks like a very good OL and 2-3 very good RBs, the running game should be the strength of the offense. I'm a big fan of Corum and Edwards plus Haskins just gets yards when you give him the ball. Haskins runs over people and sets up his blocks so well..
August 16th, 2021 at 12:40 PM ^
A good running game is very effective. An excellent running game is soul-crushing on a defense. It has always been thus.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:15 PM ^
Who the hell is this Jim Harbaugh?
This guy seems kind of normal, energized, and excited. Where'd the other guy from the last few years go?
August 14th, 2021 at 2:37 PM ^
Hopefully he got sent to Neptune.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:30 PM ^
Okay, I drank the Kool Aid. Now let's see all the work that has been put forward. Go Blue !
August 14th, 2021 at 1:35 PM ^
I have definitely drank the cool aid. Very excited to see this team on the field.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:42 PM ^
I hate hearing “we’re getting better each and every day.” Nauseating. You said that last year while getting worse. Also is Harbaugh auditioning for a new Revenge of the Nerds movie?
August 14th, 2021 at 2:05 PM ^
Were they getting worse or playing better competition? Were they getting worse or was there more injuries? It can be true that they were continuously getting better but playing tougher competition. And they had a lot of injuries. It can happen that they got better every week but still lost games.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
Do you want them to be negative?
Id rather they have a positive outlook and focus on improving then be as negative as the posters on this board.
Its fine to take what they say with a grain of salt but it's unnecessary to shit on them for being positive
August 14th, 2021 at 4:11 PM ^
Regurgitating coach speak when asked about expectations isn't being positive. He should know what the expectations are and he should be able to clearly state them.
I thought when he elaborated and said the process would lead to success that was better but it just seems so hard to get him to answer a normal question. They're trying to win the Big 10, just say it and own it. Being coy about it doesn't give any advantage to UM.
August 14th, 2021 at 8:27 PM ^
But that's as much a non-answer as the one he gave. "Our goal is to win the Big Ten." No shit. Would that have made you that much happier?
August 14th, 2021 at 9:33 PM ^
Agreed. This guy lectures us about the use of coach speak by deploying other hackneyed football cliches. Yawn.
August 15th, 2021 at 1:10 AM ^
But, that isn't a non answer if it is the answer antd is just one example of a possible expectation.
Yes, it would make me feel a little better considering he had to revamp his whole program including the recruiting operation which was rumored to be disorganized and not on the same page for multiple years. That starts at the top with clear communication.
And this is probably a stupid hill to die on, I just kind of got hopeful at the beginning of the interview when he said Cade was the starter. I don't think he would have done that in years past. So, I got the feel that maybe he was just going to tell it how it is and not be as evasive on easy questions and be more Jimmy M'Fing Harbaugh again.
August 14th, 2021 at 9:59 PM ^
So you'd be happy if he had said something like "Our defense was terrible last year and we just played poorly generally. I'm hoping we can manage to get 5 to 7 wins this year." That would really help the team.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:04 PM ^
Jim looks great slimmed down, but his interviews are still a meandering mess.
But I do think he's right bout how having the experience of Hutch, Ross, and Hawkins anchor each group will help the defense as they learn Macdonald's scheme.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:13 PM ^
I get the impression Josh Gattis isn't ready to be running anything. I'm watching all the interviews in the video, and feeling good about things. Then he comes on, and all the good feeling get flattened. And I get apprehensive about the season.
I was watching some Steve Clinkscale videos 2 days ago. He is the polar opposite. Leadership, smarts, and success pervade him. I'm going to make a post about him.
August 14th, 2021 at 3:04 PM ^
While the coaching changes on the defensive side were bigger, it seems pretty clear that the coaching changes on the offensive side reflect a recognition that Gattis needs more help. First, in title he has been demoted to co-offensive coordinator with Moore. Second, most interviews indicate that Matt Weiss is going to have a bigger role than qb coach and is likely to be integral to game planning.
On the defensive side, I think Clinkscale is going to really help Macdonald as he learns to be a defensive coordinator. He actually served as a DC and Is probably serving as more of a co-coordinator, even though he doesn’t have that title, yet.
Looking forward to your post.
August 14th, 2021 at 3:05 PM ^
Plus one for you. Gattis is not the answer to any of the offensive problems.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:28 PM ^
I had watched the other videos but not the interview with Harbaugh. I think the best part of it is when the talk about the pressure. Harbaugh says he feeds on that and it’s “life giving energy.” I have to agree he is usually at his best in these situations. Harbaugh when he is rebuilding something is a different kind of coach. I think we see more 2015 Harbaugh than we do 2019 Harbaugh.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:56 PM ^
He didn't get called Captain Comeback for nothing.
August 14th, 2021 at 8:13 PM ^
Wait…I thought that was Kim Kardashian’s nickname?
-Andy Dwyer, probably.
August 14th, 2021 at 2:33 PM ^
I understand that Howard Griffith is much slimmer than his playing days but look at Perry and him and think one was a fullback taking on linebackers. Things sure have changed.
August 14th, 2021 at 3:16 PM ^
I never watch these bits except for Michigan, do they ever go to, like, 2016 Rutgers and just say "man, this team is going to suck."
August 14th, 2021 at 3:19 PM ^
These are the same guys who said Michigan's practices rivaled Alabama's during the Hoke years, and that Hoke was "poised to win a national title"
So yeah, I don't watch it
August 15th, 2021 at 7:19 AM ^
Harbaugh is never going to be that "great communicator" But I like his willingness to adapt. It is easy to see his strategy to shore up present coaching staff, especially the O. And as far as the compliments, I'll take the feel good niceties from the BTN crew. Hey, some soothing words will work to get me through these next couple weeks. Anxious, nervous, Hopeful and analyzing anything for rays of sunshine. GO BLUE!
August 15th, 2021 at 6:54 PM ^
Answer the question Jim! "What will define success?"