BTN Reaction Articles
Michigan has just 10 scholarship seniors as Brady Hoke enters his fourth season in Ann Arbor. He hasn’t been able to replicate his 2011 debut, when he went 11-2 and won the Sugar Bowl. Needless to say, the Wolverines will be scrutinized this fall. The defense has a chance to be good from front to back. The key to success will be how the offense develops, especially up front. New coordinator Doug Nussmeier has arrived from Alabama. Don’t expect any new, radical schemes. Just look for a balanced attacked built around the ground game. This was a tough, physical practice in full pads. It also was a spirited session with lots of energy, even after the rain came and pushed things inside.
Here are my thoughts from practice. BEST OF MICHIGAN PRACTICE Most impressive player: DE Frank Clark. So quick, strong and explosive off the edge. Expect big things. Top specimen: DE Taco Charlton. No. 33 is a looming presence at 6-6, 275. If he ever puts it all together, he could be a force. Best drill: Fun to watch the o-line and d-line engage in pass block-pass rush drills. Man-on-man on an island. Loudest coach: Brady Hoke is pretty vocal. He has a raspy voice and barks at players with frequency. Impressive newcomer: True freshman OT Mason Cole stands out. He arrived early and went through spring drills. He is 6-5, 292 and will be heavier and stronger. He could be a very good one.
Top moment: Watching Brady Hoke roll up his sleeves and work with the d-linemen. On the rise: RB De’Veon Smith. A 5-11, 220-pound sophomore, Smith is a strong runner who has carved a niche for himself. He may be hard to unseat from the No. 1 spot. Nagging question: Is the o-line better? Under the radar: Dennis Norfleet. The diminutive Norfleet is one of—if not the—fastest wideouts on the team. He often gets overlooked amid hub-bub about Amara Darboh, Jehu Chesson, Freddy Canteen and Devin Funchess. MY POSITION-BY-POSITION OBSERVATIONS Jeremy Gallon will be missed, but the pass-catchers look good. Lots of competition.
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BTN Bus Tour #Wolverines Much like last year a team with more talent than most teams in the B1G recruiting rankings r accurate in most cases
— Gerry DiNardo (@gerrydinardo) August 11, 2014
The o-line has moving parts. Top line today. LT Cole (52); LG Magnuson; C Miller; RG Bosch; RT Dawson. pic.twitter.com/XBOHQfUPlz
— Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) August 11, 2014
August 11th, 2014 at 2:13 PM ^
IG Video
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August 11th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^
Who is that working with the OL? It doesn't look like Funk, kind of looks like Mark Smith actually (who is the DL coach).
August 11th, 2014 at 3:09 PM ^
Who is probably there helping with TEs blocking.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:22 PM ^
Good call, that makes more sense and it definitely looks like him.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:37 PM ^
He looks a ton like the first OL coach I worked with. Old, short, white, balding guy, who digs his feet in the ground heavy and hard, as if the whole sole of his shoe (boot) was being pushed through the ground. And when he'd watch he'd lean just like that, hunched back, his legs bowed, ready to correct something when the play finished.
Learned a lot from that old guy. Just seeing Ferrigno coach reminded me of him. Memories...
August 11th, 2014 at 2:14 PM ^
Trying hard not to be excited about this team.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:38 PM ^
Yeah, I'm cautiously optimistic this year because it's truly hard to find holes in the team on paper. OL is our big, and pretty much only, question mark but even there it's stacked with kids who came out of HS highly ranked/recruited. Every other position seems to be shockingly deep and full of exciting players.
August 11th, 2014 at 4:22 PM ^
And even if we take the OL as our glaring weakness, let's hope Nussmeier's playcalling and general approach mitigates that weakness -- something that Borges was either unwilling or unable to do.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^
Happy to hear more praise for Cole at LT. Gerry DiNardo had some comments about Cole loooking good today, too. Echoes what coaches have said.
Scared that Miller is listed at C. Watched him closely at the start of last season. Was not impressed.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:36 PM ^
Because a year makes no difference, right?
I saw Miller get owned by UConn's nose tackle a bunch, too, but it's a new season.
August 11th, 2014 at 4:01 PM ^
On the other hand, the jump from RS SO to RS JR is probably going to be less than the other guys are making from RS FR to RS SO, all things being equal. I'm not counting Miller out yet, but his timeline to show his potential is a bit shorter than the other guys.
August 11th, 2014 at 4:26 PM ^
A year can make a difference. But it tends not to be a quantum leap from red shirt SO to red shirt JR.
Also, there were plenty of opportunities on the OL merry-go-round last season. Miller worked his way out of the OL, not into it, as the last season progressed. He worked his way out of it for the reasons you and I have both mentioned (viz., getting owned by UConn's NG. That is never a good sign.).
I wish for Miller's best. More than that, I wish for the team's best. And when the guy who has always repped at C plays his way off of last year's OL, yet finds his way back on this year's, I worry about this year.
August 12th, 2014 at 1:00 AM ^
Wasn't the knock on him that he was a little too light for the position. It looks like he's up to 299 lbs. from 290 last year. That could be all the difference for him.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:17 PM ^
I know people are often skeptical of DiNardo, but he's usually pretty honest with his tweets and has a few things to say as far as standouts and suck.
Not sure why it's posted in full in the OP. Are we against going to btn.com now? Anyway, could probably serve as just links to their practice reports/tweets and a reminder about what time the show is on tonight.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:17 PM ^
You're right, I'll abbreviate it and add the tweets.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:27 PM ^
This team fires me up. I can't believe they are making Jabril actually go to class just like everyone else.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:30 PM ^
our scholar-athletes actually do attend class rather than "play school"
August 11th, 2014 at 3:48 PM ^
On the "/s"
August 11th, 2014 at 4:23 PM ^
I think the meter should go to 11.
August 11th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^
one louder wouldn't it?
August 11th, 2014 at 11:32 PM ^
Interesting, so that's what a full tank looks like?
August 11th, 2014 at 2:46 PM ^
i think you probably missed the "/s" there
August 11th, 2014 at 2:44 PM ^
Now Jabrill, he is another story but he is here to play ball and play school.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:02 PM ^
I know that's a joke but I actually feel like Jabrill's presence is going to create something of a distraction in the academic setting early in his freshman year. Many non-athlete classmates of his have been hearing his name/watching his highlight film for the past 2 years and just seeing him walking through the halls of Mason Hall will be a big deal for many of them. Michigan is definitely a school where star athletes are celebrities from day 1.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:45 PM ^
Jabril is at a pretty lofty level already. But it comes with the territory and he sure seems to have good level foundation to work with. Kind of reminds of Denards good nature.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:18 PM ^
Jesus, man. We're going to have a True Freshman LT, aren't we?
Excellent OP btw. Thx for posting the article.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:35 PM ^
Yes. And maybe that is not good. And maybe it is okay because Cole is the exception and not the rule. Only time will tell.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:20 PM ^
OMG DL is dominating OL!!!!
PANIC!!!!
August 11th, 2014 at 2:21 PM ^
Frank Clark with multiple shout outs. Please let this domination carry over to the season.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:29 PM ^
Yes! The Frank Clark practice hype has been rolling full steam ahead for 2-3 years now. I really hope he can put it together on the field for the entire season. He would be a game changer if we can get a decent pass rush (without blitzing)...something Michigan has lacked for a few years now (Brandon G? Woodley?).
August 11th, 2014 at 9:48 PM ^
Clark was pretty good last year.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:34 PM ^
I've seen a few of those interviews with opposing offensive lineman who have faced Frank Clark. They basically say that he's really tough to deal with when he actually tries hard, but that doesn't happen more often than not, so on the majority of plays he's not that terribly difficult to block.
Hopefully he's more motivated this year.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:03 PM ^
Meh, it was one quote and I wouldn't read too much into it. I don't recall anyone, from the coaches to Brian doing UFRs ever picking up on him taking plays off. It's probably more that he has a certain go to move or two that are effective, but can't consistently beat people without them. For a guy that had no help from his interior DL for much of last year, he was pretty damn good... he just didn't quite live up to the hype.
August 12th, 2014 at 9:56 AM ^
I lived with an O-lineman and a fullback in college who used to say the same things about Alan Branch and Gabe Watson. They always said that M had the most freakish athletes but they were out of shape, took plays off, and had terrible technique. They always said OSU DLine was far less athletic but way better football players. Over the years hearing this kind of thing come up again and again about player X at Michigan "taking plays off" makes me wonder how true it is. I don't know what another explanation might be but diff players under 3 different coaches over the past 10 years, they can't all be lazy.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^
Please O-line, please, for the love of all that is maize and blue, please put it all together and be not-terrible.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^
How is Norfleet still under anyone's radar? His big play potential is huge
August 11th, 2014 at 2:29 PM ^
Cuz thats all its been so far: potential. ESPN doesnt write articles about guys ALMOST returning a kick for a TD. Hes not under OUR radar but he's not going to turn any heads nationally until he breaks one. We know what we have with Norfleet. It will happen.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:30 PM ^
It has been all potential with little to no results.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:39 PM ^
Not hard to fly under the radar when you're 5'7"...
August 11th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
We cannot even practice in the rain
August 11th, 2014 at 2:27 PM ^
Other than practicing in the weather, increasing the possibility of injury, and not helping them improve technique, communication, and coaching interaction.
That's just my theory though.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^
Idk SC, that makes way too much sense. Let's go with the coaches and team are weak and we're gonna go 0-12 this season.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:38 PM ^
Bo's teams never practiced indoors and his teams never stuggled with toughness.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:44 PM ^
DAMN YOU ADIDAS!!!!!!!!!
August 11th, 2014 at 2:44 PM ^
you never saw a game called at the 3rd quarter because of weather.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:47 PM ^
A comment about toughness from a guy with a My Little Pony avatar... Sounds about right.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:24 PM ^
How he came to that avatar remains one of my favorite MGoBlog moments actually. Long-story-short: He accepted and embraced a joke at his expense made when he challenged a mod.
August 11th, 2014 at 2:52 PM ^
Ah yes, and my great grandpop didn't have the polio vaccine and he survived, so kids today are a bunch of weenies.
August 11th, 2014 at 3:15 PM ^
Alright guys. I'm not even old enough to remember Bo. I was just piggybacking off the joke above. Playing the old "under Bo" bit.
Relax a little.