First team OL in practice today: Cole, Magnuson, Miller, Bosch, Dawson

There's almost no way we'll see a starting five that doesn't include Glasgow (making an exception for the App State game, obviously). 

Personally, I'm not hitting the 'panic' button quite yet.  They still have some time before they need to decide on a starting OL, and experimentation or giving reps to a lot of guys in the first unit isn't a bad thing.  But if they still haven't identified a number 1 unit in a week, then I start panicing.  If they switch some positions up two days before the game, then I really start panicing.

Where is Kalis?! Good God, man, lock down your f**king position already.

I think after the first game or two we'll be able to look back at this thread and shake our heads for thinking it might actually happen.

I really think we will be okay this year. What I'm hoping is that if we aren't playing that good by the Utah game we make some switches early. Unlike last year... I will not understand why we didn't move Mike Schofield back to LG and create a competant left side of the line. At least we could have done that. I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY THAT WASN'T TESTED.

I'm scared.

It shows the coaching staff is going to play the best players at their positions no matter what. Which is refreshing somewhat.

First, Miller is getting reps because Glasgow is suspended. Plus, Hoke already said the line changes from morning to afternoon. However, I do find it interesting that Kalis is MIA in regards to any mentioning by the Boss. Like someone else mentioned earlier, I don't like how so many of them are playing multiple positions, unless Nuss has TOTALLY simplified the scheme allowing a lot of flip-flopping without causing confusion. I will be nervousness if Cole is the starting LT...talented or not, he's a freshman...and it says a lot if a true freshman can come right in and start over guys who have had the same coaching for the past 3 years.

I said this in the BTN thread, but yeah, I remain pessimistic. Even if you're trying to find what spots guys could play in case of injuries, it seems to make more sense to me to do that last and right now just get reps with your tackles, your guards, your center in ther primary spots.

And where is Kalis? Seems odd that we haven't heard anything about him at all.

I guess, by the criteria I seem to be going by (position shuffling = bad, not shuffling = good), then there's reason to be optimistic about Mason Cole. Even that, though - as others have said, that kid better be Jake Long Jr or else him passing highly touted guys in the program for three years is a deeply troubling sign.

How are they supposed to develop chemistry if they are shuffling around for the entire spring and then half of the two-a-days?  Shouldn't at least a few of the spots, like Magnusson at LT, be decided by now? 

and at this late stage of practice we're still like:  "..er...wait a minute...uhhh...you and  you, switch!..." regarding the offensive line. 

Yes, it's still a young group, but goddammit man.   At the same time, even with a true frosh at LT (holy shit dude!), can't Michigan just run off RT or RE plus a shitload of QB draws and still be better than 3.3 ypa? I think it can. Maybe. Aw fuck.

 

 

For some reason I feel good about the offensive line. I need to stop drinking so much during lunch. 

Miller will start vs App State and that's it. Haven't seen enough Dawson or Braden to form an opinion on who will be better at RT.

I'm going to tell myself that this is just Hoke letting Nuss try all the different personnel groups given that he's not all that familiar with our players yet. At least I'll be able to sleep at night if I tell myself that. 

For the sake of my own sanity, I'm putting the blinders on re:OL until at least the end of the week... when Hoke said they would like to have the starting 5 figured out.

Left side remains in tact. That right side, though. Hopefully that gets shaken out by the scrimmage.

They need to just go full-on Texas Tech and throw 40 short passes a game without about 5-10 downfield.  I don't see the offensive line being good enough for anything but that, and they have the QB&receiver talent. 

One of the nice benefits of this free blog is that many current and former coaches visit and post.  I would love to hear from the MGoCoaches about the prevailing philosophies when it comes to discovering the best depth chart during summer two-a-days.  I have my own experience, and my recollection is that daily line shuffles during early camp is not uncommon or automatically = DOOM.  That said, I consider myself an amateur, at best, when it comes to coaching dogma.

 

Maybe another reason that the current depth chart worries me little is the historical perspective.  Please don't confuse this point with some notion of believing that last year's OL was anything other than an abject disaster. 

 

The gold standard for modern Michigan teams is 1997.  This point is really not debatable.  In 1997, Terry Malone was a first-year OL coach taking over for DeBord.  Arguably, the '96 OL underachieved.  Senior Center Rod Payne was a 1st-team All-American, 2-time All Big 10, was team MVP, and a captain.  Senior LT Thomas Guynes was a returning starter, and was good enough to play 4 games for the Arizona Cardinals in '97.  Senior OG Damon Denson was a returning starter, and good enough to be drafted in the 4th round by the Patriots in '97.  This team, disappointingly, lost 4 games, even after a 4-0 start.  The '96 team also lost 3 of their last 4 games.  Of course, the one win was the legendary 13-9 upset at undefeated #2 Ohio State (which, I submit as Exhibit A in my argument that the '96 team underachieved).

 

The '97 OL heading into summer camp was a HUGE question mark.  Three starters needed to be replaced, and Zach Adami, a senior, was switiching to Center from OG for the first time.  RS Fr. Steve Hutchinson (YTSH) was being switched from defense to OG.  Junior Chris Zieman was a first year starter at guard.  RS Fr. Jeff Backus was a first-year starter at LT(!). 

 

Of course, it's crazy thinking to think that '14 will somehow be '97 repeated.  My only point is that worrying now seems a little premature.  Massive depth chart changes are not always a bad thing.  If the coaches find the 5 best for the OL, and they thrive during the real games, we all will rejoice.  If not, pitch-fork-tme will ensure, I'm sure.