Michigan Method: UofM Oline to try different starters for weeks 1 & 2
I didn't see this already posted, but Jon Jansen's podcast said that UofM's offensive line would do something similar to last year where Cade started week 1 and JJ started week 2 - giving both a chance to "earn it" on the field in live action.
Jansen is reporting that both Left Tackle and Right Tackle positions will have different starters from week 1 to week 2.
LT is between Karsen Barnhart and transfer LaDarius Henderson. RT is between Trente Jones and transfer Myles Hinton.
Harbaugh is calling it the "Michigan Method" of rotating starters in the first 2 weeks to earn a more permanent starting spot. I suppose being heavy favorites in the early games enables this rotation, almost like an NFL preseason game.
There is a chance that this will also be seen at other positions including Corner #2, Edge rushers, and possibly at Center between transfer Nugent and Greg Crippen.
August 27th, 2023 at 10:26 AM ^
I have been very vocal about my frustration with cupcake OOC games. I wish we played at least one good, exciting game every September. But since we do not play anyone with a pulse for the second year in a row, I guess this is a nice consolation prize.
I'm going to use a weird analogy here, I'm aware. I've been in medical device sales for a long time. I always struggled with the role-playing sales technique that companies like to make us do, it's difficult for me to fake it, or practice it. But when I am actually in a sales call talking to a surgeon/doctor I do really well. I think the andrenalin kicks in and helps me be at my best.
I've always wondered if some athletes are the same way. Maybe a true game day scenario will help separate some of the players as opposed to practice.
Go blue.
August 27th, 2023 at 10:32 AM ^
I mean this was only HS varsity and I was not All area or anything....but definitely played better In games than practices. I started as a 2nd string DE, but when our MLB got injured I became a starter at that spot and never gave it up.
There was just something different about game time vs plying against my friends.
August 27th, 2023 at 11:03 AM ^
Yep for sure, it’s completely different. It’s like being in an ultra focused zone during games.
August 27th, 2023 at 11:19 AM ^
What kind of medical devices do you sell? I’m in orthopedic surgical instruments.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
Spine, hernia, now into capital.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
He sells probes…
August 29th, 2023 at 8:30 AM ^
Heyyyy I designed spine implants and instruments for 8 years.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:46 PM ^
Absolutely. There's something about practice where some players are very mindful of what they are practicing. Maybe in soccer and basketball forcing themselves not to use their dominant hand so much, for example.
Then you get into the actual competition and all that goes out the window. Get the ball and accomplish your objective by any means necessary, including means your coaches might not have taught you. I agree adrenaline plays a big role in this.
August 27th, 2023 at 3:03 PM ^
Was there ever a reason given for our canceling the UCLA home and home games last year and this year?
btw our OOC the next 4 years include home and homes against Texas and Oklahoma
August 27th, 2023 at 4:11 PM ^
Yes the AD is insistent on playing 7+ home games each year. The UCLA series would have had us playing 8 last year and 6 this year. Instead, we scheduled Hawaii last year and ECU this year to get 8 and 7 home games. I do believe they briefly looked for a team for a home and home series in 22/23 that would be road then home, but had no luck.
The Texas and Oklahoma series actually will mess up this paradigm, but the Texas series (no idea on the Oklahoma one) proceeding was a condition of the B1G's deal with Fox.
August 27th, 2023 at 3:47 PM ^
Vice versa is also true. Some are just practice warriors and not so good under pressure.
August 27th, 2023 at 9:09 PM ^
Or they already just happen to know what plays our offense will run in practice and look great. I think Bolden was known for that.
August 28th, 2023 at 8:46 AM ^
“Hello!”
~Joe Bolden
EDIT: Shold’ve scrolled down one more comment before posting.
August 27th, 2023 at 4:14 PM ^
My super hot takes is this: If this was the NFL and your second loss eliminated you from the playoffs and you made your own schedule what would it look like? I think we all like to see U of M kinged in our game of CFB checkers but I think coach is playing chess. Your second loss is devastating and with PSU and OSU that will do just fine. I do like our deep bench getting 4 or more games where they get tons of minutes. Our next years starters are going to have 1/3 of a season under their belts.
August 27th, 2023 at 5:33 PM ^
I completely agree. Plus I like that we will most likely not have to take many plays/formations out of the garage yet, so we'll have more for the MSUs and PSUs of the world, knowing that we'll save some no matter what for OSU.
August 27th, 2023 at 9:07 PM ^
My philosophy is that if we lose two regular season games then we aren't good enough to make a playoff run anyway. Seems pretty simple.
I'd rather go to great OOC games both at home and away instead of smoke & mirroring our way into an ass kicking in the playoffs.
If we are good enough, cool, I'll get to see us win at Texas. If we're not, then I'll still get to have a fun trip to Austin.
August 27th, 2023 at 10:28 AM ^
Makes sense given the stiffs we are playing against.
August 27th, 2023 at 5:54 PM ^
I like this method, but a bit tougher for O-line where it's about cohesion and timing with those next to you. IE, the center, guard, tackles need to work in unison, particularly on run schemes or blitz protections.
That said, tackle positions, which are the more "athletic" positions on the line and tasked with protecting the QB from freaky edge snipers, can be assessed more individually from a pass-pro standpoint.
Fortunately for our O-line, Harbaugh-offense will probably see a lot of 6 and 7 lineman jumbo sets, so more playing time for 2nd stringers then at most places. Further, given the schedule, I'd expect 6-8 O-linemen to get a lot of run, kind of similar to when you have great depth on the D-line (where rotation is actually the norm if you can stay great and keep folks fresh)
August 27th, 2023 at 10:31 AM ^
I’d say it would be fun to do this with the entire team (all positions), but as a numbers person I understand why it wouldn’t be fair to compare after adding too many variables.
Speaking of variables, what if the opponents aren’t perfectly equal when we compare performances? If the UNLV guy is better than the ECU guy it would throw off our comparison quite a bit. It’s hard to tell if the opponent's rating is a 40 (terrible) or 60 (just bad).
August 27th, 2023 at 10:37 AM ^
I’m guessing the coaches are experienced and skilled enough to discern the quality of the performance.,.regardless of the opponent. They can evaluate decision-making, positioning, footwork, etc.
August 27th, 2023 at 10:50 AM ^
IIRC, either Alex or Dave's podcast hot take was that the offense's second unit would be better than almost all of the Big Ten's starters.
August 27th, 2023 at 10:59 AM ^
Strangely I would feel better rotating the entire unit than just the tackles. Line cohesion is important.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:02 PM ^
Maybe I'm not understanding your point, but unless when one of these guys gets injured the entire line is replace by the second string, wouldn't there be more line cohesion by having both tackles have time to gel with the other starters?
August 27th, 2023 at 12:15 PM ^
Well you do have fall camp and several practices each and every game-week to do that.
I don’t think it is a huge deal, but it adds to the sentiment I heard last week (Craig Ross on WTKA roundtable maybe?) that things like the coaching carousel in weeks 1-3 could send a message to the team that these games don’t matter and thus lead to a let-down mentally or in preparation effort.
I still think we most likely roll against these 3 opponents so whatever.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:50 PM ^
Depends on the culture. In a healthy competitive culture, change is a huge positive, letting people know things are always adjusted and that any backup can become starter and vice-versa.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:13 PM ^
That doesn't really make sense. We want the winner of the tackle battles to be familiar with our guards. We want to see how they work with those guards.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:36 PM ^
This is true if it is truly an unresolved competition.
I get the feeling that at least some of these “Michigan Method” situations are more of a hat-tip to people who are very good but narrowly lost out a hard fought battle to start.
This is less of an issue at DE etc. where players rotate play to play or series to series.
August 27th, 2023 at 3:24 PM ^
Best comment yet 👍
August 27th, 2023 at 12:37 PM ^
Not just that, but I think practicing against our defense is a better measuring stick for how they'll do against Ohio State, which is the only game that really matters. I felt this way about Cade and JJ, too - not like I could have said who was better, but I didn't think it made sense to make JJ the starter over the guy who won the Big Ten last year, just because he tore it up against Hawaii. I just kept telling myself there were probably a billion other things that went into the decision, though.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:51 PM ^
JJ was the named the starter because Cade played bad. Love Cade to death for all he accomplished for us but he just missed too many throws last season against cupcake teams. JJ didn't do great, but he did just fine and that was a heckuva lot better than what Cade was doing those weeks.
August 27th, 2023 at 1:27 PM ^
JJ didn’t do great? Wut? He completed 15/16 passes in the two tryout games for 3 TDs and added another 66 rushing yards and a TD on the ground. JJ was named the starter because he came out and played almost flawless football in addition to having a strong camp. It had nothing to do with how poorly Cade played in those two games, that just made the decision much easier.
August 27th, 2023 at 1:32 PM ^
Sometimes you need a game environment to really decide the better option. Practices are different than games, it’s a completely different mindset for athletes. Coaches sometimes need to see who can perform when it’s all on the line, when there’s real pressure before coming to a final decision.
August 27th, 2023 at 3:05 PM ^
Pretty sure that an away game at PSU will matter quite a bit.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:47 PM ^
The coaches aren't looking at stat lines for individual games like that. They have a ton of analytics based on how well they completed their assignments on each individual play and then the judgment to understand which mistakes are more easily fixed/forgiveable.
August 27th, 2023 at 1:34 PM ^
The inequality of opponents definitely happened to Cade last year. The O-line had a few very bad whiffs early in the year against the cupcake opponents, and I don’t recall that happening when JJ was in there.
August 27th, 2023 at 3:34 PM ^
Cade got screwed a bit on that set up.
He had already proven what he could do. Curious to see if he rock n rolls this season.
Highly unlikely he’d throw 2 pick sixes and not get the ball in the belly of the ball carrier at the goal line which caused another costly turnover.
A lot of fans like to overlook the fumble blame on JJ but as the announcers said and replay showed JJ messed up the handoff. You can’t secure the ball when it’s placed on your hip rather than in your gut.
We beat TCU without JJ’s miscues in the biggest game of the year. We beat TCU with Cade behind center. He protected the ball better than JJ.
I think JJ finally matches the hype this season. Last season I would of preferred Cade behind center.
Past is past - future is now so live in the present.
August 27th, 2023 at 4:13 PM ^
Now this is a hot fuckin take
August 27th, 2023 at 6:28 PM ^
Wow… that’s… just a putrid take. TCU had Michigan’s run game shut down and required a huge individual effort by JJ to even keep us in that game. Something Cade is certainly not known for doing.
The “he protected the ball better than JJ” comment is pretty strange, considering Cade threw more picks in 2021 than JJ did last year, even with the two pick 6’s in the final game.
August 28th, 2023 at 8:57 AM ^
Did you watch the same two QB's the last two season as I did? WOW.... I loved Cade thought he was a great teammate, solid leader and someone you can lean on to take care of the ball and win you games with a strong rushing attack. He isn't in the same category as JJ as far as tools go and exactly why Harbaugh made the switch. The ceiling of the team is different with JJ than with Cade. I hope Cade lights it up all season except if we see them in the championship. Great guy really solid QB
August 27th, 2023 at 11:10 AM ^
I think Barnhart is a really good player and excellent backup to multiple positions on the OL. But if he is our LT, I'm going to be a little concerned. I have doubts he will be able to slow down high level pass rushers that we'll face in our biggest games.
August 27th, 2023 at 3:38 PM ^
I agree - Jeff Persi will be ready to chomp possibly if Barnhardt is our LT.He’s more athletic than KB.
I would think LH would beat out KB but PAC 12 ain’t the Big 10.
Maybe Henderson isn’t shining as brightly with tougher competition.
August 27th, 2023 at 11:11 AM ^
I would have assumed based on past experience that Henderson and Jones would have locked up the starting jobs. The fact that Barnhart and Hinton (?!?) have are pushing this hard is probably a good sign for the line overall. Barnhart is a known, capable if unspectacular tackle, but he may have taken a step if he’s pushing Henderson. Hinton was marked as total project (despite his recruiting ranking) coming off his time at Stanford and Jones had proven to be very effective RT, so perhaps the light is coming on for Hinton and he’s living up the hype finally. Good stuff
August 27th, 2023 at 12:08 PM ^
I don’t get the Trente Jones over Barnhart thing I mean he might mash but he had some really bad pass pro miscues and Barnhart is better.
August 27th, 2023 at 1:41 PM ^
I felt the same way. I remember jones having some catastrophic whiffs in pass pro, I felt much better with Barnhart
August 28th, 2023 at 12:56 AM ^
I felt Barnhart was a turnstile at times last year. Really hope he gets beat out.
August 27th, 2023 at 11:30 AM ^
The much maligned Warde Manuel is the only reason the ‘Michigan Method’ has been an option these last two seasons. Cupcakes taste good and can serve a purpose.
The first part of the real definition of the Michigan Method is not so flattering: schedule an embarrassingly easy schedule, and play multiple starters the first two weeks to see who outperforms.
August 27th, 2023 at 12:55 PM ^
I'm very proud of Michigan football. They can play against the Sacred Heart Middle School Girls team 11 times and I will not be embarrassed in the slightest when we beat ohio and win the conference.
August 27th, 2023 at 5:01 PM ^
I am very proud of them, too! And thanks to Manuel’s scheduling, we can do the Michigan method again this season.
August 27th, 2023 at 1:00 PM ^
Well, the last two season we beat OSU and in the playoffs so I'm all for it.
August 27th, 2023 at 3:54 PM ^
I'm glass half full on this one. To me, the weak non-con is like an NFL preseason, which obviously CFB teams don't get. Not necessarily what I'd prefer to watch, given some potential scheduling alternatives like the canceled UCLA game, but I'll tune in, mostly to see what who might be a contributor down the road, when the subs get a lot of snaps in second half. If it helps better define the best players for each position in the context of live action against Not-Michigan, fine.