Rays of Light: Spring Practice Notes
Marcus Ray shares his impressions from the first spring practice of the Harbaugh era:
“I thought Jourdan Lewis looked real good once again. I told him that I don’t want him to be grabbing and holding. Why play great coverage and then and then get a flag when you didn’t even need to grab the guy. He is just aggressive, young and feisty.”
“I thought Drake Harris… I thought he looked pretty good. I saw him catching some balls and running routes. He didn’t get much action last year when he first came because of his injuries and things but to just get a chance to see him lay… I was impressed with Drake."
“I thought Wilton Speight looked excellent. I didn’t see every rep he took, but when he threw the ball he got my attention. His ball placement was excellent. He seems like he can see over the line well, and he had command of that offense.”
“(Maurice Ways) looked pretty good too.”
" Ojemudia played some techniques that I think he would have missed last year… Ojemudia made a couple of plays guarding the perimeter and playing his technique. He stood out."
“Last but not least I was impressed with Jabrill just being able to make the adjustment on day one to safety at the college level. He was communicating, he was fired up, and was trying to get the guys around him lined up. I heard him with my own ears making checks trying to be the quarterback of the defense and really taking his run support serious. Wherever he needed to be on the field he was getting there in a hurry. Pads or no ads, that’s how you train yourself, so I think that’s going to be an upgrade. Looks like he was at the free safety.”
http://michigan.scout.com/story/1521330-rays-of-light-spring-practice-notes
February 26th, 2015 at 6:35 PM ^
Agree with all of this except for Speight. He has one of the wierdest throwing motions that i've ever seen.
February 26th, 2015 at 6:41 PM ^
How can you disagree being that you didn't go to this practice and throwing motion, unless side arm, typically has little to no effect?
February 26th, 2015 at 6:48 PM ^
I was baising my opinion off the film from mgoblue. He didn't stand out to me because Malzone looked much better than him. Morris didn't look so great either. You could see the way harbaugh looked at morris's throw with disgust lol. It is still very early in the process, i'm sure speight and morris will look better by the Spring Game.
February 26th, 2015 at 7:24 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 7:29 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 8:51 PM ^
Welcome to Spring practice in the internet age.
February 26th, 2015 at 9:24 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 6:45 PM ^
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February 26th, 2015 at 6:37 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 6:44 PM ^
This makes me giddy. And at this point in time I'm a sucker for any QB takes.
February 27th, 2015 at 9:28 AM ^
And one of the most underrated movies ever.
I don't believe in vampires, but I believe in what I saw, and what I saw was fucking vampires.
February 26th, 2015 at 6:56 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 6:57 PM ^
I'm just giddy that the spring game is looking like it's going to be an actual SPRING GAME for the first time in almost 15 years.
No more spring stretchy and punting exhibitions.
And for those at home, no more of this from BTN.....hopefully.
February 26th, 2015 at 7:11 PM ^
I know man, Im so fired up.
February 26th, 2015 at 10:23 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 6:57 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 6:59 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 6:58 PM ^
God I can't wait to see Peppers flying around out there this year.
February 26th, 2015 at 7:04 PM ^
February 27th, 2015 at 9:32 AM ^
That injury was so unfair
February 26th, 2015 at 7:06 PM ^
Harbaugh has REPEATEDLY said that he doesn't give a DAMN about release points. He says the only thing that really matters is that the QB gets proper extension with his arm when he throws, regardless of his release point. He coached Rich Gannon who threw the ball almost side-arm and said that he would never have tried to change his throwing motion.
So I suspect he is going to be far more interested in whether Speight is effect rather than how he looks while doing it. Unless he is doing something that keeps him from getting proper extension on his throws.
Harbaugh seems like a total hard-ass, but when it comes to QB coaching, he seems to be quite open to working within what the QB brings to the table. He isn't a "mould the guy into me" kind of coach. He definitely a "take what the kid already does and make it work" guy, unless the kid is just all messed up. I suspect that is because he liked to improvise as a QB and coaches were always yelling at him to cut it out.
February 26th, 2015 at 7:55 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 8:20 PM ^
He was the Raider's QB coach and Gannon was the QB. Whether or not he actually told Gannon what to do or not is another story. The point is, Gannon had a nearly side-arm delivery and Harbaugh said there was nothing wrong with it because of the extenion he got with it. In fact, he said that the speed at which Gannon got rid of the ball made it an asset.
The point of my post wasn't that Harbaugh taught Gannon how to throw. It was that he learned from watching guys like Gannon first-hand as a coach that having an odd throwing motion doesn't mean you can't be incredibly effective.
February 26th, 2015 at 11:10 PM ^
In his first coaching job, in 2002 as quarterbacks coach with the Oakland Raiders, he helped Gannon, who entered the NFL with Harbaugh in 1987, to a Pro Bowl and MVP runner-up season.
"I quickly gained respect for him as a coach because I knew he put the time in," said Gannon, who now hosts a SiriusXM radio show and is a game analyst on CBS. "He helped me more by looking at the big picture, asking me questions, the conversations we would have."
Harbaugh had a special talent for helping journeymen like Gannon and Mortensen take it to the next level.
"He was a great resource for me," Gannon said. "Jim's big thing, with me anyway, was he never wanted to be too technical."
Their conversations bounced all over the place, from concepts to "audibles, playing on the road, crowd noise, hand signals — he had a lot of great ideas."
In recent years as a broadcaster, when Gannon would be in pregame production meetings with Harbaugh before a 49ers game, he found himself taking more notes than usual, just because of Harbaugh's unique thoughts.
At Michigan, Harbaugh probably will have someone else on the coaching staff who also will work with quarterbacks. Former U-M offensive coordinators Al Borges and Doug Nussmeier also coached the quarterbacks, but U-M's new expected offensive coordinator Tim Drevno is considered more of a run-game/offensive line specialist.
Gannon doesn't know Michigan's personnel well enough to know whether the Wolverines need to bring in another QB.
But he has faith Harbaugh will get as much out of them as anyone.
"If I had a son and I could send him to play football somewhere, I'd like to send him to play football for Jim Harbaugh," Gannon said. "If I had a quarterback, it would be a slam dunk."
February 26th, 2015 at 11:30 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 7:03 PM ^
I find it comical the conclusions being drawn across the michigan websites based off of the first non-padded spring practice of Harbaugh's career. Scout is really trying their hardest in this department.
EVERYONE should be looking good with no pads on. They are big time D1 Athletes.
February 26th, 2015 at 7:12 PM ^
“At the end of practice, at the beginning of practice, and in the middle there was some kind of conditioning competition where guys were running and competing… where guys are getting in shape and they’re also getting tougher, stronger, and faster. It was good to see that everything that was built into the practice had competition written all over it.”
You know, the more I hear about how Harbaugh plans to foster competition and keep the environment at practice competitive, the more I find myself grinning about what this might eventually become in time. This quote, for example, is something I really liked to read.
February 26th, 2015 at 8:35 PM ^
Those statements are used by all coaches during this time of the year along with Fall practice. Hoke echoed those same kinds of statements as well.
February 26th, 2015 at 7:18 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 7:18 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 7:20 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 7:31 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 7:41 PM ^
That said, I think Morris is going to be a solid QB under Harbaugh's tutelage. Too many are giving up on him after playing in 1.5 games in less than ideal conditions - JT Barrett was a punchline after his first two games starting for OSU last year.
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February 26th, 2015 at 8:47 PM ^
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February 26th, 2015 at 7:42 PM ^
Speight is a huge wildcard here.
He could win the starting job this year & be a 4 year starter.
He could be a backup the next 4 years.
He could win the starting job this year & lose it in the next couple.
QB is such an unknown right now. Whether Rudock is in AA for a season is huge. I think if Rudock comes in Morris might not even be on the roster this season. I really wouldn't be shocked if Morris transfers immediatly if he has no realistic chance of being the starter.
February 26th, 2015 at 7:43 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 8:09 PM ^
And I want it NOW!!!
February 26th, 2015 at 10:45 PM ^
double post.... grrr
February 26th, 2015 at 8:18 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 8:39 PM ^
I'm happy you're enthused about Speight but he hasn't taken one live snap yet. Your unbridled optimism is good and thanks for sharing but besides the feeling you get when thinking about him being the QB why should I or anyone believe he is special and has "it"? What I'm looking for is some actual substance to back up your opinion.
February 26th, 2015 at 9:15 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 10:51 PM ^
I don't understand this anointing of Speight in February... Morris has all the tools you mention... mobile, strong arm, etc., and his fake 40 is better than Wilton's. Wilton hasn't played a snap of big time college ball -- Morris has and under difficult circumstances.
February 26th, 2015 at 10:51 PM ^
You don't understand. Nevermind.
February 26th, 2015 at 8:44 PM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 9:19 PM ^
February 27th, 2015 at 6:13 AM ^
February 26th, 2015 at 8:43 PM ^
Did Marcus hear football? Because really when we boil it down that determines winners and losers...