Stop panicking about OL. Hoke Clarifies

Submitted by massblue on

Yesterday, there was a tweet quoting Hoke that the starting OL will have Cole as LT and that Kalis was out.  Today, there is further clarification by Baumgardner and it appears that Hoke is trying to have 8 people ready to step in. This makes sense as there will be injuries. Also, he wants to give several people a shot at the starting positions and create competition.

 

And, per Hoke, the starting unit during the morning half of a two-a-day practice could completely change by nighttime.
 
Michigan wants to have a solid front five determined somewhere toward the middle of fall camp, but in the meantime, the shuffling is apparently going to continue.
 
"Balancing that can be tricky, but it can also be massaged pretty well," Hoke added. "I think Darrell's done a nice job with it, and Nuss. And who we put in with that first group? Maybe that changes daily.
 
"I'm sure it will change from a morning practice to an afternoon until we really feel 'this is it' with these guys. The competition has been really good for us there."
According to the article, Hoke wants to have the starting line by the middle of the Fall practice and not the beginning.
 

cobra14

August 9th, 2014 at 9:03 AM ^

I know it's hard because everyone wants not only Michigan to be good but football to start but please do not listen to anything that is said right now about the team. Hoke is going to create competition and give everyone their shot.

Rumors from other sites are just that. No one is given any info at this time of year. It's the fort for a reason wether you like it or not.

gustave ferbert

August 9th, 2014 at 1:44 PM ^

a secret service agent.  Somewhere along the way I'm sure he picked up the virtue of disseminating information used to accomplish his own ends.  He probably finds value in seeing the fan base freakout at the slightest rumor as that most likely permeates to other fan bases who equally misinterpret the rumor. . . 

In reply to by cobra14

Twoforty

August 9th, 2014 at 11:54 AM ^

Further more, does it really matter who is on our offensive line if Devin Gardner is our QB?

Hope these boys are ready to block 7+ on every play until Gardner is replaced.

JTrain

August 9th, 2014 at 9:04 AM ^

Oline talk is a sensitive topic around here in case you haven't noticed....../s

I have to admit the season hinges on their play. And when I saw no Kalis and miller STARTING at center it freaked me a bit.

Pit2047

August 9th, 2014 at 9:08 AM ^

Experimental thing as soon as I saw Dawson on the right side of the line, to my knowledge he had only repped LG and LT so far so that line couldn't have been serious.

FreddieMercuryHayes

August 9th, 2014 at 9:09 AM ^

I mean, I don't think it needed clarification. It's the first day in pads. If it's a week before gameday and they're still shuffling, then panic. I want them to nail down the starting 5 with some time to all get reps together, and most importantly, I want them to be CORRECT in those decisions.

I dumped the Dope

August 9th, 2014 at 9:12 AM ^

that any reasonable conclusion can be drawn about the OL until they play another team in a game. Playing our own DL is fine but its hard to know what the instructions are to avoid giving away too much info in a preseason game or injuring our own players that we need later on.

I've decided in my mind that there won't be another season like last for quite a few years, and until thats changed by direct personal and video evidence, I have confidence in our OL.

Leonhall

August 9th, 2014 at 9:17 AM ^

Not draw any conclusions about the oline until after ND, granted their line won't be as good as last year but we struggled mightily last season in that game.

alum96

August 9th, 2014 at 10:03 AM ^

Agree 100%.

Last year we were all so in awe of Devin looking like Vince Young Jr that game we were happy to throwaway the performance of the OL which was very troubling even in that game.  Nothing against App State is going to tell me anything (just as CMU told us nothing last year).  The ND and Utah games IMO will give us a quite clear picture of what to expect early.

LSAClassOf2000

August 9th, 2014 at 9:17 AM ^

You know, the same article was posted a couple hours ago, but dressed as a repeat of last night's discussion, which is quickly where it headed and why it is gone now. This, however, emphasizes the more important part of the piece, I think - that nothing is quite set in stone yet, if anything ever really is. Perhaps a minor mod goof on my part, and apologies to Double-D there. 

It's hard to extrapolate much from isolated tweets of what are little more than proposed lineups which might very well change within hours at the next practice, so hopefully it is the case that the competition has been good as Hoke says. Between that, the shift to an dedicated scheme and some of the cultural changes they've tried to implement (ref: Terry Richardson thread yesterday), we see some measured improvements. 

 

GoBLUinTX

August 9th, 2014 at 9:26 AM ^

as much as the original Journalist who sent out the information yesterday without clearly pointing out the context of what was said in the presser.  In short, Baumgardner is well aware of the emotions surrounding the subject and he practiced a bit of journalistic malpractice yesterday.

ClearEyesFullHart

August 9th, 2014 at 9:22 AM ^

Even on the O-line. Looking at the guys in the uniforms, Michigan SHOULD be even or ahead of every team on the schedule save for ohio. If they don't show up, you've got to look at coaching.

MGoRusty

August 9th, 2014 at 9:28 AM ^

Given our OL play last year, I don't care about who starts. As long as we have a line that is cohesive and plays well together, that's all I want.

Magnum P.I.

August 9th, 2014 at 9:56 AM ^

Just don't flip flop Barnum and Mealer the day before the first game. Or start Miller at center even though he's hopelessly overmatched. Or have Braden get all the first team reps at guard until September 1st before pulling the rug out. Kthx.

Franz Schubert

August 9th, 2014 at 2:26 PM ^

The staff has not earned the benefit of the doubt with some of the blunders you mentioned and that's why there is panic. I think or at least hope the staff is going to redeem themselves. That's just me though as I must admit I'm still wondering how LC and staff thought Underwood should start over Hart.

Artie

August 9th, 2014 at 1:32 PM ^

How do you keep fire warm? Seems like a hot or not at all type of thing to me. And warm pitchforks? I don't know about your ninny hands and their need for warmed pitchforks, but I'll take a cold clammy pitchfork any day. As long as it's sharp it'll do just fine.

BlueCube

August 9th, 2014 at 10:10 AM ^

I haven't watched the video of what Hoke said but the quote in the mlive story online doesn't say anything more than that this was the lineup for part of the practice. This is basically an attempt to drive clicks and make Hoke look bad. Total bs.

BALDA55ARRE

August 9th, 2014 at 10:21 AM ^

I'm sick about people talking about the starting o-line everyone knows what the starting line is going to be barring injury. RT Braden, RG Bosch, C Glasgow, LG Kalis, LT Magnuson that's it.