"Zach Charbonnet is a beast."
We were expecting posts like these on the message board today, along with "should Brandon Peters still be here?" ... and we weren't disappointed. They both came early in their games (Charbonnet for UCLA vs. Hawaii, Peters for Illinois vs. Nebraska).
Charbonnet finished with 106 yards and three touchdowns, including a 46-yarder in which he ran over a few players.
First things first — we're happy for him. He was a quiet kid but always seemed like a good, humble guy. He was probably the second-best frosh pass protector we've ever seen, as we posted in a thread below, tied with Anthony Thomas, well behind Mike Hart, and was willing.
He arrived a bit banged up, and when he carried 30-plus times against Army as the workhorse back in his first year, word has it those close to him (outside the program) wanted to put him on a 'pitch count,' worried about the amount of work he was getting.
Charbonnet carried two and five times the next two games and never had more than 18 in another game that year. We don't believe that's on the coaches.
Last year, of course, he ran for 70 yards (untouched) for a score against Minnesota and then picked up only 18 carries the rest of the year. The rotation last year was a bit perplexing, to say the least.
We have no idea what he would have done had he stayed here, but we do know Hassan Haskins was the back they felt needed more carries last year after he averaged 6.1 per rush. Frankly, we have no clue what kind of back he'll be at UCLA, either. Hawaii allowed 211.7 rushing yards per game last season, seventh-worst in the nation among teams that played seven or more games, and gave up 249 yards against the Bruins.
They looked like a bad MAC team, frankly.
But we do believe he's a good back, and he certainly was no 'malcontent.' And with all due respect to Jay Harbaugh, we feel better about the guy calling the shots when it comes to running backs carries — Hart, of course, the new running backs coach. You've now got a guy who can "feel" the game and different situations, having seen them all as a player.
All the backs have said they love having him in the room and said they have learned things from him they never knew before. Again, that makes perfect sense given Hart was one of the best all-around backs to ever play in Ann Arbor.
Much of their success will be predicated on offensive line play, of course. We gave them a grade of 'average' in the latest Inside The Fort, but there's enough talent for them to be better than that.
We don't know what to expect given they're being coached by a first-year guy in Sherrone Moore who has never handled that position before (though he played it). No disrespect to Moore, either, but how much better would you feel if he were a 10-year guy who had cranked out great lines year after year?
It makes the veterans miss a guy like Jerry Hanlon. No, we're not longing for the past — just for the fact that you know, no matter the personnel on the field, you're going to get an unbelievably technically and fundamentally sound group.
We'll break down the film after the opener with WMU with our Doug Skene. We're hoping for the best, but expecting some bumps in the road.
****
As for Peters ...
He's right where he should be at a place like Illinois. We took heat for calling him a "recruiting mistake" when he was here, but it's pretty clear at this point (for many different reasons) that he was. He's had some nice games for the Illini, but it's obvious he's not the leader for a type of program like Michigan.
It also became apparent early in today's game with Nebraska he was in trouble. He took a couple big hits early, and the crew we watched the game with all agreed he looked like he might have trouble making it through the game the way he was being hit.
He went out early with an apparent left arm/shoulder (?) injury after getting crushed and returned to the sideline in a sling.
The inability to develop his own quarterback has been head coach Jim Harbaugh's most perplexing deficiency to date. As ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit told WXYZ's Brad Galli, you NEED great quarterback play to compete with the big boys in college football, and there's no guarantee (far from it) U-M will get it this year.
We do believe J.J. McCarthy has a chance to be one of those down the road, assuming the line holds up in front of him. Poor line play ruined Wilton Speight's progress and has been a disservice too many times over the last decade-plus for Michigan quarterbacks, including Devin Gardner. Still think he'd have been pretty damn good had he had a better-coached group in front of him and better coaching himself.
But Peters was never going to be that guy. We do hope he's not seriously injured.
****
Speaking of college football's 'big boys' ... remember when Nebraska used to be one?
We don't, either. They were probably saying the same things about Michigan on their message boards this summer, but after today's 30-22 loss at Illinois, they have other things to discuss ... namely, how big a disappointment head coach Scott Frost has been.
Their message board looks like this one did after last year's embarrassing loss to Michigan State. Among the subject heads:
Granted, it's hard to win at Nebraska. It's pretty well documented how Tom Osborne did it there (we aren't going into detail — and yes, Tom was a good coach, too). But there's nothing good about that program right now, and no signs it will be better anytime soon.
All offseason, Frost talked about a different feeling, better culture, improved defensive line and getting 'his guys' in place, finally ...
And it all sounds familiar, which is a bit scary.
But Harbaugh had more success in his first two years than Frost will sniff at Nebraska before he's fired. As Herbstreit said, Harbaugh has been "close" ... and he has.
This program still needs significant upgrades at a number of positions to compete with the better teams in the country, and a miracle from God to catch the perennial playoff contenders. It's depressing thinking they're playing catch-up with NIL, too, when many figured it really could have helped close the gap.
The first focus, though, was to repair the culture and see good, sound, fundamental football on a snap-in, snap-out, game-in, game-out basis. We're going to know soon enough if that's been addressed. If not, Harbaugh's going to be following Frost as a coach on his way out after being deemed the savior at his alma mater.
It's stunning, really, and indicative of just how hard it is to build a program in this day and age.
There are no sure things other than the handful of programs that know exactly how to guarantee one.
****
Finally, congrats to Taylor, Mich. Little League, which beat Hawai'i in a semifinal and will play Ohio for the national championship Sunday. Call it PTSD or whatever, but the second we saw the match-up it was, 'take Ohio and the points (runs).'
Best of luck to the kids from downriver. We hope you get good officiating.
We were expecting posts like these on the message board today, along with "should Brandon Peters still be here?" ... and we weren't disappointed. They both came early in their games (Charbonnet for UCLA vs. Hawaii, Peters for Illinois vs. Nebraska).
Charbonnet finished with 106 yards and three touchdowns, including a 46-yarder in which he ran over a few players.
First things first — we're happy for him. He was a quiet kid but always seemed like a good, humble guy. He was probably the second-best frosh pass protector we've ever seen, as we posted in a thread below, tied with Anthony Thomas, well behind Mike Hart, and was willing.
He arrived a bit banged up, and when he carried 30-plus times against Army as the workhorse back in his first year, word has it those close to him (outside the program) wanted to put him on a 'pitch count,' worried about the amount of work he was getting.
Charbonnet carried two and five times the next two games and never had more than 18 in another game that year. We don't believe that's on the coaches.
Last year, of course, he ran for 70 yards (untouched) for a score against Minnesota and then picked up only 18 carries the rest of the year. The rotation last year was a bit perplexing, to say the least.
We have no idea what he would have done had he stayed here, but we do know Hassan Haskins was the back they felt needed more carries last year after he averaged 6.1 per rush. Frankly, we have no clue what kind of back he'll be at UCLA, either. Hawaii allowed 211.7 rushing yards per game last season, seventh-worst in the nation among teams that played seven or more games, and gave up 249 yards against the Bruins.
They looked like a bad MAC team, frankly.
But we do believe he's a good back, and he certainly was no 'malcontent.' And with all due respect to Jay Harbaugh, we feel better about the guy calling the shots when it comes to running backs carries — Hart, of course, the new running backs coach. You've now got a guy who can "feel" the game and different situations, having seen them all as a player.
All the backs have said they love having him in the room and said they have learned things from him they never knew before. Again, that makes perfect sense given Hart was one of the best all-around backs to ever play in Ann Arbor.
Much of their success will be predicated on offensive line play, of course. We gave them a grade of 'average' in the latest Inside The Fort, but there's enough talent for them to be better than that.
We don't know what to expect given they're being coached by a first-year guy in Sherrone Moore who has never handled that position before (though he played it). No disrespect to Moore, either, but how much better would you feel if he were a 10-year guy who had cranked out great lines year after year?
It makes the veterans miss a guy like Jerry Hanlon. No, we're not longing for the past — just for the fact that you know, no matter the personnel on the field, you're going to get an unbelievably technically and fundamentally sound group.
We'll break down the film after the opener with WMU with our Doug Skene. We're hoping for the best, but expecting some bumps in the road.
****
As for Peters ...
He's right where he should be at a place like Illinois. We took heat for calling him a "recruiting mistake" when he was here, but it's pretty clear at this point (for many different reasons) that he was. He's had some nice games for the Illini, but it's obvious he's not the leader for a type of program like Michigan.
It also became apparent early in today's game with Nebraska he was in trouble. He took a couple big hits early, and the crew we watched the game with all agreed he looked like he might have trouble making it through the game the way he was being hit.
He went out early with an apparent left arm/shoulder (?) injury after getting crushed and returned to the sideline in a sling.
The inability to develop his own quarterback has been head coach Jim Harbaugh's most perplexing deficiency to date. As ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit told WXYZ's Brad Galli, you NEED great quarterback play to compete with the big boys in college football, and there's no guarantee (far from it) U-M will get it this year.
We do believe J.J. McCarthy has a chance to be one of those down the road, assuming the line holds up in front of him. Poor line play ruined Wilton Speight's progress and has been a disservice too many times over the last decade-plus for Michigan quarterbacks, including Devin Gardner. Still think he'd have been pretty damn good had he had a better-coached group in front of him and better coaching himself.
But Peters was never going to be that guy. We do hope he's not seriously injured.
****
Speaking of college football's 'big boys' ... remember when Nebraska used to be one?
We don't, either. They were probably saying the same things about Michigan on their message boards this summer, but after today's 30-22 loss at Illinois, they have other things to discuss ... namely, how big a disappointment head coach Scott Frost has been.
Their message board looks like this one did after last year's embarrassing loss to Michigan State. Among the subject heads:
Complete Utter Incompetence
Thank God that Fordham & Buffalo are on our schedule
I Wonder What Trev Alberts is Thinking Now
Frost married himself to Martinez
The next coach will be Jeff Monken
What happens when we just have a half full stadium?
After reading reading this post game article, it's time for Frost to go
It is not lost on me that they dude who could not beat out Noah Vedral at Rutgers dropped us today
They are stunned, of course, that Frost — considered one of the top young coaches in the game a few years back while at UCF — not only hasn't turned Nebraska into a major player again at this level, but has his team looking like a Big Ten West bottom feeder in year four.Granted, it's hard to win at Nebraska. It's pretty well documented how Tom Osborne did it there (we aren't going into detail — and yes, Tom was a good coach, too). But there's nothing good about that program right now, and no signs it will be better anytime soon.
All offseason, Frost talked about a different feeling, better culture, improved defensive line and getting 'his guys' in place, finally ...
And it all sounds familiar, which is a bit scary.
But Harbaugh had more success in his first two years than Frost will sniff at Nebraska before he's fired. As Herbstreit said, Harbaugh has been "close" ... and he has.
This program still needs significant upgrades at a number of positions to compete with the better teams in the country, and a miracle from God to catch the perennial playoff contenders. It's depressing thinking they're playing catch-up with NIL, too, when many figured it really could have helped close the gap.
The first focus, though, was to repair the culture and see good, sound, fundamental football on a snap-in, snap-out, game-in, game-out basis. We're going to know soon enough if that's been addressed. If not, Harbaugh's going to be following Frost as a coach on his way out after being deemed the savior at his alma mater.
It's stunning, really, and indicative of just how hard it is to build a program in this day and age.
There are no sure things other than the handful of programs that know exactly how to guarantee one.
****
Finally, congrats to Taylor, Mich. Little League, which beat Hawai'i in a semifinal and will play Ohio for the national championship Sunday. Call it PTSD or whatever, but the second we saw the match-up it was, 'take Ohio and the points (runs).'
Best of luck to the kids from downriver. We hope you get good officiating.
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