Nothing first-hand, but I've talked to several people who have attended practices so far this spring - high school coaches from MI, OH and IL; two beat writers; a couple guys who happen to have access; and a former UM football player. Putting it all together, I've come away with a few thoughts/conclusions thus far which I'm not sure have been heavily discussed here (well the QB one has but I think it bears repeating given the multiple sources of info).
> UM doesn't have a quarterback yet. In fact, I'd say there's a 50/50 chance that this season's starter isn't on the roster today. The current group is very inconsistent, each has one or more pronounced shortcomings, and the reports lead me to believe that the best we could hope for this season is that one becomes a good-to-very-good game manager. I've seen a lot of talk that they can get better with more reps and more time in the system, but the consensus among those who have seen them is that with Morris and Speight we're talking about a skillset issue, not a comfort/learning curve issue. Malzone has been up and down, and may wind up a starter at UM one day, but he just isn't ready and he's thrown significantly more INTs this spring than the other two guys. High school head coach I talked to said that UM would have to scheme to "hide" any of these three guys within the offense. Another guy I talked to - who has been to multiple practices - is convinced that that Rudock or Gentry will be the starter (and this guy has been a big Morris promoter over the past two years - convinced now that he doesn't have "it").
> The running game will be fine. It may not be great and they may not have a RB with the perfectly ideal skillset, but the OL is vastly improved through "exponentially better teaching of technique and assignments." Wheatley reminded a friend of mine that former Harbaugh RBs Frank Gore and Toby Gearhart aren't burners by any stretch (both 4.5+ runners), but they see the hole and go to it. That's all they're asking of the RBs this spring...see the hole and run to it. It seems simple but these guys haven't been able to trust that a hole will be there in the past - or that they won't get hit 3 yards deep anyway. They're also doing a good amount of work on footwork with the RBs as well, which was apparently not taught very well before. Ball security on the other hand was apparently taught well under the previous regime, per Wheatley.
> This defense will be very physical. That's a nice platitude that we've been told for years and not seen happen, but this is particularly evident in the secondary where we're seeing the end of consistent 5+ yard cushions. A guy like JD Lewis benefits from this change, a guy like Blake Countess does not.
> Jarrod Wilson's consistency is underrated. Peppers is getting all the hype - and rightly so. And there are some guys like Hill pushing at safety. But at the end of the day if Peppers is the type of DB you notice on every play for the right reasons, Wilson is the type of DB you rarely notice for the right reasons. The former UM DB and the high school DB coach I talk with were both very direct on this point re: Wilson and don't believe he will cede the job.
> UM doesn't have a quarterback yet. In fact, I'd say there's a 50/50 chance that this season's starter isn't on the roster today. The current group is very inconsistent, each has one or more pronounced shortcomings, and the reports lead me to believe that the best we could hope for this season is that one becomes a good-to-very-good game manager. I've seen a lot of talk that they can get better with more reps and more time in the system, but the consensus among those who have seen them is that with Morris and Speight we're talking about a skillset issue, not a comfort/learning curve issue. Malzone has been up and down, and may wind up a starter at UM one day, but he just isn't ready and he's thrown significantly more INTs this spring than the other two guys. High school head coach I talked to said that UM would have to scheme to "hide" any of these three guys within the offense. Another guy I talked to - who has been to multiple practices - is convinced that that Rudock or Gentry will be the starter (and this guy has been a big Morris promoter over the past two years - convinced now that he doesn't have "it").
> The running game will be fine. It may not be great and they may not have a RB with the perfectly ideal skillset, but the OL is vastly improved through "exponentially better teaching of technique and assignments." Wheatley reminded a friend of mine that former Harbaugh RBs Frank Gore and Toby Gearhart aren't burners by any stretch (both 4.5+ runners), but they see the hole and go to it. That's all they're asking of the RBs this spring...see the hole and run to it. It seems simple but these guys haven't been able to trust that a hole will be there in the past - or that they won't get hit 3 yards deep anyway. They're also doing a good amount of work on footwork with the RBs as well, which was apparently not taught very well before. Ball security on the other hand was apparently taught well under the previous regime, per Wheatley.
> This defense will be very physical. That's a nice platitude that we've been told for years and not seen happen, but this is particularly evident in the secondary where we're seeing the end of consistent 5+ yard cushions. A guy like JD Lewis benefits from this change, a guy like Blake Countess does not.
> Jarrod Wilson's consistency is underrated. Peppers is getting all the hype - and rightly so. And there are some guys like Hill pushing at safety. But at the end of the day if Peppers is the type of DB you notice on every play for the right reasons, Wilson is the type of DB you rarely notice for the right reasons. The former UM DB and the high school DB coach I talk with were both very direct on this point re: Wilson and don't believe he will cede the job.
