Jim Harbaugh’s seventh Michigan Wolverines football team held another scrimmage Wednesday, and several had their moments. Here’s what we picked up …
Last scrimmage (a week or so ago), the offense seemed to get the better of the defense, with quarterback Cade McNamara leading the way. More of the ‘ones’ played this time, and the defense was better than the offense this time around.
This group likes each other at this point, and it’s evident in the way they play together … a lot of motivation to prove last year was a fluke. Freshman J.J. McCarthy was the better of the two quarterbacks Wednesday night — it’s clear McNamara is 1a and McCarthy is 1b. McCarthy threw some nice balls and made some plays with his feet last night — he’s going to play some this year.
Harbaugh said last month Dan Villari might play in a Taysom Hill (New Orleans Saints) type role, and they’ve been using him like that in some two-point situations, etc. … and he looked good doing it. He’s also throwing it pretty well.
We aren’t predicting he’ll play meaningful snaps during games in his career, but he’s making progress and could have some moments in a Hill-type role. Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman was playing with the threes and fours.
The format last night was more two-hand touch and ‘thump’ for the starters, but the threes and fours were hitting. Lots of field goals instead of touchdowns, which needs to be fixed.
All three running backs played well, though Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum are definitely the top two. They really want to be able to run the ball this year, and that will be an emphasis. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said a few weeks back he felt they didn’t run the ball enough … this is a clear indicator to all who felt Harbaugh was “holding him back” that a) he wasn’t (which Gattis emphasized to us personally) and b) Harbaugh might have more of a hand in the offense this year.
Donovan Edwards had a really long run called back on a hold by Trente Jones. Jones has had a solid camp, though, and will be in the two-deep. Haskins didn’t play much by design, but Corum had some nice runs between the tackles.
Andrew Vastardis is the starting center and will be for the opener with WMU. One of the starters has been banged up and they were worried he might miss some time — a key one up front — but he’s now expected to be cleared Monday, which is great news. There had been talk that he could miss two games, so this is big news.
McNamara was sharp in three-on-three work. He hit Roman Wilson over the top of freshman cornerback Ja’den McBurrows. McBurrows, who played well and has through camp, got it back with a pick near the goal line in which he wrestled it away from Wilson during full team.
He’s going to be a good corner down the road.
D.J. Turner and Gemon Green started at the corners with R.J. Moten at safety with Brad Hawkins and Daxton Hill at nickel. Hill is going to be all over the field and covering slots on a lot of occasions. They are really mixing up the defenses. Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo both played a lot standing up and brought plenty of pressure, and there was a lot more disguised zone.
Donovan Jeter continues to play well at defensive tackle, and he’s come a long way maturity-wise. He gave the speech at the end to the team. Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton have their moments but need to be more consistent, and Jess Speight is in the rotation … on Wednesday he was battling with Brown transfer Elijah Pierre.
The defense got a lot of penetration Wednesday with exotic blitzes.
Eamonn Dennis is coming on a bit at corner. He’s the second fastest player on the team but needs to get a bit bigger. He ran a fumble back for a touchdown, but it was called back on a hold.
Daylen Baldwin played a lot, along with Mike Sainristil and Ronnie Bell, but hey were focusing more on the run on this night. Lots of checkdowns to the tight ends, with Luke Schoonmaker and Carter Selzer often the beneficiaries.
The linebackers continue to play well. They’re going to be heavily involved in pass rushing — we won’t go into detail, but it’s exciting. Nikhai Hill-Green plays very fast. Freshman Junior Colson is back from injury, and veteran Michael Barrett was working with the twos and threes last night.
Joey Velazquez is another coming on at linebacker. He played with the twos and threes along with Anthony Solomon and made some plays. He’s got a ton of desire. Josh Ross is the leader in the middle, and he’s been really good.
The positives about the field goals instead of touchdowns — Jake Moody made 7-of-8, including a 60-yarder. The only one he missed was from 57 yards out.
Bell was the guy on punt return, and he’s also been back there on kick return. He’s been good on both.
Watch for more on practice, basketball etc. in tomorrow’s ITF, Part II …
Last scrimmage (a week or so ago), the offense seemed to get the better of the defense, with quarterback Cade McNamara leading the way. More of the ‘ones’ played this time, and the defense was better than the offense this time around.
This group likes each other at this point, and it’s evident in the way they play together … a lot of motivation to prove last year was a fluke. Freshman J.J. McCarthy was the better of the two quarterbacks Wednesday night — it’s clear McNamara is 1a and McCarthy is 1b. McCarthy threw some nice balls and made some plays with his feet last night — he’s going to play some this year.
Harbaugh said last month Dan Villari might play in a Taysom Hill (New Orleans Saints) type role, and they’ve been using him like that in some two-point situations, etc. … and he looked good doing it. He’s also throwing it pretty well.
We aren’t predicting he’ll play meaningful snaps during games in his career, but he’s making progress and could have some moments in a Hill-type role. Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman was playing with the threes and fours.
The format last night was more two-hand touch and ‘thump’ for the starters, but the threes and fours were hitting. Lots of field goals instead of touchdowns, which needs to be fixed.
All three running backs played well, though Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum are definitely the top two. They really want to be able to run the ball this year, and that will be an emphasis. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said a few weeks back he felt they didn’t run the ball enough … this is a clear indicator to all who felt Harbaugh was “holding him back” that a) he wasn’t (which Gattis emphasized to us personally) and b) Harbaugh might have more of a hand in the offense this year.
Donovan Edwards had a really long run called back on a hold by Trente Jones. Jones has had a solid camp, though, and will be in the two-deep. Haskins didn’t play much by design, but Corum had some nice runs between the tackles.
Andrew Vastardis is the starting center and will be for the opener with WMU. One of the starters has been banged up and they were worried he might miss some time — a key one up front — but he’s now expected to be cleared Monday, which is great news. There had been talk that he could miss two games, so this is big news.
McNamara was sharp in three-on-three work. He hit Roman Wilson over the top of freshman cornerback Ja’den McBurrows. McBurrows, who played well and has through camp, got it back with a pick near the goal line in which he wrestled it away from Wilson during full team.
He’s going to be a good corner down the road.
D.J. Turner and Gemon Green started at the corners with R.J. Moten at safety with Brad Hawkins and Daxton Hill at nickel. Hill is going to be all over the field and covering slots on a lot of occasions. They are really mixing up the defenses. Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo both played a lot standing up and brought plenty of pressure, and there was a lot more disguised zone.
Donovan Jeter continues to play well at defensive tackle, and he’s come a long way maturity-wise. He gave the speech at the end to the team. Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton have their moments but need to be more consistent, and Jess Speight is in the rotation … on Wednesday he was battling with Brown transfer Elijah Pierre.
The defense got a lot of penetration Wednesday with exotic blitzes.
Eamonn Dennis is coming on a bit at corner. He’s the second fastest player on the team but needs to get a bit bigger. He ran a fumble back for a touchdown, but it was called back on a hold.
Daylen Baldwin played a lot, along with Mike Sainristil and Ronnie Bell, but hey were focusing more on the run on this night. Lots of checkdowns to the tight ends, with Luke Schoonmaker and Carter Selzer often the beneficiaries.
The linebackers continue to play well. They’re going to be heavily involved in pass rushing — we won’t go into detail, but it’s exciting. Nikhai Hill-Green plays very fast. Freshman Junior Colson is back from injury, and veteran Michael Barrett was working with the twos and threes last night.
Joey Velazquez is another coming on at linebacker. He played with the twos and threes along with Anthony Solomon and made some plays. He’s got a ton of desire. Josh Ross is the leader in the middle, and he’s been really good.
The positives about the field goals instead of touchdowns — Jake Moody made 7-of-8, including a 60-yarder. The only one he missed was from 57 yards out.
Bell was the guy on punt return, and he’s also been back there on kick return. He’s been good on both.
Watch for more on practice, basketball etc. in tomorrow’s ITF, Part II …
