How many remember the doom and gloom heading into the 1997 season?
- Lloyd Carr was on the hot seat after two relatively mediocre seasons following the unceremonious termination of Moeller
- Carr was criticized heavily for his poor offenses - the team had averaged less than 12 points/game during the final 4 games of 96
- I believe Brian Griese got the starting QB job in large part because Scott Driesbach could not stay healthy. Griese had been a preferred walk on four years earlier who had never really looked very good on the field and didn't seem to have the tools you want in a QB (short, average arm, poor mobility) - he also had been suspended from spring practice in 1996 for a bar fight
- There were really no big playmakers on offense. In the backfield, Howard, Williams and Floyd were viewed as a step down from past Michigan backs. The most talented guy was a freshman who had been getting strong reviews from fall practice (Anthony Thomas). Similarly, ai Streets, Marcus Knight, and Russell Shaw (transfer) were not viewed as elite. Receivers seemed to be step down from the receivers we had in past recent years - Toomer, Hayes, Alexander, Howard, Calloway. Tight end seemed to be a solid position group.
- The 1996 offensive line had been underwhelming by Michigan standards and it lost perhaps it's top 2 guys (Denson and Payne). Two redshirt freshmen became starters (Hutchinson and Backus). Expectations for this group were uncertain.
- The defense had been better than the offense prior to 97. But other than returning junior Woodson, none of the players were necessarily viewed as stars. I don't think many anticipated a dominant defense - especially after Greg Mattison bolted for Notre Dame leaving the defense in the hands of first year coordinator Jim Herman.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should sit back and watch. You never quite know what's going to happen in college football - especially on the heels of a 1/2 season where more of our top players didn't even suit up.
What I like about this team is two things: (1) we have a lot of guys coming back with playing experience and (2) we have some solid depth on the offensive side of the ball.
Finally, maybe it will hurt us in recruiting in the short term but I like the fact that our guys may be less focused on NIL deals and more focused on football. It's difficult to say how 17-22 year olds handle juggling business and playing football (absent NFL structure with a seasoned agent holding their hands).
- Lloyd Carr was on the hot seat after two relatively mediocre seasons following the unceremonious termination of Moeller
- Carr was criticized heavily for his poor offenses - the team had averaged less than 12 points/game during the final 4 games of 96
- I believe Brian Griese got the starting QB job in large part because Scott Driesbach could not stay healthy. Griese had been a preferred walk on four years earlier who had never really looked very good on the field and didn't seem to have the tools you want in a QB (short, average arm, poor mobility) - he also had been suspended from spring practice in 1996 for a bar fight
- There were really no big playmakers on offense. In the backfield, Howard, Williams and Floyd were viewed as a step down from past Michigan backs. The most talented guy was a freshman who had been getting strong reviews from fall practice (Anthony Thomas). Similarly, ai Streets, Marcus Knight, and Russell Shaw (transfer) were not viewed as elite. Receivers seemed to be step down from the receivers we had in past recent years - Toomer, Hayes, Alexander, Howard, Calloway. Tight end seemed to be a solid position group.
- The 1996 offensive line had been underwhelming by Michigan standards and it lost perhaps it's top 2 guys (Denson and Payne). Two redshirt freshmen became starters (Hutchinson and Backus). Expectations for this group were uncertain.
- The defense had been better than the offense prior to 97. But other than returning junior Woodson, none of the players were necessarily viewed as stars. I don't think many anticipated a dominant defense - especially after Greg Mattison bolted for Notre Dame leaving the defense in the hands of first year coordinator Jim Herman.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we should sit back and watch. You never quite know what's going to happen in college football - especially on the heels of a 1/2 season where more of our top players didn't even suit up.
What I like about this team is two things: (1) we have a lot of guys coming back with playing experience and (2) we have some solid depth on the offensive side of the ball.
Finally, maybe it will hurt us in recruiting in the short term but I like the fact that our guys may be less focused on NIL deals and more focused on football. It's difficult to say how 17-22 year olds handle juggling business and playing football (absent NFL structure with a seasoned agent holding their hands).
