It’s time to turn the page on last year’s debacle and quit the bickering. Let the elephant back where it came from. Embrace the changes, accept the things that are status quo. Despite a brutal schedule, we are gonna have a great team next year...across the board improvement is expected. Here are a few things to look forward to...
Jim Harbaugh is smarter than all of us...
The implication that Harbaugh is a hypocrite because Drevno and Pep are still here is ridiculous. I’m not happy with the job they did in 2017, but objectively speaking they have been very good coaches for a very long time. So what happened? Last year’s team had a ton of obstacles to overcome and didn’t get it done for several reasons, but mainly because the coordinators were playing with JV youth. Many are very talented, but expecting first and second year players to play at a championship level is just silly. Peters, DPJ, Ruiz, Bredeson, Onwenu, Spanellis, Black, Crawford, McKeon and Gentry all showed glimpses of enormous potential. But they weren’t ready. In an ideal world, most of those players should have had back up repetitions last year, but were forced to start at various points, instead. Sometimes you can survive and even thrive by playing talented freshman...but not 10 at the same time. To fire Drevno and Pep because they couldn’t make freshmen and sophomores play like juniors and seniors would be a mistake. They took their lumps last year and we will all benefit from it this year.
Harbaugh brought in Herbert (because the OL was being pushed around and we faded late in games and late in seasons...more on S&C than the coaches, IMO and probably Harbaugh’s based on the move). He replaced Frey with Warriner to analyze the OL issue. He is bringing in another offensive coach soon.
I’m not saying he’s perfect. He rubs some people the wrong way and is sometimes over reactive, but he knows the strengths and weaknesses of this team much better than anybody on the planet. Some people wondered (including myself) why it was Speight over JOK and Peters after strong performances by the lattersvs. Purdue and Rutgers. It all became clear as the season went on. All three QBs had moments, but were overall mediocre and Speight gave us the best chance to win.
I think the “antics” of 2015 and 2016 Harbaugh were for publicity and branding. He wasn’t afraid to speak out on social media and keep Michigan in the news. Some of that backfired when the wheels came off on last year’s team and the national pundits jumped all over the opportunity to criticize...but there was a reason for it.
And for the people who don’t think we should go overseas....seriously? It has next to nothing to do with the performance on the field and is a wonderful experience for the players that may never have the opportunity otherwise. If you’re bitching about the team getting a trip overseas in the offseason, perhaps you should find another hobby besides arguing and complaining on a message board.
I expect more “coaching the team” this year from Harbaugh. Obviously, he was a little different person last year. A bad hip and the first year with a newborn can test anybody. Add to that a team in it’s infancy, and it’s a recipe for an 8-5 year. These aren’t “excuses” these are reasons for the bad season. And most of it is fixable. Harbaugh is the right man to get it fixed.
Shea Patterson Is the Keymaster...(QBs)
The biggest deficit in 2017 was QB play. A healthy Speight could have been serviceable. He might have been able to manage games and probably wins vs. MSU and South Carolina. We averaged 40 points a game in 2016 with Speight and 25 in 2017 with the 3 faced QB. Speight is what I’d consider a high floor, low ceiling player...he wasn’t gonna lose a lot of games for you, but he wasn’t going to win any either.
Shea Patterson is almost the opposite. If he takes care of the ball, he is a high floor, high ceiling player that can create on his own when a play breaks down and win with his arm or his legs. He has a stronger, more accurate arm and is 10 times the running threat that Speight was. Most importantly, I don’t think he will be the target that Speight and Peters were in the pocket. Even if the protection breaks down, Patterson isn’t gonna get killed. Peters, Speight and Okorn were not very good at not taking a hit.
We went from 212 yards passing per game in 2016 to 171 in 2017. Patterson will throw for 250/game in 2018 and I think we can do better than 40 ppg.
Behind Patterson, I expect McAffrey to win the backup role based on the bowl game. Peters showed everybody why he was the third guy heading into the season. He’s not as athletic as I thought, his arm strength wasn’t a big strength and I didn’t like his leadership or toughness. Bottom line is he wasn’t ready last year. With that being said, I think he’ll be much better this year and all 3 QBs in 2018 will be better than the 2017 version.
I believe Milton will be groomed with scout team reps and Barrett could provide a wildcat presence with his own package of plays, but maybe not until 2019.
Strength in numbers...(RBs)
I don’t think there is a superstar on the roster at RB. Definitely not on the level of Georgia or Alabama. But we’re better than solid here, and have a lot of potential amongst the 7 tailbacks. Higdon, despite his stature, proved to be a great inside runner who takes what is there and doesn’t go down easily. He has solid speed to pop out the other side of the pile. He improved from horrific as a pass blocker to capable towards the end of the season.
Evans was supposed to be the guy...he bulked up to get more carries and it wasn’t the greatest experiment. With Higdon stepping up as the starter, I expect Evans to get more all-purpose back type touches. He’s better in space than running up the middle (though he is capable between the tackles when he commits to it). I’m hoping our screen game improves immensely and/or we can get Evans matched up with LBs and Ss.
Walker, assuming he gets everything done that he may have to get done, showed some flashes last year. But he needs to get stronger and healthier especially in the lower body. He probably has the most potential to be an all-American candidate at some point, but needs to put his distractions behind him. I like the way he runs with aggression and the speed appears to be there.
Samuels was disappointing, a bit, as a true frosh. He looked a bit undersized and wasn’t as explosive as I thought he’d be. I think Higdon wrote the blueprint for him, though. Struggle as a frosh but continue to improve and compete for the starting job as a junior and senior.
Barring injury, I don’t know that anybody else plays significantly. I’m not sure what to expect from Taylor, yet. Turner has some potential, but will benefit from a RS season. Haskins, on the other hand, could fill a niche as the big TB if he’s ready.
Mason will get most of the FB reps or play that big TB role if he’s nimble enough. Van Sumeren is likely the backup, assuming Wangler departs.
The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores...(WRs)
Bo used to say that quite a bit, from what I remember. And it makes the most since at WR...
Consider the average freshman seasons from AC, David Terrell, Braylon, Amani and Desmond...12 catches for 200 yards and 2.5 TDs....Sophomore seasons...50/866/11.
Black and DPJ are going to explode because they’re gonna be sophomores and they will have a blue chip QB. Crawford is a very good 3rd option as a junior. If he’s not, Nico Collins will be!
Perry and McDoom are OK at the slot. Both are solid football players, but neither are very scary. I’ll give Tim Sullivan credit on his McDoom take...he’s very shifty and a good runner, but he’s not a blazer or much of a downfield threat. Perry is a high floor/low ceiling player that was quite dinged up last year, but hopefully makes a big splash in his senior season.
I love Shoenle’s ability. He’s a very good blocker and tenacious special teamer. I look forward to the contributions from Oliver Martin. Bell is likely to redshirt, but i think he’s an athletic upgrade over the other slots when his time comes.
Tight End University, now in session...(TEs)
Sean McKeon had some great moments as a true sophomore, and he had some awful moments. He kinda came out of nowhere to win the starting job and lead the team in receiving. He also fumbled in two bad losses and dropped a key pass against Wisconsin. But for a lowly 3 star, he’s just scratching the surface. As is QB-convert Zach Gentry who flashed some tremendous potential despite being written off by some with his QB-TE-WR-TE journey. Tyrone Wheatley Jr had a rough season with a bad hand and the departure of his father as coach. He got into great shape last year, but it didn’t translate to a great season. I think he’s still our best blocker at the position and could be a great asset, complementing offensive line if he is on the field and a threat as a receiver. The bad hand limited his effectiveness as a receiver and cost him a lot of PT. I’d like to think he’s a strong candidate for breakout player of the year, but probably shares too much time at the deep TE position. And I hate to beat a dead horse, but he could be the answer at one of the OT positions if he’d just commit to it...which I don’t anticipate happening (but a guy can dream, right?).
Eubanks looked good early last year before getting knocked out (literally) for the season. He is a great vertical receiving threat if he can carve out some PT.
Muhammad, Hayes, and Schoonmaker are strong candidates for Redshirts assuming the 4 veterans all return. One may emerge as a candidate for PT if practice warrants it, but I don’t think anybody HAS to play as a frosh.
Are these guys capable Gatekeepers?...(OL)
There have been recruiting misses o’plenty on the offensive line. I’d love to have Isiah Wilson, Mekhi Becton, Jean DeLance, Devery Hamilton or Nick Petit-Frere on the roster. But they’re not and I still like the guys we have. For the first time in a decade we have depth on the OL. We’re very talented on the interior, but gotta make something work on the edges.
Ben Bredeson is our most talented guy. I think he’s better at OG or RT, but he might need to play LT. I prefer he doesn’t...we’ve been moving guys from their best postions to try to get the best 5 on the field and make it work. The only problem is...it hasn’t worked!
The issue is our top 4 guys all play inside...Bredeson, Onwenu, Ruiz and Spanellis. The next 3 guys with experience are probably also better inside (JBB, Runyan, Ulizio). Newsome is questionable to play at all, let alone play at the level he was projecting to.
The good news is we have some very good talent coming off of redshirts. Hudson, Steuber, Filiaga and Honingford provide the kind of depth we’ve lacked since Lloyd left. So the pieces are there.
Personally, I’d love to see Steuber or Hudson (who was playing RT during bowl prep, reportedly) win the outside jobs and keep the interior and 6th OL (Spanellis) intact. JBB, Ulizio, Runyan and Filiaga would then round out a complete 2 deep. All will be more experienced and all should benefit from the analysis of Warriner and some focus from Drevno.
I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that the 2018 season will depend on the development of the OL. I also don’t think it takes too much optimism to believe that the pieces are there. Bredeson, Onwenu, Ruiz, Spanellis, JBB, Runyan and Ulizio all got valuable PT last year.
I like the idea of Drevno coaching for his life. No splitting responsibilities and deflecting blame. Just coach the OL and put the pieces together. Herbert will make them bigger and stronger. Warriner will break down the problems. Go out and earn a better job. Guard to guard,we might have a top 5 unit which is a great place to start. If Hudson or Stueber can play like Steve Hutchinson or Jeff Backus as redshirt freshmen,we’ll be outstanding. I know that’s a big IF. But I’m not talking about them playing like the senior versions of Backus and Hutchinson....I’m talking about the RS frosh.
Yes, it is all sunshine and rainbows...(other thoughts).
I understand the frustration on this board after an 8-5 season with a total collapse in the bowl game. But the expectations of last year were generally out of whack for such an inexperienced team without good QB play. 2017 was a humongous speed bump, but 2018 has tremendous potential. Here are some predictions...
Shea Patterson goes over 3,500 yards passing and rushing. If we get a few breaks he could lead us to the playoffs...
Higdon goes over 1000 yards rushing. Evans gets over 1000 rushing and receiving.
We average 35 points a game...in a normal season we could go over 40, but play 5 top 12 teams before the postseason.
We will go back to being a great redzone team like we were in 2016.
We will have 5 receivers gain more than 307 yards that Perry led the team with in 2017.Black, DPJ, McKeon, Evans and Perry will all gain 400+.
Patterson, Black, Higdon, McKeon, Bredeson, Onwenu and Ruiz will all make first or second team all conference.
We beat ND and MSU on the road. The ND game will be a low scoring affair...first to 20 wins. MSU score will be closer than the statistics show, but we still win by 10.
We will be the first team in the playoffs with 2 losses.
Jim Harbaugh is smarter than all of us...
The implication that Harbaugh is a hypocrite because Drevno and Pep are still here is ridiculous. I’m not happy with the job they did in 2017, but objectively speaking they have been very good coaches for a very long time. So what happened? Last year’s team had a ton of obstacles to overcome and didn’t get it done for several reasons, but mainly because the coordinators were playing with JV youth. Many are very talented, but expecting first and second year players to play at a championship level is just silly. Peters, DPJ, Ruiz, Bredeson, Onwenu, Spanellis, Black, Crawford, McKeon and Gentry all showed glimpses of enormous potential. But they weren’t ready. In an ideal world, most of those players should have had back up repetitions last year, but were forced to start at various points, instead. Sometimes you can survive and even thrive by playing talented freshman...but not 10 at the same time. To fire Drevno and Pep because they couldn’t make freshmen and sophomores play like juniors and seniors would be a mistake. They took their lumps last year and we will all benefit from it this year.
Harbaugh brought in Herbert (because the OL was being pushed around and we faded late in games and late in seasons...more on S&C than the coaches, IMO and probably Harbaugh’s based on the move). He replaced Frey with Warriner to analyze the OL issue. He is bringing in another offensive coach soon.
I’m not saying he’s perfect. He rubs some people the wrong way and is sometimes over reactive, but he knows the strengths and weaknesses of this team much better than anybody on the planet. Some people wondered (including myself) why it was Speight over JOK and Peters after strong performances by the lattersvs. Purdue and Rutgers. It all became clear as the season went on. All three QBs had moments, but were overall mediocre and Speight gave us the best chance to win.
I think the “antics” of 2015 and 2016 Harbaugh were for publicity and branding. He wasn’t afraid to speak out on social media and keep Michigan in the news. Some of that backfired when the wheels came off on last year’s team and the national pundits jumped all over the opportunity to criticize...but there was a reason for it.
And for the people who don’t think we should go overseas....seriously? It has next to nothing to do with the performance on the field and is a wonderful experience for the players that may never have the opportunity otherwise. If you’re bitching about the team getting a trip overseas in the offseason, perhaps you should find another hobby besides arguing and complaining on a message board.
I expect more “coaching the team” this year from Harbaugh. Obviously, he was a little different person last year. A bad hip and the first year with a newborn can test anybody. Add to that a team in it’s infancy, and it’s a recipe for an 8-5 year. These aren’t “excuses” these are reasons for the bad season. And most of it is fixable. Harbaugh is the right man to get it fixed.
Shea Patterson Is the Keymaster...(QBs)
The biggest deficit in 2017 was QB play. A healthy Speight could have been serviceable. He might have been able to manage games and probably wins vs. MSU and South Carolina. We averaged 40 points a game in 2016 with Speight and 25 in 2017 with the 3 faced QB. Speight is what I’d consider a high floor, low ceiling player...he wasn’t gonna lose a lot of games for you, but he wasn’t going to win any either.
Shea Patterson is almost the opposite. If he takes care of the ball, he is a high floor, high ceiling player that can create on his own when a play breaks down and win with his arm or his legs. He has a stronger, more accurate arm and is 10 times the running threat that Speight was. Most importantly, I don’t think he will be the target that Speight and Peters were in the pocket. Even if the protection breaks down, Patterson isn’t gonna get killed. Peters, Speight and Okorn were not very good at not taking a hit.
We went from 212 yards passing per game in 2016 to 171 in 2017. Patterson will throw for 250/game in 2018 and I think we can do better than 40 ppg.
Behind Patterson, I expect McAffrey to win the backup role based on the bowl game. Peters showed everybody why he was the third guy heading into the season. He’s not as athletic as I thought, his arm strength wasn’t a big strength and I didn’t like his leadership or toughness. Bottom line is he wasn’t ready last year. With that being said, I think he’ll be much better this year and all 3 QBs in 2018 will be better than the 2017 version.
I believe Milton will be groomed with scout team reps and Barrett could provide a wildcat presence with his own package of plays, but maybe not until 2019.
Strength in numbers...(RBs)
I don’t think there is a superstar on the roster at RB. Definitely not on the level of Georgia or Alabama. But we’re better than solid here, and have a lot of potential amongst the 7 tailbacks. Higdon, despite his stature, proved to be a great inside runner who takes what is there and doesn’t go down easily. He has solid speed to pop out the other side of the pile. He improved from horrific as a pass blocker to capable towards the end of the season.
Evans was supposed to be the guy...he bulked up to get more carries and it wasn’t the greatest experiment. With Higdon stepping up as the starter, I expect Evans to get more all-purpose back type touches. He’s better in space than running up the middle (though he is capable between the tackles when he commits to it). I’m hoping our screen game improves immensely and/or we can get Evans matched up with LBs and Ss.
Walker, assuming he gets everything done that he may have to get done, showed some flashes last year. But he needs to get stronger and healthier especially in the lower body. He probably has the most potential to be an all-American candidate at some point, but needs to put his distractions behind him. I like the way he runs with aggression and the speed appears to be there.
Samuels was disappointing, a bit, as a true frosh. He looked a bit undersized and wasn’t as explosive as I thought he’d be. I think Higdon wrote the blueprint for him, though. Struggle as a frosh but continue to improve and compete for the starting job as a junior and senior.
Barring injury, I don’t know that anybody else plays significantly. I’m not sure what to expect from Taylor, yet. Turner has some potential, but will benefit from a RS season. Haskins, on the other hand, could fill a niche as the big TB if he’s ready.
Mason will get most of the FB reps or play that big TB role if he’s nimble enough. Van Sumeren is likely the backup, assuming Wangler departs.
The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores...(WRs)
Bo used to say that quite a bit, from what I remember. And it makes the most since at WR...
Consider the average freshman seasons from AC, David Terrell, Braylon, Amani and Desmond...12 catches for 200 yards and 2.5 TDs....Sophomore seasons...50/866/11.
Black and DPJ are going to explode because they’re gonna be sophomores and they will have a blue chip QB. Crawford is a very good 3rd option as a junior. If he’s not, Nico Collins will be!
Perry and McDoom are OK at the slot. Both are solid football players, but neither are very scary. I’ll give Tim Sullivan credit on his McDoom take...he’s very shifty and a good runner, but he’s not a blazer or much of a downfield threat. Perry is a high floor/low ceiling player that was quite dinged up last year, but hopefully makes a big splash in his senior season.
I love Shoenle’s ability. He’s a very good blocker and tenacious special teamer. I look forward to the contributions from Oliver Martin. Bell is likely to redshirt, but i think he’s an athletic upgrade over the other slots when his time comes.
Tight End University, now in session...(TEs)
Sean McKeon had some great moments as a true sophomore, and he had some awful moments. He kinda came out of nowhere to win the starting job and lead the team in receiving. He also fumbled in two bad losses and dropped a key pass against Wisconsin. But for a lowly 3 star, he’s just scratching the surface. As is QB-convert Zach Gentry who flashed some tremendous potential despite being written off by some with his QB-TE-WR-TE journey. Tyrone Wheatley Jr had a rough season with a bad hand and the departure of his father as coach. He got into great shape last year, but it didn’t translate to a great season. I think he’s still our best blocker at the position and could be a great asset, complementing offensive line if he is on the field and a threat as a receiver. The bad hand limited his effectiveness as a receiver and cost him a lot of PT. I’d like to think he’s a strong candidate for breakout player of the year, but probably shares too much time at the deep TE position. And I hate to beat a dead horse, but he could be the answer at one of the OT positions if he’d just commit to it...which I don’t anticipate happening (but a guy can dream, right?).
Eubanks looked good early last year before getting knocked out (literally) for the season. He is a great vertical receiving threat if he can carve out some PT.
Muhammad, Hayes, and Schoonmaker are strong candidates for Redshirts assuming the 4 veterans all return. One may emerge as a candidate for PT if practice warrants it, but I don’t think anybody HAS to play as a frosh.
Are these guys capable Gatekeepers?...(OL)
There have been recruiting misses o’plenty on the offensive line. I’d love to have Isiah Wilson, Mekhi Becton, Jean DeLance, Devery Hamilton or Nick Petit-Frere on the roster. But they’re not and I still like the guys we have. For the first time in a decade we have depth on the OL. We’re very talented on the interior, but gotta make something work on the edges.
Ben Bredeson is our most talented guy. I think he’s better at OG or RT, but he might need to play LT. I prefer he doesn’t...we’ve been moving guys from their best postions to try to get the best 5 on the field and make it work. The only problem is...it hasn’t worked!
The issue is our top 4 guys all play inside...Bredeson, Onwenu, Ruiz and Spanellis. The next 3 guys with experience are probably also better inside (JBB, Runyan, Ulizio). Newsome is questionable to play at all, let alone play at the level he was projecting to.
The good news is we have some very good talent coming off of redshirts. Hudson, Steuber, Filiaga and Honingford provide the kind of depth we’ve lacked since Lloyd left. So the pieces are there.
Personally, I’d love to see Steuber or Hudson (who was playing RT during bowl prep, reportedly) win the outside jobs and keep the interior and 6th OL (Spanellis) intact. JBB, Ulizio, Runyan and Filiaga would then round out a complete 2 deep. All will be more experienced and all should benefit from the analysis of Warriner and some focus from Drevno.
I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that the 2018 season will depend on the development of the OL. I also don’t think it takes too much optimism to believe that the pieces are there. Bredeson, Onwenu, Ruiz, Spanellis, JBB, Runyan and Ulizio all got valuable PT last year.
I like the idea of Drevno coaching for his life. No splitting responsibilities and deflecting blame. Just coach the OL and put the pieces together. Herbert will make them bigger and stronger. Warriner will break down the problems. Go out and earn a better job. Guard to guard,we might have a top 5 unit which is a great place to start. If Hudson or Stueber can play like Steve Hutchinson or Jeff Backus as redshirt freshmen,we’ll be outstanding. I know that’s a big IF. But I’m not talking about them playing like the senior versions of Backus and Hutchinson....I’m talking about the RS frosh.
Yes, it is all sunshine and rainbows...(other thoughts).
I understand the frustration on this board after an 8-5 season with a total collapse in the bowl game. But the expectations of last year were generally out of whack for such an inexperienced team without good QB play. 2017 was a humongous speed bump, but 2018 has tremendous potential. Here are some predictions...
Shea Patterson goes over 3,500 yards passing and rushing. If we get a few breaks he could lead us to the playoffs...
Higdon goes over 1000 yards rushing. Evans gets over 1000 rushing and receiving.
We average 35 points a game...in a normal season we could go over 40, but play 5 top 12 teams before the postseason.
We will go back to being a great redzone team like we were in 2016.
We will have 5 receivers gain more than 307 yards that Perry led the team with in 2017.Black, DPJ, McKeon, Evans and Perry will all gain 400+.
Patterson, Black, Higdon, McKeon, Bredeson, Onwenu and Ruiz will all make first or second team all conference.
We beat ND and MSU on the road. The ND game will be a low scoring affair...first to 20 wins. MSU score will be closer than the statistics show, but we still win by 10.
We will be the first team in the playoffs with 2 losses.
Last edited:
