nolan rumler

Down to one of these. [Isaiah Hole/WolverinesWire]

As the Wolverine was the first to report, Nolan Rumler is looking to transfer.

Sad, not unexpected loss because he’s from a great family and loves Michigan, but was getting passed by younger guys on the depth chart. Talk over the summer was he’s everything as advertised as a run blocker but wasn’t picking up pass pro. Rumler’s path to the field was to move up into Filiaga’s spot, which was a starter if Zinter moved to center. However Zinter is sticking at guard, with Crippen and Anderson looking like the future at center, and Reece Atteberry, a 2020, was on the field with the backups vs NIU, which is a sign he’s passed Rumler as well, and that's before we mention tackles Trente Jones and Karsen Barnhart, who are effectively part of the same depth chart.

Note that because of the COVID year a lot of these guys have a ton of eligibility, including Rumler, who will have three years left to play (redshirt in 2019, COVID shirt in 2020). Both of Michigan’s current starting guards, Keegan and Zinter, also have freshman eligibility this year.

He’s still with the team but I think the plan here is to enroll in a new school by January so he can compete in spring. Wishing him the best of luck. There is no content after the jump.

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. [Patrick Barron]

“The rules are simple: they lie to us, we know they're lying, they know we know they're lying, but they keep lying to us, and we keep pretending to believe them.”

― Elena Gorokhova, A Mountain of Crumbs

Let’s wrap up spring practice, shall we?

We didn’t get a spring game—I’ve said enough about that—and all of the information these days is filtered through Pravda. It’s a bummer, but as long as this stance lasts you need to add three layers of negativity to everything the program releases to feel half-reasonable. I’ll lead each section with the tiny bit of insider information then share what the program’s saying.

Quarterback

image

BA life. [Patrick Barron]

What we want to hear: Soviet passing economy strong like Comrade Putin rectus abdominis muscle. Comrade McNamara is people’s chain mover. Comrade McCarthy has talent that is bigger than Soviet Union. Ha ha is joke, nothing is bigger than Soviet Union.

What we’re hearing: If you heard one thing from the spring game it’s that passes were batted at the line…a LOT($). Cade’s got a much better command of the offense, but gets a lot of passes batted down due to his height; ITF’s guy compared him to Ian Book($), which, uh, yeah, that guy gets a lot of passes filed BA. McCarthy’s talent is evident but he’s making lots of true freshman in his first spring practice mistakes.

A guy I spoke to thinks quarterback will be a limiting factor again this year and “you didn’t miss much” about Cade’s spring game performance, a sentiment echoed by ITF’s source($). Sam Webb shared on our podcast that McCarthy’s just a matter of when($):

That being said, the excitement about JJ McCarthy ’s future is palpable. Physically, he is just on another level compared to the other quarterbacks. One source offered the same assessment of McCarthy that he’d offered previously about Donovan Edwards… “he is what a five-star is supposed to look like.”

Jansen’s In the Trenches podcast said Cade was better at directing his offensive line and knowing where the rush is coming from. He does a great job of letting his receivers make a play. As for JJ: You saw what you’d expect from a 5-star recruit with regards to ability, and he’s faster than he expected.

New QB coach Matt Weiss was featured, and they summarized his bits:

So, what does Weiss think of the Wolverines' three scholarship quarterbacks?

On McNamara: "You can say he's not enough of this or not enough of that, but at the end of the day, he's really smart. He makes great decisions. He processes things very fast, and his accuracy and arm strength are more than enough to win with."

On Villari: "He has arm strength. He has mobility. I love working with him. He's a guy who, for sure, could develop into a really good player for us."

On McCarthy: "Arm strength, mobility, great athlete -- all that stuff is obvious as soon as you step on the field with him -- but I've been even more impressed with his approach to things. His maturity is far beyond his years."

Gattis also went on the Jansen pod, and Isaiah Hole of WolverinesWire painstakingly typed up and organized all the things the OC said. From that: the players believe in Cade, who moves the ball and commands the offense well. JJ’s working on “understanding every day is a new day.”

Gattis also pointed out Villari was the scout team QB last year so he’s getting in his first reps as well.

What it means: We’ll have to keep an eye out for the batted passes thing—those tend to stick to certain QBs because of release points and styles of play.

Read nothing into J.J. McCarthy’s struggles this spring, or the suggestion in Gattis’s comments that the true freshman is frustrated with his play. I strongly disagreed with Sam when he suggested on WTKA last week that you might as well roll with the kid if it’s a lost season. Quarterbacking is about comfort, so yes, game reps are important. Reps when you have no protection however are counterproductive, and can ruin a guy. Unless McCarthy himself gives you a timeline, I prefer to take it slow.

Projected depth chart McNamara, [Bowman], McCarthy, Villari

[After THE JUMP: No CCCP2 jokes today]

[Bryan Fuller]

Previously: The Story. Podcast 12.4A, 12.4B, 12.4C. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End.

Depth Chart

LT Yr. LG Yr. C Yr. RG Yr. RT Yr.
Ryan Hayes So.* Chuck Filiaga Jr.* Andrew Vastardis Sr.* Andrew Stueber Jr.* Jalen Mayfield So.*
Trente Jones Fr.* Trevor Keegan Fr.* Zach Carpenter Fr.* Zak Zinter Fr. Karsen Barnhart Fr.*
Jeffrey Persi Fr. Jack Stewart Fr.* Reece Atteberry Fr. Nolan Rumler Fr.* Joel Honigford Jr.*

The reader probably does not have to be reminded that the previous two times Michigan has lost a Rimington-quality center to the NFL the subsequent season was a disaster. David Molk graduates; Michigan flops Elliott Mealer and Patrick Barnum the week before the season. Denard is murdered most foul. Mason Cole graduates; Patrick Kugler steps in. Wilton Speight and Brandon Peters are murdered most foul. John O'Korn starts the Ohio State game.

You're probably thinking "let's not do that again," and hoo boy you've never been more correct about anything in your life. Let's not do that again. Please, please, please. Oh cruel and malevolent gods of the universe, surely we have suffered enough.

CRUEL AND MALEVOLENT GODS OF THE UNIVERSE: no

what?

CAMGOTU: no one has ever suffered enough

maybe you could balance out the suffering some

CAMGOTU: get bent nimrod, ger berks

is that… go bucks?

CAMGOTU: ger berks

goddammit

Anyway, if there is a weapon in Michigan's arsenal that can possibly mitigate the fact that Cthulhu is real and wears an Andy Katzenmoyer jersey to formal events, it's Ed Warinner. Warinner instantly repaired Michigan's disastrous blitz pickup schemes under Tim Drevno, orchestrated the bar-none best-organized Michigan OL your author has ever charted, and is an advocate of making things easy to pick up. This press conference quote from shortly after his hire still stands out:

I just want to understand, ‘simplify,’ a little bit more. I mean, the guys have been talking about it since you got here. And you’re saying, offensive line is complicated. In your mind, what does simplify mean? The scheme’s not simple?

“Well just how you present it. Like, there’s a lot of things that can happen on every play. And nobody knows what, before the play starts, what of those are gonna happen. And realistically, I know there’s six things that could happen. If I give all six of those scenarios to a player, then he won’t play very fast. So I have to simplify that — what are the two most likely things to happen on this play, in this situation. And it’s A or B, and react to one of those two. And if he’s right 80 percent of the time, we win. Cause if the line grades out at 80 percent, we’re gonna win.

A quote from Chris Evans after Warinner arrived and Cesar Ruiz ascended to the throne sums it up:

“How it was last year, it’s like, no matter what, if he comes, you gotta block him,” Evans explained. “Now Cesar’s in there and he can adjust it and you can go at it like that."

Maybe. Maybe one goddamn time.

[After THE JUMP: one time!]

my other brothers E. Honda 

I'm more bowling ball than a man / or I'm more man than a bowling ball / Rum-ler 

Mazi Smith takes the field for the Under Armour All-America Game

New offers, new rankings, new-hire reactions

Trente Jones practices for the Under Armour All-America Game

The UA Game uniforms were the only thing better than Michigan signees' performance

Recruiting rankings of 2019 offensive commits versus history.

Nolan Rumler blocking

Picture of a road-grader