Two or three receivers are earning a lot of praise. One defender is maybe the best football player in America. There's no way you're going to guess who they're talking about.

Offense in General

What we want to hear: More confirmation that Gattis is in charge and they're practicing the things they're going to do this year.

What we're hearing: BTN made their Michigan stop and as expected there was barely anything interesting from it. The one thing we noticed in the video is that Michigan uses two balls to practice triple-options so they don't have two guys running around doing nothing.

Michigan using 2 balls in mesh group to maximize reps on read and speed option/pitch relationship. #spreadoffense pic.twitter.com/HN9V1uK7CU

— SpreadOffense.com (@SpreadOffense) August 14, 2019

There's also been plenty of Gattis being Gattis. Twas he who told the press that they won't ever use a six-man OL, that the fullback position doesn't exist because all of their running backs have to block and catch and run. Numerous mentions from Jansen to Harbaugh note they're not a huddling team anymore. But it was Nua who gave us the strongest indication yet that they're serious about RPOs this time, noting "Our offense runs them a lot" in explaining how much they're practicing converting pass rush to pursuit.

What it means: #SpeedInSpace

---------------------------------------

Quarterback

Et tu, dieu? [Bryan Fuller]

What we want to hear: Deepest group of quarterbacks since…uh…

What we're hearing: QB coach Ben McDaniels met with the media, and user NeverPunt kindly typed it up for us. Not a lot there: Shea's doing a good job of "staying clean" mentally, skillsets of the QBs is similar. McCaffrey would start at "a ton" (Lorenz) or most (Shea Patterson) programs depending whom you ask.

Shea was on Jansen's podcast and explained the "golf" comments from last week. The short of it is he likes to golf. If you need to scrounge for a reason this will make him a better football player, he says he practices his focus. Really though he just likes to golf. Via a couple of practice observers (and in ITF this week($)) Shea was finding guys every time when he broke the pocket, has been super locked in this fall. Milton's way behind the other two but preparing like he isn't.

What it means: Shea's got the job, but they're not kidding about McCaffrey, who's doing enough that you have to talk about him.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup]

---------------------------------------

Running Back

Myrrrawrrrrrrrr rrrmmmmmm ummmmchkchkchk rhmmmm [Marc-Grégor Campredon]

What we want to hear: Compare Charbonnet to a large vehicle of some kind.

What we're hearing: Charbonnet is "coming on like a freight train" according to Harbaugh's presser. Everyone's saying Zach Charbonnet is exactly what the coaches thought they had, on and off the field, but also exactly the true freshman he is. Also Tru Wilson has gotten faster, and remains a very tough object to dislodge from the #1 spot. Haskins had his best two practices at Michigan this week. Christian Turner is one of Lorenz's X-factors of the year:

We've been the conductors of the Charbonnet hype train for a while now. However, Turner returns with a healthy amount of experience and is a player the staff has loved for a while. It's hard to envision Michigan putting all of their chips in one basket at running back this season. If Turner can build off of a strong Peach Bowl performance, a questionable unit will feel a lot better.

Guy who emails me noted Turner and Charbonnet are owning certain roles. ITF ($) interpreted this same data as Turner is ahead, with Charbonnet second and Tru "very much in the mix." Chris Balas tried to ask Doug Skene if Tru's not an "every-down back" on their podcast and Skene quickly asserted that's not a modern concept, for one, and two you underrate pass pro at your peril.

What it means: I'm not moved by this "Turner no Charbonnet" is ahead talk. Charbonnet is exactly where he was expected to be given a) Michigan had him wait to have that meniscus surgery, and b) Michigan thought he was the best RB in the country in an admittedly down year for running backs. I'm sticking to my Anthony Thomas 1997 prediction of a guy who's not the feature back, but who ends the season with the best YPC and at least "Charbonnet Game" in November. Turner too is a guy who's only undervalued if you forget about him—Michigan is going to get that guy carries, especially since his athleticism is going to come in handy with all the running back RPOs. But I still put the plurality of snaps on Tru Wilson, and still think that's a fine thing. Even Hassan Haskins is going to factor in this year. Running back snaps are not that hard to find in football these days. You need four or five you can play more than you need one who can star.

I also think we're going to see plenty of multiple-back formations, with the fullbackian types like VanSumeren given some swiss army jobs. BEN MASON needs all the time he can get to practice at DT but I doubt we've seen the last of him on offense.

---------------------------------------

Wide Receiver

I'm gonna be like you, dad. You know I'm gonna be like you. [Barron]

What we want to hear: C'mon, are these guys the greatest ever or what? Also is there life after DPJ-Nico-Tarik?

What we're hearing: Guess which two guys are standing out? No, seriously, guess again. Nope, neither of those. Nope, not any of those three. Nope, not him either. The exactly zero of you who guessed Ronnie Bell and Cornelius Johnson get a cookie. Harbaugh on Bell:

“Ronnie Bell has been a stalwart all camp, as he was in spring ball. Tarik’s been back, he’s practiced. Donovan has practiced. Nico has practiced. Mike Sainristil is continuing to develop."

Via ITF however, Bell's been a little inconsistent in the hands department ($). I asked an insider who said that's mostly been on tougher catches but yeah, he's not Tarik Black or Nico Collins in that department.

Meanwhile Harbaugh on Johnson:

"CJ has done a great job. He’s rocking up the depth chart as well. Those guys in particular, those six have really stood out.”

Revsine was tweeting from the BTN stop and caught a live CoJo catch. The guy who emails me beat him to it: "Cornelius Johnson. Hearing his name over and over and over. Add him to the list true Fr. that will play."

Giles Jackson is more than fast; he's "fast-fast" and Harbaugh says he's "on track to get playing time this year."

Ask Gattis about the other guys…

Tarik Black is off to having a great camp. Tarik has really kind of turned it up even more than what he did in the spring. I think the spring was a little bit of an adjustment learning-wise, I think he was still picking everything up a bit. Now, he’s buying into the coaching, buying into the details, he’s playing at a very high level. Like I said, him and Ronnie Bell right now are the two guys who have really stood out at receiver.

No…the returning starters!

Obviously, people talk about Donovan and people talk about Nico, those guys are playing lights-out, too. … Donovan’s doing really well. Donovan’s been playing, Donovan hasn’t missed a snap of practice.

Shea didn't get the message, talking at length about his excitement for the Big Three on Jansen's podcast. Neither did Lorenz($), who said Nico's been the best player in camp. And though he may be small, they couldn't hide Sweetness from BTN's Dave Revsine.

What it means: Best case scenario, right here.

I'm going off script here. I recently got an earful from a guy who knows Bama inside and out about how Saban handled early entries, which is a constant issue in his program. Players who are eyeing the next level have to compete at a higher level, perform at a higher level, and do NFL-caliber things to earn praise that might come easier for a guy who plans to be here next year. It's reinforced often: if you want to leave your teammates, you owe it to them to elevate your play and your preparation, and make the team better so they can march on without you. And Gattis was in that program last year.

Based on a lot of things—my Bama person, opinions from an NFL guy I've been emailing with, ITF's guess that the coaches will pick the captains this year ($)—I am extrapolating that the coaches looked at their leadership last year and thought they were a bit too focused on the NFL. DPJ and Nico are obvious candidates to leave early, and the program's certainly behind them on that, but I get a program-wide sense that the coaches are trying harder this year to keep their pro prospects' attention on campus, or just hold the guys en route to the NFL to a higher standard. This is also true for their NFL-bound seniors: Shea, Khaleke, Lavert, and Bredeson (but apparently not Onwenu). Uche and Ruiz are getting the "you know he's good, we're not talking about it anymore" treatment too, but it's been most pronounced at receiver. What it means is don't take the apparent dogging of Nico and DPJ too seriously; they're being graded on another level now.

That said, let's soak up this wonderful news about Bell and Johnson because those could be your starters in a year. Let's keep feeling warm and fuzzy about Sainristil, and excited about Giles (it's pronounced Jiles) Jackson, because if you didn't drink away all of your Rich Rod experience you'll recall a ton of Kelvin Grady plays to remind you second and third-string slots get a lot of play.

---------------------------------------

Tight End

All aboard the night train. [Fuller]

What we want to hear: Michigan has the best two tight ends in the country, and when they're gone they'll have the best three in the country.

What we're hearing: The first thing. Continuing a trend of insider leaks becoming tomorrow's points in the coach presser, Sean McKeon has really turned his attitude around from last year and is practicing like a team leader, while Eubanks was put under pressure in spring and emerged this fall meeting all of their demands. Gattis:

Nick Eubanks is guy that had tremendous talent. He had a spring where it was kind of a learning adjustment for him. Didn’t quite fine-tune all the details, but showed his athletic ability. We really challenged Nick coming out of spring, and to see where Nick is today … those two guys, I believe, are hands down the best tight ends in the country, Sean McKeon and Nick Eubanks.

All, Muhammad and Schoonmaker continue to be mentioned, in that order, after the leaders. Gattis added they could go "five deep" at TE right now. In a VIP post ($) Lorenz noted Muhammad is going to get some snaps. McKeon is getting in front of the media. Erick All's hands are continuing to impress.

What it means: I'm all in on the McKeon talk, and think they've really got a weapon in Eubanks that again we won't get to fully utilize because there are so many others. Last year we got that one big touchdown against Indiana from Eubanks and a lot of learning on the job from McKeon. I don't see their usage going down since it wasn't that high last year, but you may see McKeon cracking PFF charts in the way Iowa tight ends who block a lot fly up their numbers, and let's say three huge Eubanks plays, plus a spattering of Muhammad. I still see All as a receiver more than a Gentry TE—either way his takeoff point is next year, with maybe one hilariously fun play in the dark against MTSU.

---------------------------------------

Offensive Line

It's you. Maybe it was always you. [Fuller]

What we want to hear: Just admit it: best line since 2000.

What we're hearing: The right tackle battle has resolved unfortunately: Stueber has a knee injury that will have him out for some weeks. Until that happened the word was Jaylen Mayfield had opened up the tiniest lead, and that Stueber was the top backup at every position but center (that may or may not have meant moving Runyan inside). Warinner went on Jansen's pod and said Ryan Hayes is next up and Honigford is kicking outside just in case:

“It's hard to say if there was any separation there. Jalen is a quality player — athletic, fast, very competitive, learns well.”

Hayes, a favorite of senior left guard Ben Bredeson, has added 28 pounds from 271 to 299 and made great strides.

"He might be ahead of everyone right now," Warinner said of the backups. “Ryan’s versatile, so he could play right side or left side.”

Redshirt sophomore Joel Honigford has been bumped from guard to tackle to provide depth, while freshmen Trente Jones, Trevor Keegan and Karsen Barnhart are also competing there.

Onwenu featured in his own segment on Zack Shaw's writeup of Josh Gattis's offensive rundown:

He's been awesome, he's just a guy that — he is one of the most impressive guys to look at, because he's 370 pounds and when you first think about an offensive lineman you say 370, you worry about them, but he has really good feet and can run and move really well. He's actually got one of the lowest body fat percentages of all of our offensive linemen. I mean, he's just mass and he’s strong and powerful.

Gattis went on to describe experiencing Onwenu with his shirt off. It seems that Josh is going to fit right in here at Mich—

"we will not ever line up in a six-offensive lineman formation, so no one has to worry about that"

--igawwwwwe gotta talk.

Via a rather dour insider I talk to, the loss of Stueber hurts if they lose another tackle because Hayes is still a ways away in strength (but still the potential down the road is way up there). On the inside the first option is Spanellis (at center, pushing Ruiz out to guard if need be), followed by Filiaga and Honigford.

What it means: Dagnabbit. The injury to Stueber turns this from a Wisconsin-style line that one or two injuries can't touch, to a very good line that had to give back one of its Get Out of Jail Free cards already. They still have the Community Chest one in Spanellis, and can probably get back to full depth again by the end of September pending the results of the knee scan. It also changes how they plan to soak up that injury—losing another tackle could be a significant downgrade, and losing an interior guy probably now means moving Ruiz to guard.

---------------------------------------

Defensive Tackle

Dwum's down; keep hyping Don. [Upchurch]

What we want to hear: Dwumfour is finally healthy and resuming the hype from last year. Both freshmen are picking things up so quickly they're only going to suck a little. Kemp is actually going to be a great nose because he was bit by a radioactive spider, and Jeter is a pass-rusher too.

What we're hearing: None of that. Harbaugh wasn't shy that pass rush from the interior was the main thing this team seems to lack, something that was quite apparent late last year. Add a new position to the list Carlo Kemp has played (via Harbaugh):

“It’s looked good,” Harbaugh said. “Interiorly, let’s start with Carlo Kemp, who’s really been outstanding. He’s really elevated his game as he’s done throughout his career. He started as an offensive linebacker. Was moved to defensive end, 3-technique, nose. He is playing at a very high level right now.

Furbush is graduated so "defensive fullback" is also open.

Kemp went on the Jansen podcast and talked about how he's done after this year, which means no retroactive Devin Gardner back injury redshirt for him. The most interesting part of that segment, I thought, was he explained why defensive tackle is harder for a freshman to play than DE or LB: if you take one wrong step the guard will get around you and you're in your DE's gap—sorry—and the play is ruined. You can get away with false steps at other positions if your athleticism makes up for it.

Harbaugh also gave us the best indication yet of the state of the two-deep and the freshmen trying to crash it:

“Good young guy that’s playing extremely well — freshman Chris Hinton has asserted himself,” Harbaugh said. “Probably right in the two-deep right now. Probably backing up. (Freshman) Mazi Smith as well – another (defensive player who didn’t) start last year.”

Isaiah got video of the Nua presser and user ldevon1 took the initiative to post the presser on our board. From that:

• BEN MASON is "wired up different." Yes, he's still a screamer. He's also finally starting to play like a defensive linemen ($).
• Mazi has done a great job of reforming his body, Hinton big guy who can run.
• Dwumfour's been "doing everything he can where he can. He's doing a great job of being involved in meetings, walkthroughs and even practice."
• Jeter: doing a good job, still a long way's to go.
• Hinton is a mature kid, good feet, has the hips to cover the edge. Ahead in the mental part

From insiders, the Jeter hype continues unabated. They're still working Dwumfour back gingerly (put him at 80% now) so other guys have been getting a lot of opportunity to play. They want to go six deep at DT, which I take to mean they want the freshmen to get better.

What it means: Kemp is the guy you think he is—a guy you'll take to war who isn't going to be an all-conference menace like a modern top-tier defense requires.

Nose	Tackle
Kemp	Dwumfour
Mazi/Hinton	Jeter
Hinton	Hinton

The Dwumfour news is bad unless it's a different injury from the one that ended his spring (I don't know). If he's at 80% from that now and not participating on the field very much, what's the likelihood he can be full-go early in the season? Not great. What's the likelihood that the biggest X factor in years turns into a Mo Hurst now? Extremely unlikely. Should you give up all hope on the season right now? No. Should you figure Michigan's weak spot this year (before injuries declare another) is going to be defensive tackle, and that this is very bad news for a program that has to face Ohio State and Notre Dame and go to Penn State—all teams that will negate your DE pass rush all day? Yeah, as much as you can in pre-season. But hey, that's a couple of months away.

Jeter might start the season at tackle because Dwumfour has been so limited, and Jeter hype might all be about that. Army will be its own challenge; we'll see against Army.

The freshmen are true freshmen, whatever you do. The unsaid part of all those sentences about Hinton was "…for a freshman" and that goes for Mazi as well. This needs to be emphasized: DT is a position where if you screw up your defense will get gashed. If you get out of your lane on a long pass rush, you're giving up a 3rd and long. If you get blown out by a double team, your linebackers can't save you. And if you can't get pass rush against spread teams, your secondary has no choice but to go bend-don't-break. There are a few ways to get that as the season goes on, and MTSU's OL is so bad, and Army's system so odd, that it won't be evident until Wisconsin, at which point I think Taylor gets 5 YPC and we'll be in a game. An Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, or 2016 Michigan DT situation is out of the cards.

---------------------------------------

Defensive End

Is that good?

What we want to hear: All three of the top three are just as good as the Big Three you'll hear about in Draftageddon shortly.

What we're hearing: Don Brown called Kwity Paye "potentially the best football player in America" and so smooth he "moves like he's on skates." They asked Nua, who admitted he originally thought Paye was too quiet, about his unit's Steve Yzerman-like leader. "Just works and works, strong, athletic, doesn't talk. A workhorse." Michael Spath's informant is all Nik Lidstrom:

"Kwity doesn't make mistakes," my insider said. "He's one of those guys that buys all in on the notion he has a job to do and his 10 teammates have a job to do, and as long as he does his job, that's all that matters.

Mike Danna was the lone Wolverine to make PFF's Top 50 players for 2019:

Heading to Michigan after a dominant career at Central Michigan, Danna brings with him a ridiculous set of pass-rush moves and a strong presence in the run game. He ripped off 50 or more pressures in each of the last two seasons including 55 a year ago with 19 combined sacks + hits. Purely projection at this point, his ability to shed blocks and get after the quarterback should translate nicely to the Wolverines defensive front after several losses this offseason. Over the past two seasons, Danna has won 24.3% of his pass-rushes, the second-highest rate in the nation.

Some more bits from Nua

• Uche is with the linebackers.
• Aidan is a competitor: going  to be a great player.
• Vilain is still being talked in existentialist terms. "He's back" and "trying to fight the mental part of coming back."
• Upshaw was asked about and we got positive boilerplate about things DEs have to learn.
• Ojabo is getting boilerplate athleticism talk.

What it means: Michigan has a solid three they can rotate with, and a Uche card to play on third downs. The next generation however is way behind them. One of the reasons Michigan fell apart against Florida that doesn't get talked about much is they were down past the Hutchinson line. Upshaw, Vilain, and Ojabo seem like they're a year away from being great options on the two-deep. Unless one of the top three get injured however that won't matter. Michigan's in as good a situation as anybody here.

---------------------------------------

Linebacker

 

They'll never suspect me. [Fuller]

What we want to hear: Some clarity about guys other than Ross and Khaleke.

 

What we're hearing: A lot of hype about guys other than Ross and Khaleke. Spath's guy gave us the most this week, noting the linebackers are going to have a lot more rotation than in the past because nobody's Devin Bush, Devin Gil isn't good enough to separate from the pack despite all his experience, and the pack keeps growing:

In my opinion, Jordan Anthony is the biggest physical freak of the bunch and the light bulb is going on. He's not all the way there, but he's getting closer and closer. McGrone is right in step with him. He's going to be something special in another year, but he can help them now because when he reads his keys right, there is explosion and power to the ball carrier. I'm not sleeping on Glasgow.

That guy also compares Michael Barrett to Larry Foote. Lorenz wonders aloud if we're selling Ross short($).

In guys of the future, Charles Thomas is standing out early($) (along with Cornelius Johnson) to Marich.

At viper, the talk is Anthony Solomon is probably not going to get a redshirt, since he's impressing immediately.

What it means: I'd love to see this Jordan Anthony light, because I concur on the physical freak bit. We were probably pitching McGrone a bit too fast—he's Devin Bush in speed and athleticism but not the once in 30 years savant Bush was. Ditto Michael Barrett, who sounds like he'll be a very good late upperclassman and we just have to be patient. That leaves us with Gil, Glasgow and Anthony as potential WLB stars. Your floor is Gil, who was a small step down from McCray, i.e. a just fine Big Ten starting linebacker. Anything from there is candy. Glasgow is a guy who will force his way onto the field one way or another. Anthony would be a shot at having two Josh Rossii. All of these guys available tells you Michigan is probably going to have great linebacker play.

And we didn't even mention Khaleke. Anthony Solomon probably emerges by the start of the season as Khaleke's heir apparent.

---------------------------------------

Safety

One awful play in the 1st Q that changed the result against a rival and has made everyone underrate him since: check [Fuller]

What we want to hear: Daxton is starting to pop, another of the myriad safeties they have on campus is starting to show he can play.

What we're hearing: Josh Metellus came up 1st in Passer Rating Allowed to PFF among Big Ten safeties returning this year. Top Billin' did a video on Dax Hill's high school tape. The good new news is Brad Hawkins really seems to be coming on, an opinion shared by 247's Brice Marich ($) and Sam Webb. Specifically Hawkins has improved dramatically in coverage. Yay!

The bad news is everyone keeps saying those two guys are leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. Everything about Daxton Hill is pushed to the future—he's going to be great and he picks up things quickly, but… There's a very steep learning curve at safety that, say, cornerback or even the nickel safety position (Michigan's dime defender is going to be a safety again this year) doesn't have. The safeties have to rotate and shift coverages with motion. They become the key element to stopping Army's triple-option offense.

What it means: Let's say we buy the Hawkins talk; this is a fantastic development. Michigan is going into the season with two safeties they're comfortable with, which is one more than we thought they would be going into the season with. Daxton is probably going to be useful in nickel situations right away (think early Peppers), and start siphoning snaps by mid-October. Penn State has KJ Hamler in the slot, so that's the target date I'm looking at for a full Daxton deployment.

I don't think we're going to get much from any other safety on the roster this year. J'Marick Woods appears to be at that point where he can't hack it athletically as a deep safety, making his options a move to viper (I'd be all for this—he's got skills that are useful there!) or a transfer to a team that plays a lot more Cover 2 after this year, which if he has a degree by then it'll be hard to keep him. German Green and Sammy Faustin are getting no talk—I know they're just redshirt freshmen but there ought to be something if they're going to be something down the road. To a lesser degree, a Quinten Johnson reference would be nice, but he came in as a raw athlete with lots of technical issues, and that kind of guy isn't supposed to pop at this point. Walk-on Hunter Reynolds is still ahead of all of these guys, QED.

Cornerback

Aegis technology. [Barron]

What we want to hear: A return timeline for Ambry, a future star emerging, something about someone other than Gray, unless it's about Gray suddenly developing past his type and into Channing Stribling's (with better run defense and more permanent matter phasing than Stribling).

What we're hearing: Harbaugh finally made the Ambry Thomas tummy public: "He's not practicing right now. Not on the 110. He was diagnosed with colitis. He has lost quite a bit of weight. He's gained that weight back. If there isn't setbacks, there will be milestones. No timeline on that. It's right now where he can be here, he can come to meetings, he can do conditioning and get treatment. We'll find out where he is from a conditioning standpoint, and how much football he can do over the next week or ten days. Once it's determined what he can do that's what he'll do. And we'll continue to monitor for setbacks. Next milestone after that will be to see if he can run full speed, and have conditioning and strength. Next milestone will be to start playing football without contact. Again, always monitoring to see if there's setbacks. And after that, he'll be cleared to participate in contact.

Sam added that Ambry's 185 on the show today. Other takes:

• Isaiah Hole: "Hopefully Wisconsin" as long as he sticks to the plan. Good that Michigan has an early bye week.
• Guy who emails me: There are still people saying that Harbaugh is putting the worst case scenario out there. He could be back by the end of camp and start getting ready for Wisconsin.
• My doctor friend: "Colitis [cry laughing emoji]! That's [gastroenterologist] for boo-boo! I can't diagnose from afar but from what you told me it sounds like he's going to be fine long-term, and they're waiting to see how he responds."

Vincent Gray is "continuing to impress" via Harbaugh, Don Brown, and Sources, says Isaiah; Harbaugh puts Gray and Jaylen Kelly-Powell in that tier of guys who have to step up. Spath's guy says Gray's a dawg:

Everyone is excited to see what Gray can do once the bullets are live because there's no 'back-down' in this kid.

They're facing some monsters at receiver and that's reflecting poorly on the corners. The glowing reports about DPJ or Ronnie Bell making long catches down the sideline fail to mention which corner got burned; in the two videos out there from BTN the culprits were Gray and Perry. Spath's guy describes this from more than two samples:

"I'd like to say it's all going to according to plan but there are good days and bad. Lavert and Vincent are the two guys that have far more good than bad. Lavert ... if the guys score on him, it's real satisfaction because they know how good he is, and he doesn't give up much.

Lorenz ($) passed on some nice words about DJ Turner.

What it means: Targeting the Big Ten season for Ambry's return. He's an important guy to have by then.

I'm getting (justified) heat in the comments for being down about Gray's ceiling so let me be clear that I think we're looking at a Brandon Watson or late career JT Floyd who's going to shut down any receiver who can't run a 4.45, and could be a liability against those who can. That might apply to just two opponents.

When you look at the schedule, pending an NCAA waiver decision on Oliver Martin, Michigan doesn't face one of those guys until October 5 (Iowa) or October 19 (Penn State). Notre Dame has big receivers, the kind Watson or Floyd would routinely negate. It's the PSU game when Michigan's going to need more than Hill to cover multiple freak athletes like they're facing in practice, and of course Ohio State. Maybe by then they'll have Ambry back and DJ Turner will be Leon Hall'ing his way into the regular lineup or something. I would *LOVE* that. Complete cornerbacks are rare and amazing and let you play Cover 1 all day and use your linebackers to blitz and nobody can punish you for it.

But let's not overvalue ship-to-ship warfare in a Big Ten with only a few NFL prospects and most of those on Michigan's roster or buried out West. No, our Aegis cruisers aren't great at sinking ships, but what Navy is actually putting battleships out there these days? Russia? Maybe China? Yes, we need that capability in the fleet; no it's not an immediate vulnerability. There are a lot of games against a lot of receivers who can't take advantage of a guy like Gray's weakness, and that means his strengths can be brought to bear.

Special Teams

What we… oh whatever here's the news: Via everybody. Moody seems to have the lead over Nordin, now that Moody's hitting some long balls. A few add that Nordin's not giving up that easy and ITF($) noted "Nordin's got his mojo back." Christian Turner and Mike Sainristil are leading the kick returners, and DPJ is probably coming back to punt returner.