[Football Player Smiles / Barron] 

 

Copied from My Notepad

 

Preamble.  I've been signed up here 10 years in December, plus a couple more without bothering to create an account. Probably my favorite part of the site is the frontpage content called Unverified Voracity. I've missed it, especially with the start of football season kicking off. And with Brian out of commission and Seth doing magazine stuff, I thought "well, maybe I'll just make one." I hesitate to call this a "give back" as it might not be much of a gift. But here it is, maybe it'll kill ten minutes. Maybe there's a link to something you haven't seen yet. 

First up, as likely with anything in life that is worth anything, it looks simple and is no where near as simple as it looks. So, props to anyone and everyone who does this on the regular. Next, upon re-read, I feel like I'm basically just writing a bad Brian impression. That said, having spent a few years as a ghostwriter, it certainly is an arrow in the ole quiver. Although, I didn't If I ever do this again, or keep it up, I hope to make it a little more my own. But for now, just go with the formula that has worked for me forever. 

 

What it was, was football. Apparently, right under our very noses while we've been off Olympics-ing and NI-Ling, a football team has gathered and seems to be preparing to play football this season. Camp starts today (Friday).

With every pre-season comes the anticipation of football anew, including coaching changes, culture changes. This year, the bell of the (foot)ball is Young Macdonald who has rid our farm of Vipers... or has he?

One aspect that’s fairly straightforward, Macdonald said, is the edge-rusher position. Yes, the Wolverines will be using their edge defenders in different ways. But at the core of it, Macdonald said, those players have a few simple responsibilities.

“Everybody has some fancy name for some outside backer,” Macdonald said. “Look, man, set the edge. We want you to rush the passer, and when we ask you to drop, don’t screw it up. We’re not splitting atoms.”
 

Not splitting atoms. Check. Also, we've traded our dudes for ballers. 

“We want big, fast, aggressive, smart football players,” Macdonald said. “Across the board. That’s what we’re looking for. Again, let’s not overcomplicate it. There are exceptions to every rule with the height and weight requirements and stuff. You have different characteristics that you’re looking for. If a guy is just a complete baller, we’re going to make some adjustments in height, weight, and stuff we’re looking for. That’s it. The best, biggest, fastest football players that we can find.”

 

With a new Coordinator-level coach usually comes some kind of grand philosophy change. Don Brown was a havoc-on-defense, guys, dudes and animals, 'I don't change, you change', kind-of-guy/dude/animal. 

Macdonald in his early days here in Ann Arbor seems to be speaking from the "let's keep things simple" book of coach-speak. It's a defensive squad that has some talent (Hutch, Dax), some youth, and some obvious holes (everything between the DEs and the Safeties) that needs to be filled. So, one-step-at-a-time is likely what you'd expect to hear both from a player and a coaches standpoint.  

There's 25 practices between now and the Sept. 4 opener against Western.

 

Smash mouf. The early narrative on the Offensive side of the ball seems to be coming out of two position groups: Running Back and Offensive Line.

First with the running game. In 2020, the Wolverines averaged 131.5 yards per game, which is 11th in the Big Ten. And if you're keeping score at home, there's only 12 teams in the Big Ten. Not great Bob. They averaged 4.6 yards per attempt but still...

Athletic:

Gattis’ takeaway is that Michigan abandoned the running game too frequently, in part, because the Wolverines were playing from behind in virtually every game. The goal for 2021 is to get more rushing attempts, which becomes easier if the Wolverines can avoid early deficits.

“There were times last year that I kind of got away from it,” Gattis said. “That’s a little bit of an acknowledgment I understand for myself. We’ve got really good running backs: Hassan Haskins, Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards. Those guys need the ball. We’ve got to make a firm commitment to run the ball more.”
 

Haskins (Gattis' Bell Cow) appears to be getting the early starting nod but it's the wee days of August. Corum is here.  Donovan will play.

 

Hogmollies. Chief among the big man chatter is one Zak Zinter. His progression has been swift, now, where to play him?

From the Hole

At the moment, it’s unknown where Zinter will line up. While he was thought of as a right guard, he very well could play center, which isn’t a takeaway from what Andrew Vastardis brings to the table as much as Zinter is just that good.

Regardless, he will be on the field as a starter in 2021.

“Yeah, there’s a very realistic chance,” Zinter plays center, Gattis said. “Zak we absolutely love. In fact, I’ll tell you, Zak could potentially be our best offensive player. And it’s oftentimes people don’t talk about who’s your best offensive player as a lineman – everyone thinks it’s always gotta be a skill guy. But that’s how highly we think of Zak Zinter in this building. In fact, I think our players would think the same of him.

More...

Even if Zinter does play center, Gattis seems to be thinking of the offensive line in a different perspective. Noting earlier that the OL was something of a ‘swinging gate,’ there are so many players that now have key experience. So while we usually think of an O-line as one built and solidified on chemistry, Gattis and newfound offensive line coach Sherrone Moore appear to be thinking of it in terms of what the best matchups are against opposing defenses.

So, that's Zinter at either C or G, and Hayes and Stueber appear to be locks at Tackle. Beyond that, there's a reasonable amount of talent/depth (Barnhart, Keegan, Filiaga, Vastardis and Trente Jones) and even some starts from last year's M.A.S.H. unit of a season. We'll see how this unit shakes out in a few weeks.

 

In summary, last year was bad. Life is about learning from your mistakes.

With that in mind, Gattis is taking the negatives from 2020 and putting a positive spin on them. While we won’t know how it will turn out until the team takes the field on Sept. 4, there certainly are some reasons for cautious optimism.

“Also, seeing Coach Moore and the development that’s taken place on the offensive line — really excited about that,” Gattis said. “When you look at it from a depth standpoint last year, we’ve got seven offensive linemen right now that started football games for us in the past. We played 10 total offensive linemen in a six-game schedule. To say it was a swinging gate or the door was swinging open, it was interchanging every week. So to see some of those young guys, having played four offensive linemen that were freshmen, three of those guys are returning – seeing their confidence grow, seeing their experience from last year in such a short season, I’m looking forward to that translating into execution and success. I feel really good about the offensive line. I like where we are. We’ve got some really, really talented players, some young players. And they’re playing really well together right now.”

Oki doke. 12-0 it is. See ya in Tampa everyone!  What?  The National Championship game is in Indy this year?  Honestly, that's awful. Enjoy that heap of trash city Clembama State fans. Psh.

 

David Underpants Award. 

Mazi Smith step right up and accept your award for preseason hype man.

No player has more buzz going into camp than Mazi Smith, the 326-pound defensive tackle looking for a breakout season after two years of waiting in the wings.

“Mazi’s had a great offseason and is in a great state of mind,” Macdonald said. “Talking to him, I think he’s ready to roll. We’re counting on him having a great year for us, a great training camp.”

Here's hoping the hype is more Braylon than it is Underwood. Shoutout 17 year old preseason football references. Kelly Baraka.

 

QB Talk Seems Early.

McNamara, Bowman, JJ or some variation of the three.  

Cade.

(Gattis) “That's what you want from a quarterback — someone that is going to be your signal caller; someone that is going to be your most impactful leader. He makes everyone around him better, and we have 100 percent faith and trust in him. I think that’s exciting from an offensive coordinator standpoint, an offensive standpoint.”

Alan.

“We’re excited about Alan,” Gattis said. “He’s obviously going to get a chance to compete for the starting quarterback job, as every quarterback on our roster (will).”

J.J.

(Harbaugh) “And then JJ McCarthy has some of those very same qualities and did an excellent job in spring practice. He’s fighting. He’s got the athletic ability and the arm talent to get it done. But Cade McNamara is not letting him take it away. That’s probably the best thing for our team and JJ and all of us. That is where we stand, as I see it, at quarterback.”

No one seems to mention Villari other than a spring note from Coach Harbaugh about using Villari as a Taysom Hill-type.

All of it seems a bit effusive. It's early.

More from Coach.

“It just does not look like Cade’s going to let that go,” Harbaugh said at Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis last month. “It’s not going to go without a huge fight. It’s like watching the biblical ‘iron sharpens iron.’’’

 

Five Position Battles to Watch, Four Things to Watch at Michigan Football Opens 2021 Camp ($), Three Defensive Players with the Most to Prove

And a Partridge in a pear tree. (non sequitur)

 

 

We're a basketball school now.

Men's Basketball added a 4* Top 100 big in Tarris Reed. Matt EM has a lovely Hello. More reading. Athletic. 

 

This Juwan Guy May Be Worth Keeping an Eye On. I can't get enough of the effusive praise heaped on the Men's Basketball Coach after every interview, commitment or not.

Brew:

“The thing that really drew him to Michigan was the coaching staff, he really loved the coaching staff,” Perry said. “He loved the players when he went and visited — he knows Juwan is a great coach; in the short time he’s been there he’s already done some great things, and the recruiting classes he’s been able to put together. But the most important thing we talked about after the visit that stood out more than anything is Juwan is just a genuine person. You can tell when someone is genuine, and Juwan is genuine.”

Athletic:

“The No. 1 thing going through his process, he wanted to go somewhere where player development was top notch,” said Rodney Perry, Reed’s high school and grassroots coach. “Seeing Juwan in person, going step-by-step like that, that was huge.”

With that, Reed was sold.

 

As a consensus Top 100 guy the big man from Missouri looks like a nice add to the program. Maybe not a Moose-level type commit, but who is?  Championship programs have nice mixtures of upper and lower class contributors. 

 

College Cagers Chosen. Hometown boys make good.

Franz was selected by the Orlando Magic. People around the league seem to be pretty bullish on their pick/draft.

Shortly thereafter, Moritz Wagner, the older and more churlish son of Beate Wagner, was signed to a two year deal also with the Magic.

Franz was asked during a Zoom session with the media (Monday prior to the draft) about one day playing on the same NBA team as his older brother Moritz. “I’d rather play with him.” the younger Wagner said. “Playing against him, he’s a pain in the a**…”

This seems to check out.

 

Also representing the Mighty Wolverines, Isaiah Livers was drafted 42nd overall by the Detroit Pistons.

u up?

“Coach B. texted at like 1 … I said, ‘Coach B., you’re still up?” Livers quipped. “He was just excited. We get to work again. We’re like a dynamic duo. We put a lot of work in the first few years at Michigan.

"He’s the one that opened the door, gave me the opportunity to come to Ann Arbor, and I’ll always be thankful for that. He taught me so much about the game, so obviously, I’m so thankful for that."

“He’s going to be a lifetime friend. He pushed me because he knew what I was capable of. There were days it was a struggle, but I’m glad he pushed me through them.”

 

Smith to the Bucks. Brown to the Lakers.  LINK

 

Undrafted Division 3 Hooper turned Podcaster becomes Millionaire.  Duncan cashes in.

We had su... tacos. It was crazy.

 

Duncan really let loose after signing his $90M contract pic.twitter.com/XefVSK5jDt

— The Long Shot (@TheLongShotPod) August 5, 2021

 

 

The Wrap-up.  Blue is Bad vs Washington. DPJ Hype Train... Choo choo. Injuries end Jake Butt's career.

RIP Brandent Englemon. He was a fan favorite. A low-star recruit out of Kentucky, he turned himself into a major contributor to the team by his senior year and earned the Woodson Award for the team's best DB. LINK

RIP Tony Tolbert. COVID is effing awful. Get the shot. The end. LINK