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Michigan Wolverine Football: What To Do With What Is Left

By Eroc Wolverine

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GBMWolverine Michigan Football TidbitsPosted at 7:30am — 2/17/2015

Michigan Wolverine Football: What To Do With What Is Left

Phase Three: What To Do With What Is Left?

The remnants from the Coach Brady Hoke regime remain. The remnants consist of many factors and conditions, the most important being the players. It still remains their team and future program success will in large part be determined by how well they play in the near future. The coaching staff understands this and we should expect no attitude displaying a massive purge to clear the deck of past problems that imitates a no stepchild welcome from a previous marriage scenario.

The coaches will treat the players, new and old, as Wolverines, there will be no group favoritism. The players will learn that. But one nuance the players already know is that if they fight the law, the law will win. Fighting the law means bad attitude, inadequate work ethic, placing the self before the whole, and probably more than anything else, not showing improvement. The players must understand and practice this treatise.

The formula for improvement is never finite and certain, such as in geometry. It includes variables assumed and unassumed. Certainly, intense work, toughness, maximum program efficiency, maximum coaching ability, and fiery willpower to succeed are commonly accepted.

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Jim Harbaugh and staff may be working on a maxim that could read like this: soon you will improve or you will be gone. I see no instance in which a one-year hiatus will be given for sheltering low numbers and salvaging by compromise the next year. I see Harbaugh immediately starting his quest to do exactly what he plans without deviation, and if the next year is a semi-mess, so be it; the sooner the expectations are in place and reached, the better.

Harbaugh and staff will not purposely seek out victims to toss into the general populace; for the most part those exiting will be self-selecting. The players will learn they need to be far more adaptable than the coaching staff.

After the initial culture shock diminishes, the staff needs to develop (some may say redevelop) what remains. As mentioned in the past months, the cupboard is not bare, but it is far from stocked. What Coach Harbaugh and staff have is a collection of decent talent, with nice academic backgrounds, and for the most part somewhat similar to what he inherited at Stanford, probably less.

The quarterback situation has already been highlighted, dissected, analyzed: whatever. And for good reason, as the past few years have clearly indicated teams go no further up the feeding chain than a good quarterback allows. The coaching of this group will be far more precise, intense, and collective than perhaps at any other time in Michigan football history. It will play out, one way or another; the matter is simple, the methodology and path perhaps not so simple.

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The offensive line situation did show some improvement at the end of the season, but not enough to have any significant effect on the team’s success. Coach Tim Drevno and others know the nature of the power running game. There is talent, there is hope, there is proven coaching, but that does not guarantee radical improvement. Who plays where is pure speculation, the staff will clearly experiment and decide on who can start, probably one guy at a time, that is, who stands out the most, then second most, etc. over a period of time.

Tight ends, already discussed, remain a problematic group, as only one, Jake Butt, has contributed in a manner Harbaugh expects. Using what is left and recruiting with a vengeance are the only available strategies moving forward.

Harbaugh and staff also have a big question mark at wide receiver. Fortunately, this question mark could turn for the better. There are a bunch of guys with decent potential that have never separated themselves from the field, even to the extent of past players like Jeremy Gallon and Roy Roundtree. The supposedly best athlete and top talent fled. System guys like Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson must step up production.

Their production should be aided by a very strong wide receiver staff, competent on the field through teaching and off the coaching turf by analysis. Drevno has proven success in tight end production, Jedd Fisch has had success with the entire passing game, including receivers, and T.J. Weist (Senior Offensive Analyst), not even on the field, has a strong knowledge of wide receiver development. Young Jay Harbaugh has tutelage advantages and a work ethic. He has received a great opportunity at a young age.

Drake Harris and Freddy Canteen are young guys that remain with the label of potential. If Canteen can become a tough third option, gaining a favorable match-up, regain his ability to just catch the ball, and improve through coaching, the future could yield nice results. Harris, once touted as a can’t miss prospect, will first need to demonstrate an ability to be injury free. He has the physical tools coaches covet.

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Rutgers vs. Michigan Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 4
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    • Brian Cole is a very well rounded and talented athlete, one who played numerous positions well in high school. This section is more about the returnees, but his name will be mentioned. The question now becomes can he excel at one position in college? Playing many positions has advantages and disadvantages. The obvious disadvantage is no one position was mastered in high school; Brian is a little rough in technique as one could expect when watching a guy playing both ways in multiple spots. The answer is intelligent decision making by the coaching staff and hard work by the player to merge technique and athletic talent, a formula easy to state, but not always possible to achieve.

    Running back is a potpourri of options, that may or may not be a good thing. No one runner has separated himself from the pack, although Drake Johnson certainly tried last year. Each knee injury makes it tougher and longer to come back to past levels, but here is to the best for the Ann Arbor native.

    Ty Isaac should be the most versatile and the west coast contingent of the new Michigan staff is familiar with what he brings to a game plan. Issac is a little bit of a slasher, a little bit of a blaster, and good to the flank, an asset Michigan dearly needs.

    The other returning running backs will be under new management and the rules of engagement now change. Give any of these guys a decent attack at the line and positive yardage can be achieved. Johnson had the speed to the hole the others did not have, and perhaps a little better vision. Smith is stronger and perhaps possesses a little better vision than Green. Green can bounce better and if the blocking is sufficient pile up more runs that surpass the 10-yard benchmark, more so than Smith.

    Take note, this group is not chopped liver, it has potential to shine and finally there is some depth with experience. The two ingredients that will move this group forward remain better line play, perhaps most critical at tight end, and better development of individual skills.

    Part four will examine what to do with what is left of the defense: a far better scenario at this juncture in time.

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    Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu

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