Michigan Football: Coach’s Corner — Coach’s Clinic — Breaking down the QB’s

Posted at 6:00am — 4/13/2008

Michigan Football: Coach’s Corner — Coach’s Clinic — Breaking down the QB’s

Several of us went to the Michigan Coaches clinic and were able to watch the practices and drills. The first day was shorts and helmets, second day was full pads, and third day was scrimmage. Of course, the players need to continue to work hard and keep on developing, but this is what we saw so far this spring.

If season started today:
Threet would be the starting quarterback.

Quarterbacks:
After watching both individual and team drills we would say that it is accurate to state that Coach Rod would prefer to have a quarterback that is more mobile. However, we have been impressed by the number of passing drills they use in practice and how detailed oriented those drills are. In addition, we were impressed by the way, in which they use the tight end especially in deep routes. Coach Rod likes to talk about how the offense really based on what type of alignment the opposition safeties are in and the spread actually puts all the pressure on the safeties (probably main reason why Michigan has struggled).

Threet:
He has gained confidence as the spring has progressed. Starting on Thursday, he was playing with the first team and it was obvious Threet was way ahead of the other quarterbacks. Threet throws the ball with almost effortless motion and comparing to Henne where Threet takes a very small stride seems to have the ability to change touches depending on what type of pass and has a much quicker release than Henne. This passing game is better suited for Threet than previous style mainly because this offense emphasis quickness and getting rid of the ball.

Strengths:
His fundamentals, release, ability to get ball to where it needs to be, upside potential. He has a very good arm and nice feel for the game. Quicker than we thought he would be and it seems to have respect of his teammates.

Weaknesses:
His experience, at times accuracy, durability. He is not much of a threat in space or a dangerous runner. He is excessively high when running option or quarterback read. He needs to lower to conceal ball and not be hit under the chin. He also had a habit of throwing the ball into a crowd.

Sheridan:
He shows spunk and is a competitor. Like Threet this system is much better for Sheridan.

Strengths:
Decent athlete, ball handler, makes good decisions most of the time, not a bad runner, but not great, good accuracy on passes. He ran the option and quarterback read option very well. He is most dangerous when running out of it the pocket looking to make the throw.

Weaknesses:
His size, not as mobile as Coach Rod would like, he is limited in type of passes he can throw, locks on to one receiver. He is not much of a threat passing the ball the ball.

Cone:
Although Cone has showed great progress in his fundamentals of throwing, he simply is not ready to play full time at quarterback at Michigan.

Strengths:
He is a great kid, works hard, and understands offense, team player, gets most out of his ability. To his credit, he does not appear to be pouting or sulking about him being left out of the discussion of starting quarterback at Michigan. He always seems to be working very hard.

Weaknesses:
His arm strength, slow release, passes tend to sail, runs the option best of all three, but slow runner. He does not look comfortable in this offense. Not running or throwing the ball. He needs to get bigger and stronger as well.

Conclusion on the Quarterbacks:
Quarterback is the second biggest concern after the Offensive line. None of three quarterbacks showed the skill set needed to be excellent total fit in Coach Rod’s offense. There is a good possibility that someone could come in (Feagin) and compete for starting job. At this point Threet has a chance to be very good. He simply needs a very productive summer, stay healthy in fall, and most importantly get game experience. We can guarantee you that the wide receivers on this team are really rooting for Threet.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff

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