Michigan Football Ford Field Practice Observations
Michigan football practiced at Ford Field on Saturday and opened it up to fans. Here’s what everyone was saying about the Wolverines.
Fans got an opportunity to soak in a Michigan football practice for the second time this spring at Ford Field, home to the Detroit Lions, on Saturday.
Related Story: Freddy Canteen's status in the air
The last time the public was given an open look at a Wolverines practice was on the last day of the team’s spring break trip to Florida. That was three weeks ago.
The next time we get to see Michigan on the field will be Friday at the spring game (6 p.m. ET, BTN). Soak in everything you can because it won’t be long before we’re begging for it to return over the summer.
Here are the main takeaways we received after the Wolverines’ Ford Field practice.
Jabrill Peppers isn’t only working at linebacker
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Michigan’s spring break practices in Florida was that Jabrill Peppers was playing almost exclusively at SAM linebacker, something that new defensive coordinator Don Brown said made a lot of sense considering the defensive scheme and Peppers’ strengths.
On Saturday, though, Peppers spent a considerable amount of time at free safety, especially when the Wolverines were working on their zone coverage looks. That’s something Michigan never did last season under D.J. Durkin, who much preferred press man.
Not that it was surprising to see Peppers moving around on the field, but it’s just proof that Brown does in fact have some versatile plans for the third-year sophomore.
Carlo Kemp has a new home in the defense
Carlo Kemp was recruited as someone who could play both linebacker and defensive end. In Florida he spent a lot of time at weakside linebacker but never looked terribly comfortable. At Ford Field, he was down on the line at defensive end, where it looks like he probably belongs for now.
Michigan’s defensive ends—Chris Wormley, Taco Charlton, Chase Winovich—look pretty good on the edge; it’d be surprising to see Kemp make a surge into a significant role by the time September rolls around.
Zack Gentry is looking better at tight end
Zach Gentry made the move to tight end during bowl prep last season, which made a lot of sense. Michigan had enough quarterbacks to give to the rest of the Big Ten, and Gentry stands at 6-foot-7, 244 pounds and has a surprising dose of athleticism.
In Florida it was noted that he didn’t really play like a tight end and looked out of place. That’s apparently changed in the last few weeks because Gentry played pretty well from his new position on Saturday. His routes were much crisper, and he didn’t drop any balls. In all he just looked more comfortable.
MORE: NFL teams should be interested in Jake Rudock
His blocking isn’t there yet, but it’ll come along.
Nobody is expecting him to be a Jake Butt, but with time he looks like someone who could develop into a pretty useful tight end down the road.
There still isn’t a leader at quarterback
Third-year sophomore Wilton Speight started the day ahead of juniors John O’Korn and Shane Morris, but as practice wore on, it was O’Korn who seemed to jump out and take the lead.
Whether Speight was truly playing much better than the others at the time, or if the staff just threw them out there in that order for the heck of it, we didn’t learn too much more about the quarterback competition.
O’Korn still looked like an eventual starter, but that’s not to say he isn’t screwing up from time to time. Jim Harbaugh commented that every quarterback has made at least one major mistake each day. O’Korn also looked a little frazzled at times too.
O’Korn delivered a few beautiful passes on Saturday, including a 25-yard over-the-shoulder throw to Amara Darboh for a touchdown against Jourdan Lewis and a 50-yarder to Grant Perry for another score.
Speight looks like a No. 2 right now. He’s good to go when dialed in, but sometimes he delivers a ball that really makes you shake your head and wonder what was going on.
Tyrone Wheatley Jr. made a ridiculous catch
We’ll end this on a big positive: Tyrone Wheatley Jr. made the catch of the day and took it to the house.
Wheatley is a monster—6-foot-6, 280 pounds—and is playing like he’s someone you’ll want to keep an eye on.
More wolverines: New football hype video
It’s not just the one-handed catch that was impressive. He also took it the distance and out-raced the defensive backs. Again: 6-foot-6, 280 pounds. People that large shouldn’t be able to do those things.