Michigan Football: Eddie McDoom Could Be More Explosive In 2017

Michigan football receiver Eddie McDoom says the offense will be more explosive under Pep Hamilton, and we think he’ll be a big part of that.

It’s no secret that Michigan football’s offense lacked an explosive element at times last season. Off the top of my head, I’m thinking about games against Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, even Ohio State.

There isn’t anything inherently wrong with not being explosive. If you can get 4-5 yards per carry out of your running backs, and if you have a defense that can put the clamps on opponents, then the need for explosive plays is dramatically downplayed. On the other hand, Michigan’s offense definitely could have used an explosive element in 2016.

Even though it was mostly efficient, there was moments, as well as whole games, where the Wolverines needed an explosive play like J.T. Barrett needed another foot.

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The game where I think that’s most obvious was against the Hawkeyes, where the Wolverines limped to 201 total yards and 13 points.

After last season, passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch left Michigan to become the offensive coordinator at UCLA. Harbaugh then replaced him with Pep Hamilton, who was serving as the Cleveland Browns’ associate head coach.

According to wide receiver Eddie McDoom, who became famous during his freshman season as he worked off the jet sweep action, Hamilton’s offense is going to have a little more pep in its step (my words, not his). He put it more clearly.

“I think it’s building,” McDoom said Saturday after Michigan’s youth camp. “Now with Pep here, the offense is quicker. I see a lot more explosive plays. I see a lot of places where guys really will shine and blow up the scoreboard. As of right now, all I see is us growing and getting better. It’s going to be better.”

Notice what McDoom doesn’t say: that this 2017 offense is going to better than it was in 2016. That would be a stretch, considering the top three receivers, the top running back, and over half of the offensive line will be missing. Instead, McDoom uses words like “quicker” and “explosive” and “getting better.”

If the Wolverines’ offense is indeed going to be more explosive this season, then it stands to reason that McDoom will play a sizable role in that happening. He certainly provided a few sparks last season, even though he spent most of his time coming around the backfield rather than actually going out for a pass.

But as Michigan’s receiving corps undergoes this transformation, players like McDoom will become so much more vital. They’ve been a part of success in the past, and, from a pure talent standpoint, they can make things happen.

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It’s no surprise that McDoom (or any player) would say things like “getting better,” especially at this point in the offseason. But the fact that he said he sees more explosive plays coming out of Hamilton’s offense is truly encouraging, and he might be one of the biggest catalysts.

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