Michigan football: 4 things to watch for against Middle Tennessee
By Jacob Shames
The New offense
This is what Michigan football fans have been drooling over since Gattis was hired away from Alabama in January. Finally, instead of three yards and a cloud of dust on first and second down, the Wolverines will unleash all of their considerable horsepower.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins and the finally-healthy Tarik Black all bring NFL-caliber speed and strength on the outside. Sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell has drawn considerable praise, as has freshman slot man Mike Sainristil. And the receiving ability of Nick Eubanks and the blocking ability of Sean McKeon give the offense another dimension at the tight end position.
Karan Higdon and his 1,178 yards won’t be replaced by one player. Instead, Michigan football has three that could all chip in, with Tru Wilson, Christian Turner and highly-touted freshman Zach Charbonnet set to start out in a committee.
Behind an experienced offensive line (upperclassmen Jon Runyan Jr., Ben Bredeson, Cesar Ruiz, Michael Onwenu, and promising freshman Jalen Mayfield) is Patterson, the triggerman. Gattis’ system, replete with run-pass options and quick-hitters, might be tailor-made for the senior, who has both a cannon for an arm and playmaking ability on the run.
If all that comes together right away, Michigan might hang 60 or 70 on the Blue Raiders, even though the play-calling will be as vanilla as possible against such a cupcake opponent. More likely, it will take some time for everything to totally gel, but to keep Wolverine fans placated, it will have to be sooner rather than later.