Michigan Football: Midseason grades for Wolverines

Special teams: A

Jake Moody has been outstanding this season for Michigan football, missing just one field goal. He made four at Nebraska and connected on three attempts against Wisconsin.

And just like Jim’s brother in Baltimore, you can win a lot of games with good defense, a solid offense, and really good special teams.

Speaking of Harbaughs, Jay should get credit for the improved special teams. He never got credit for recruiting so well at running back and now that he’s changed spots on the staff, he needs some due because the special teams are about more than Moody.

Brad Robbins has pinned 10 of his 19 punts inside the 20 and has a net punting average of 45, which is a reflection of some stellar coverage units too.

Corum has excelled in kickoff returns and the only real issue has been punt returns. A.J. Henning has filled in well for Ronnie Bell but had a fumble against Nebraska that could have cost the game. Caden Kolesar fumbled too earlier this season and that has to be cleaned up.

Coaching: A+

I don’t care if the plus is going overboard, in my opinion, this coaching staff has gotten the most it could out of this Michigan football team through six games.

The Wolverines underachieved last season and really back in 2019 too. The talent has always been there, but whether it was the culture or whatever, the cream wasn’t rising to the top.

This team has leadership and Jim Harbaugh has really set the tone. He’s allowed his leaders such as Aidan Hutchinson to lead and it’s made a huge difference.

Each of his hires this offseason has been a success. Mike Hart has been a big part of fixing the culture but Ron Bellamy, Macdonald, Matt Weiss, George Helow, Clink — they have all been positive additions to the staff in their own way.

But you can see some of the Ravens’ run concepts as the Wolverines are mixing in a lot of traditional runs such as the powers (pulling guards/tackles) and zones with spread concepts such as the read plays and sweeps to receivers.

The game management has also improved. Harbaugh has attempted two fourth downs per game and attempted two in his own territory on the opening drive against Wisconsin. He’s not being super conservative and love that he trusts the vibe of his team.

Harbaugh has gotten his edge back and so have the Wolverines, which is why there were a lot of high grades in this midseason report card.