Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from a swell win over UNLV
By Nick Popio
2. The bench players are leaving a lot left to be desired
As expected Michigan’s second and third-teamers would play a meaningful role in its first two contests. Three quarterbacks have seen the field in McCarthy’s absence. Jack Tuttle had an impressive run before he exited on Saturday. Jayden Denegal hit Semaj Morgan downfield for a 35-yard pickup and Davis Warren threw a pick in mop-up duty.
Some of the freshmen receivers have gotten in with the ones. Trente Jones has also come in on jumbo packages for max protection or runs.
On the defensive side, the secondary is basically all the twos. Will Johnson played very sparingly Saturday and they’ve only given up the lowest point total in two games since 20 years ago.
There are still plenty of things to nitpick on though. Keeping Tuttle healthy for the remainder of the schedule is just as important as McCarthy is.
The defensive backfield needs time to gel with all the starters. So far Keon Sabb and Keshaun Harris are benefiting the most with Rod Moore and Makari Paige both out. That’s the main reason why the defense is ahead of where the offense currently stands with its reserves.