Big Ten Network analysts were on hand to watch Michigan football's practice on Friday, and, even though the team wasn't in pads, came away from the experience with some positive takeaways regarding the Wolverines.
Michigan's staff looks much different than it did a year ago, with head coach Jim Harbaugh having replaced six assistant coaches. The analysts had an up-close vantage point to watch the new staffers coach the Wolverines up, and came away impressed.
"I think this entire team is really well coached," Howard Griffith said on BTN Live. "I like the vibe of the team. There’s a lot of teaching going on."
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The quarterback battle has a clear No. 1 (redshirt freshman Cade McNamara) and No. 2 (freshman J.J. McCarthy), Harbaugh said Friday, and it remains likely that the former will start the season-opener against Western Michigan Sept. 4.
"Yeah, there’s no doubt that that’s the order based on today’s practice, and I don’t think that’ll really change," Gerry DiNardo said. "I think Cade’s the most prepared, and very talented. J.J. might have the most talent — again, it’s hard to really tell without pads — and [redshirt junior Alan] Bowman, the transfer from Texas Tech, doesn’t really look like he’s in the picture.
"J.J.'s got a lot of talent, but he’s young. How do you evaluate a young quarterback without a contact practice? So that makes me hesitant, but it looks like Cade’s the starting quarterback based on today."
On the other side of the ball, Michigan's defense has received a facelift this offseason, with first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald now at the helm. The Wolverines were 84th nationally in total defense and 95th in scoring defense last season, but there's optimism that Macdonald will lead a resurgence for the unit.
"There were definitely some problems last year, and I think the new scheme is going to help them out, specifically across the defensive line," Joshua Perry said on the show. "As you look toward the interior where some of the bigger bodies are, they’re well put together, in terms of physique, but also they move very well.
"You look to the outside linebacker group, and I think they have some really good body types there — [junior] Aidan Hutchinson is going to be playing that spot, so I think it’s really going to be a bright spot for them defensively."
"I think they’re probably as deep as they’ve been in quite a few years on the interior, at the line of scrimmage," Griffith added. "You talk about the defensive line — [sophomore tackle Chris] Hinton, I think he has a chance to be special.
"And then inside linebackers. We watched their drill work for a while. They’re a well-coached group."
That talent and depth at the line of scrimmage includes on the offensive side, too, Griffith said.
" Looking at this offensive line, [which] returns quite a few starters, a veteran group, I think this is going to be an area of the team that they’re going to be able to hang their hat on — run the football, control the line of scrimmage," he explained. "That gives them a great opportunity with the quarterbacks to then go vertically down the field, whether that’s play action or RPOs."
Vegas has Michigan's over/under win total at 7.5, and the Wolverines were picked by the media to finish fourth in their own division. There's a lot to prove — and a lot of improvement to be made — but DiNardo believes the schedule sets up nicely.
"I think the schedule is perfect for the talent," he said. "Western Michigan — obviously [Michigan] has more talent. Washington — should be a great non-conference game, but regardless of the outcome … then Northern Illinois, Rutgers and Wisconsin. So you take a team that has this much talent … if they’re physical, if they come together — I love the schedule."
And there's still time for Michigan to gell in preseason camp, too. The goal, Harbaugh said Friday, is to "get better every day, as one." They're working at it, and that includes the head man, who hit the sled after practice with his squad ...
Time will tell if the work pays off.
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