Michigan Football: Dylan McCaffrey Expects To Be Firmly In The Mix
Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown got Dylan McCaffrey’s hype train rolling last year when he singled him out as one of the top scout team players he’d seen.
"I'm making a case for him," Brown said, laughing, last October. "I'm just saying, from our standpoint to get ready, it's nice when you have a scout team that's committed to the defense. And they don't have to be … but these guys take it serious and get us ready to play on Saturdays. He spearheads it."
Now, though, the redshirt freshman McCaffrey is ready to take his game to the next level. Currently a self-reported 210 pounds (up from 195 last year), McCaffrey had a solid spring.
He doesn’t have freshman Joe Milton’s big arm, nor does he have redshirt sophomore Brandon Peters’ game experience, or his extra year in the program. But he does have plenty of leadership and moxie, and he can make all the throws. With transfer junior Shea Patterson now in the mix — something McCaffrey insists doesn’t bother him, since he expected competition wherever he went — he’s one of four men vying to start this fall.
Milton called it an even competition coming out of spring. The coaches framed it the same way, probably wanting to see someone step up and claim it this summer.
If there’s a leader in the clubhouse, they weren’t saying who.
“That’s what they’re telling us,” McCaffrey said. “We all got equal reps in the spring it seemed like, so I think they’re going to continue to have us compete into fall camp. It will be tough. It’s a battle, for sure.
“I feel a lot more comfortable with the offense, as anyone would after a year of experience. I think that’s really helped me a lot. I’ve gained some weight, feel like I’ve gotten athletically better. I think it’s really just knowing my teammates — that’s the biggest thing. Who I’m throwing to, what guy’s going to give me what. That really helps a quarterback.”
So, too, does going up against an elite defense day in and day out. The offensive line improved this spring, but the defense still brought plenty of pressure and made the offense earn everything it got.
McCaffrey wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
“It was awesome,” he said. “You’ve got to take every advantage to get as many reps as you can against the best defense in the country. I think it was great. It got you making quick decisions, got you really alert about how fast college football is, especially against our defense.”
He needed to get stronger, and he has. And while he’s not throwing it 80 yards in the air like Milton, he’s got plenty of zip on the ball.
“I can throw it far enough,” he said with a grin. “If you can get the ball out on time, you’re good.
“I felt kind of like in high school last year, so I hit the weight room hard … and like I mentioned, we’ve been building the teamwork. I’ve been getting to know the team, know the guys, and getting to know as much about them [as I can], so I think that helped a lot."
Enough to push him past three other worthy candidates and over the top to start? Only time (a few months’ worth) will tell.
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