Michigan Football: Oliver Martin Is Ready To Produce
If you've missed any of The Wolverine's spring coverage, get caught up on everything at our Spring Ball Headquarters.
Michigan redshirt freshman Oliver Martin has made some great catches in practice … now he’s ready to do it when it counts.
Martin was a fall practice standout last season after showing up on the highlight reels with some of his circus catches, but he admitted the game was a bit fast for him at times. Between that and an injury (AC join in his shoulder), he was forced to sit his first year.
“It was a big learning experience for me,” he said. “Obviously I was redshirted, and there was a big learning curve for the offense. The main thing I needed was to learn the entire playbook last year and being able to process it quickly … doing that, and then getting acclimated to the college level a little bit.
“Between the injury and knowing the playbook and processing it quickly, those were the two major factors. After going through a full year, it’s so much easier, knowing the personnel groups, the formations, the shifts.”
New receivers coach Jim McElwain has been a help, he added. Getting off the line of scrimmage cleanly has been a point of emphasis … so has wining battles for balls with defensive backs.
That’s not an easy task against this crop of Michigan corners —sophomore Ambry Thomas, for one, has made huge strides, Martin said — but they’re holding their own. There are some big play guys that are easy to spot, from sophomores Tarik Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones to junior Eddie McDoom, and Martin hopes to be part of it.
“Making contested catches is a big area we’ve improved on,” he said. “The new coaches we brought in are really emphasizing releases, getting off jams cleaner. They’ve broken it down from a technical standpoint really well, so we’re able to do releases they’re equipping us with pretty easily.
“I like [McElwain] a lot. He’s very relatable, personable. He breaks down the offense so it’s simple for all the players … and then it’s just getting our feet active, swiping hands off, particular releases we have.”
The offense has been simplified a bit this year, Martin added, and the receivers and all the quarterbacks are developing a feel for one another.
“You don’t have to think so much,” Martin said. “I think they’ve done a good job of that. It takes a little time and memorization. After a while, you get it.”
He’s grasping it better than ever, having had a great spring by all accounts, and could be one who breaks on to the scene this fall.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @AndrewVcourt, @Balas_Wolverine and @EvanPetzold.
• Like us on Facebook