Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh had offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, defensive coordinator Don Brown and special teams coordinator Chris Partridge on today's 'Attack Each day' podcast to provide a thorough rundown of each of their respective position units heading into the 2019 season.
We have the highlights below:
Jim Harbaugh:
"The amount of things that Gattis and his staff have installed in the offense have given the players an opportunity to do what they do well — the quarterbacks, tight ends, receivers and running backs are all involved.
"I've been seeing some exciting stuff in practice.
"There is a place for the tall receiver who can get the jump ball, but also for the quick slot receiver who can gain separation with speed. Josh has looked at the skill set of each receiver and is incorporating their different body types into the offense.
"[Redshirt sophomore] Tarik Black has improved a lot under Josh, along with [sophomore receiver] Ronnie Bell. [Junior] Nico Collins is coming on strong, and young [freshman] Cornelius Johnson is in the mix.
"They're all catching the ball well too. [Redshirt freshman tight end] Luke Schoonmaker has had his two best practices back to back and made a few contested catches.
"[Freshman wideout] Giles Jackson catches your eye and has that energy. He's made tough catches and can really run — mark my word, he'll make some plays at receiver as well.
"[Senior quarterback] Shea Patterson has played great football, but you're excited when [redshirt sophomore] Dylan McCaffrey or [redshirt freshman] Joe Milton go into practice and eventually into a game.
"They all have talent to where they're best at, and I've never been in that position since I've been here.
"Joe Milton and [freshman quarterback] Cade McNamara both spent time with Navy SEALS this offseason, and Joe came back a different, better guy. He was so focused on leadership and was engaged while he was out there.
"It's been great to watch Joe grow and mature as a player in this system, and as a man.
"[Freshman center] Zach Carpenter was doing good things before he got a high ankle sprain.
"[Freshman tackle] Trevor Keegan has had a really good last four or five days of practice.
Don Brown:
"[Junior defensive end] Kwity Paye is up to 278 pounds and might be the best technician as a spread defensive end I've ever been around. He's just a valuable guy to the open side.
"[Fifth-year senior defensive end] Mike Danna can play both sides and we're also bringing [redshirt sophomore defensive end] Luiji Vilain along — he's had some good moments but isn't there yet. We're also playing [senior linebacker] Josh Uche there.
"We have [redshirt sophomore tackle] Donovan Jeter inside and we're happy with the way he's playing. He's come into his own over the last few months and we're happy with the camp he's had.
"[Junior defensive tackle] Ben Mason is also at the three-technique — he puts his hat on and goes to work, and doesn't stop. He's another Chase Winovich-type in that he'll chase the football.
"I'd say [senior tackle] Carlo Kemp is the most improved guy on the defense. He used to put his head in the middle of stuff, but now he's using his hands and has benefitted the most from [strength and conditioning coach] Ben Herbert being here. We think we're well-equipped inside.
"[Junior linebacker] Josh Ross has had an excellent camp after missing virtually the whole spring. We're rotating [redshirt freshman linebacker] Cam McGrone at Mike and Will, and he is in the 4.5 speed area. He'll run stride for stride on the wheel route.
"[Redshirt junior linebacker] Devin Gil makes no mistakes and is sharp. [Redshirt sophomore linebacker] Jordan Anthony is one of the backup Mikes, and is 243 pounds and in great shape — we believe he can go in there and be solid.
"We have [fifth-year senior linebacker] Jordan Glasgow majoring at the Will spot, and he can match up with tailbacks and move over and play viper. We're happy with the way he's kept it all in order. He could move over and play viper if something happened to [senior] Khaleke Hudson.
"Hudson got called for two early targeting penalties last year and I think it impacted his aggressiveness as a player. He's back flying around and is playing with a lot of confidence, and his coverage abilities have vastly improved.
"I think [junior safety] Brad Hawkins is the surprise back there. He can cover slots and is tough enough to get in the run game, and can get in the deep middle third. We've let him hone his skills technically and schematically, and we're confident in his abilities. He and [senior safety Josh] Metellus are the two safeties — [junior safety] J'Marick Woods has matured greatly and we have a role for him. The fourth guy is probably [freshman] Daxton Hill — he's lined up cleanly in practice and has functioned on his own lately, and that's what we wanted to see. Those four will kind of man that position.
"[Redshirt freshman cornerback] Vincent Gray is the real deal and has come into his own. [Senior cornerback] Lavert Hill has stayed healthy and provided leadership for a guy like Vincent. We have [junior cornerback] Ambry Thomas back and running around. We know we can feel good about the minutes we get out of [junior cornerback] Jaylen Kelly-Powell.
"A nickel guy has to be able to cover the No. 2 receiver, and their No. 1 route is the slant and No. 2 is the vertical. If you can't do that, you're out. We have three guys doing a good job who we can call on.
"It's a big deal when that guy can be a safety — Hawkins and Metellus can both do it at a high level, and we believe Daxton Hill can as well. He's starting to figure it out, and all three of those guys are excellent defenders. If we get a tough matchup, we move Lavert Hill there.
"David Long was the best notetaker I've ever seen in the classroom — he was unbelievable.
"Brandon Watson was also a valuable guy to us last year."
Josh Gattis:
"I'm excited about the potential we have and that we have a special group of players.
"We like to package our plays and make our rules as simple as possible when we teach the quarterbacks. We've made our rules even better since I've been here, because of what we see when we go against our defense.
"We try to make it as simple and easy on our quarterbacks as possible in order to make them play confident and fast.
"A guy who is standing out to me is Ronnie Bell. He's practicing at an elite level and told me he's never felt better than he does right now. He's like the Energizer Bunny and doesn't slow down.
"Footwork and foot placements are two of the most underrated aspects for receivers. Coach Roy Roundtree and Coach Steve Casula have done an amazing job helping me with the receivers.
"Tarik Black made huge plays a few days ago. Mikey Sainristil picked up right where he left off, but Cornelius Johnson has also created some buzz — he's so consistent and has been a pleasant surprise.
"People know about Nico and Donovan, and then you can add other elements like Schoonmaker, [freshman tight end] Erick All and [redshirt freshman tight end Mustapha] Mustapha.
"We're excited about Giles and [freshman wideout] George Johnson too.
"Each of our quarterbacks can run the offense effectively and efficiently. They all bring tremendous value to the offense and package the things they do well.
"Having that depth at quarterback allows you to think outside the box in terms of what you can do with them.
"Joe Milton took a stand when he worked with the Navy SEALs to be a captain out there, and he's carried that over to the field. The quarterback has to demand the best from everybody, and Joe has improved in that area.
"Joe will have opportunities in games this year, as well as Dylan. Shea knows he has to bring his best each and every day because of Dylan, Joe and Cade.
"We've got five running backs who bring value and have roles. Some guys have stepped up the past few days — [freshman Zach] Charbonnet is coming into his groove, and [senior] Tru Wilson has had a great camp.
"He reshaped his body this offseason and does everything right. [Redshirt freshman] Ben VanSumeren is a workhorse and sets the example for everyone on offense. I'm excited to see him let it go on Saturdays because I think he'll surprise.
"[Redshirt freshman] Hassan Haskins missed spring but has picked it up. Sometimes we have to slow down [redshirt freshman Christian] Turner a little bit, but he's an exciting back who can get little runs into big ones.
"The battle is still ongoing — Zach is pushing the envelope forward and bringing out the best in everybody.
"This is possibly the best offensive line I've been around as a coach.
"[Senior left guard Ben] Bredeson isn't the only leader of that group, because everything runs through [junior center] Cesar Ruiz.
"[Senior right guard Mike] Onwenu has had a great camp and can move people. We're excited about [redshirt freshman Jalen] Mayfield at right tackle — he's what you expect of a Michigan tackle.
"[Fifth-year senior left tackle] Jon Runyan has played a lot of football here. [Redshirt freshman tackle] Ryan Hayes is having an improved fall camp from the spring, and so are [redshirt junior center Stephen] Spanellis, [redshirt junior guard Andrew] Vastardis, [redshirt sophomore tackle Joel] Honigford and Big Chuck [redshirt sophomore left guard Chuck Filiaga]."
Chris Partridge:
"We have some fierce competitions going in the specialist group.
"We have two long snapper competing in [redshirt junior] Cam Cheeseman and [fifth-year senior] Trey Harper. We had a special guy in Garrett Moores holding a few years ago, but now all our punters are required to hold, and the best guy will do the job. Dylan McCaffrey also holds and is good at it.
"Both [sophomore kicker] Jake Moody and [redshirt junior kicker] Quinn Nordin are into it and handling it maturely, and it'll go for a while.
"It's also a competition for the kickoff job — Jake is coming into his own there, and Quinn can hit them good too. We want to run down and pin the opponent within the 15-yard line and make them feel like less of a man for fair catching the ball. We coach like they'll return every ball.
"[Redshirt junior punter] Will Hart has picked up where he left off last year, but [redshirt sophomore] Brad Robbins is healthy now and punting well. Will can't relax at the position.
"Our punt return guys are Donovan, Ronnie Bell, Mike Sainristil, Lavert Hill, [redshirt freshman viper] Mike Barrett (who might be the smoothest catching the ball), and kick returners are Bell, Sainristil, Ambry Thomas, Giles Jackson, Daxton Hill, Christian Turner and Barrett again.
"Barrett will be known as a core special teams guy and McGrone has been turning heads. I'm falling in love with Charbonnet on special teams, because he's been good at all that stuff.
"We also have to mention Ben Mason — he came up to me one day and told me he is going to be playing special teams.
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