ORLANDO, Fla. — Michigan Wolverines football offensive coordinator Josh Gattis was in Alabama at this time last year, a co-offensive coordinator for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide. A year later he’s preparing to face his former team in the Citrus Bowl as U-M’s man in charge of the offense.

The Wolverines’ defensive players have been asked extensively this week if Gattis has been preparing them for what they might expect in Wednesday’s showdown. The first-year U-M assistant got the same question Sunday during his Citrus Bowl meeting with the media.

“They're different. We're different,” he said. “Obviously, there are little similarities in what we do offensively. I think they've done a really good job adapting and adjusting the offense from previously being there, and they've got good players. They've got good coaches.”

Saban brought in former Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian, and the ‘Bama offense continued to roll. Losing starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa proved to be too much to overcome in a loss to Auburn … with him, the Crimson Tide would likely be in a New Year’s Six Bowl, possibly even the College Football Playoff.

The Wolverines, meanwhile, fell short of their championship goals again, ending the regular season with another loss to Ohio State. They have a chance to change the narrative with a win over the Tide, and Gattis said he wouldn’t trade his quarterback for anybody.

Senior Shea Patterson threw for 300-plus yards in each of his last three games and earned U-M’s MVP honor.

“I'll go to battle with this guy any day of the week. This is 'Sugar' Shea Patterson right here,” Gattis said. "Just to see his confidence throughout the year continue to rise each and every week, his preparation, his performance. Statistically he did some pretty amazing things throughout the year as far as a number of 300‑yard passing games. …

“There was some adversity that we faced offensively, and I think Shea is one of the leaders and [senior guard] Ben [Bredeson] is one of the leaders that really took ownership of it, and no one put their head down. They continued to fight and continued to push through, and that's a testament to their character.”

They could have quit after a tough loss at Penn State that essentially knocked them from the Big Ten race. Instead, they rebounded with a huge win over Notre Dame, a 45-14 blowout.

“There was a point in the year when a lot of people were saying, 'Give up and quit. Hey, this isn't working.’ … But none of our kids believed that because they truly knew who we were in practice, who we were in games,” Gattis said. “And it was a testament to their character, to fight through everything.

“I couldn't be more proud of Shea and Ben, both of these guys. But specifically, when you see Shea … this guy's a player, man. He's been playing at an extreme high level for us, and he's been the leader of our offense, leader of our team. And, like I said, I'll go to battle with him any day out of the week versus any team in the country.”

The same could be said of the rest of the offense, he added. What was once a turnover-prone mess became a very effective group by the end of the year.

They have one more game to add to what’s been an impressive late-season surge.

“We've got a great culture within our team, within our offense, and we're really proud of everything that we've accomplished,” Gattis said. “We're proud of each other, but we're not done. We've got a great opportunity ahead of us to really end the season the way we want to.”

Class of 2020 running back Blake Corum and offensive tackle Zak Zinter have joined the team as early enrollees and did some drills with the team in bowl practices last week, albeit in a very limited capacity.

“I think it was very beneficial from a team chemistry standpoint, just mixing those guys in, kind of getting them around some of their teammates, and really kind of showing those guys how we practice and the culture that we have in practice,” Gattis said. “There wasn't a ton of work that they could do, obviously. We were focused on our opponent coming up and moving along in our game preparations. But …very, very pleased with both of those young men and what they displayed.

“Blake's got a unique ability to be explosive with the ball in his hands and we're excited about him. But we're going to welcome those guys back in January and they're going to have to really get back to work. It's going to be a different set and it's going to be a different team. It's going to be new opportunities and new challenges, and so we look forward to welcoming those guys on campus.”

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