The return of Michigan Wolverines football fifth-year senior left tackle Jon Runyan from injury was supposed to provide a significant boost to an offensive line that had underachieved during its first two games, but instead the unit continued to spiral in the wrong direction on Saturday at Wisconsin.
Its run blocking efforts were especially disappointing against the Badgers, with the unit paving the way for just 40 yards on the ground and a minuscule 2.1 yard per carry average.
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“We had a game plan going in and that was to hit Wisconsin like we hit them last year,” Runyan revealed. “When we got knocked back on our heels like that, we strayed away from it and were playing catch up the whole time.
“We weren’t able to use the quarterback reads like we did last year when [senior] Shea [Patterson] ripped off the 75-yard run [in the 38-13 blowout win over the Badgers].
“Wisconsin played a brand of football they’re used to, which is the power run, being physical and ripping-and-roaring down the field.
“Our defense picked up in the second half, but I just wish we were able to execute more on offense. Wisconsin runs that 3-4 front and does a lot of line games and twists, especially in the run game.
“We were able to block it so well last year and kind of had that same game plan, even a better one coming in. We got punched in the mouth early and often, and were never really able to recover from it.
“I take credit for being part of it and not being able to help this offense move the way it wanted to. I feel like I wasn’t able to bring anything extra out there to help the offense do any better.”
The inability to both pass protect and run block at a high level has been one of the most befuddling aspects of Michigan’s whole team so far this season, seeing as the offensive front returned four grizzled veterans who earned some form of All-Big Ten honors in 2018.
Despite that returning production up front, Wisconsin was still able to manhandle them with six tackles for loss and 15 hits on U-M quarterbacks, according to former Michigan All-Big Ten offensive lineman Doug Skene.
“Coming in, we knew Wisconsin was going to throw everything at us,” Runyan explained. “We couldn’t hear any cadence out there, so the first thing we’d often see was the movement of the guy across from us.
“They mixed up some stuff we didn’t see on film, like bringing the d-end over to the boundary and having two d-ends outside. They did a good job getting home and getting past our protection, and that’s something we need to clean up.”
Redshirt freshman safety Reggie Pearson’s brutal hit on redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey in the second half epitomized the beating Michigan’s quarterbacks took on Saturday, a play in which the signal caller suffered a concussion and Pearson was ejected for targeting.
Runyan was asked today if the hit on McCaffrey “lit a fire” under the offensive line.
“Yeah, obviously,” he said. “You could tell Wisconsin was taking their shots all game and getting a lot of pressure and hits on the quarterbacks.
“We’re instinctually protectors as offensive linemen, so [we didn’t like] seeing them going out there — whether it was intentional or not — and taking their shots on Dylan.
“My first instinct wasn’t to be mad, but to go over there and make sure he was alright. I went over there and it took me by surprise how nasty it looked.
“You hate to see it, but there’s nothing you can do from an offensive line perspective when he’s out there in space like that.
“I don’t think the Wisconsin player had any malicious intent on that — it was a hard hit and happened how it did.”
Head coach Jim Harbaugh admitted this afternoon he’ll be looking for guys moving forward who are going to play with the hustle that this game demands, an aspect that was painfully lacking on Saturday.
Several former Michigan stars called out the club’s lack of effort publicly afterward, and Runyan admitted he saw the same issues at times.
“Effort is something you can’t coach and it’s a personal business decision you make,” he said. “Looking back at the film, I’m not trying to call out anyone, but yeah, there were some plays where the effort could have been better.
"Along with effort comes execution. Guys aren’t going to trot on the field thinking they’re only going to give 60 percent effort on a play — no one is thinking that.
"Wisconsin was able to exploit those matchups and get to where they wanted to get.”
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