Michigan Wolverines Football Notebook: A Positive Sign For Future Offense

Michigan Wolverines football offense is off to an amazing start on the ground, first in the nation in averaging 350 yards per game rushing. There are bigger tests ahead, but offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore is pleased with what he’s seen — for now and the future.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh shifted direction a bit in the spring and asked for more physicality up front, hoping it would lead to a better run game. Between that and Moore’s influence, he and his staff have gotten the most out of that group in the early going.

Moore knows there are bigger tests ahead, but he couldn’t have asked for much more.

“They’ve embraced it. It’s been fun,” Moore said. “It started in the spring. You could kind of see it building then in camp; you could really fell the attitude, the energy and the violence they implemented into their game. I tried to implement that as much as I could, and they just embraced it.”

Moore understands the concern that they’re running because they can’t pass, but he doesn’t share it. It’s an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach, and so far, it’s in pristine condition.

“The better you run the ball, the better you’re going to be passing it — one, because those guys are going to be rushing a little bit less, and they’re going to be more beat up, too,” Moore said. “We’d Like to make sure those guys aren’t coming off the ball just as hard. Those guys have done a good job in pass pro so far as we’ve gone through the games.”

It wasn’t just the first stringers, either. The second-team line, including Trente Jones, Karsen Barnhart, Greg Crippen and Reece Atteberry, was mauling Northern Illinois defenders in the third and fourth quarters, too.”

“They did a really good job,” Moore said. “It was cool to see you put the second group in and they don’t miss a beat, and you play just as hard, just a strong up front as they did. It was really good to see

“It was really fun to watch them go and not be scared, just roll. Crippen was like, ‘it’s just like practice.’ Yeah, it is, but it’s not. It’s game. But it’s fun to watch those guys go out there and play with confidence. It’s really helped us, and it’s going to help us down the road.”

The starting five are playing extremely well together, but the competition continues every week. Veteran Chuck Filiaga got plenty of snaps sharing time with Keegan, for example, and practices have been intense.

“We say it’s a living organism — always moving, always shaking,” Moore said. “The best part about having really good players behind you is it makes the ‘ones’ be even better, because if not, their spot can always be taken. It’s always a battle to see who is going to be the one that week.

“But guys have done a really good job competing, and the guys at the top want to stay at the top. They’re not letting anybody creep in the helm right now.”

Boding well not just for this year, but also for the future.

NOTES

• Moore knows there will be tougher games ahead and adversity, but he’s confident his group — and the team — will be prepared.

“When the chips are down, adversity happens, how do you respond?” he said. “We’ve started to see a couple games … we’ve been pretty fortunate most of the games, but I think everybody has each other’s back. That’s the most important thing.”

He tries to put his group in position to face it every day, he added.

“My guys are always dealing with adversity. You don’t set the right way, Aidan Hutchinson bull rushes you or goes outside, or David Ojabo beats you around the edge, Chris Hinton in the middle,” he said. “How we practice has helped our team to make sure we’re ready for the games.”

He’s also liked the chemistry between his line and his former unit, tight ends .

“Those guys have done an outstanding job,” he said. “They don’t get enough credit how they’ve done blocking so well in the run game, because they’re just as important in the run game as a lineman … they’re like a dance team. They’ve got to be perfect.”

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