Every preseason, the staff of The Wolverine votes on the 25 most indispensable Michigan Wolverines for the upcoming football season. Our list concludes continues today, with Nos. 5-1 revealed.
In case you missed the first four installments:
No. 5 — Junior wide receiver Nico Collins
Collins led Michigan in receiving yards last year with 632, on 38 catches featuring six touchdowns. He’s one that could top 1,000 yards receiving, if the past is prologue for the offenses coordinator Josh Gattis has worked.
Collins is physically imposing enough to go up and over people and come away with the football, but has also learned an elusiveness that will make him a major target. Needless to say, he’s excited about what his new offensive coordinator has in store for the Wolverines on offense.
Meanwhile, Gattis isn’t disappointed to see a 6-4, 222-pound wideout in his arsenal.
The new OC didn’t get to see Collins enough in the spring, an offseason surgical procedure keeping the third-year wideout out for most of the practices. He did get back at the very end, giving Gattis a live look at him.
“Just being able to see what he could do as far as sinking his hips, transition, stuff like that,” Gattis said about what he observed. “We didn’t do a lot with him, but he showed his potential. I’m excited to catch him up.
“I think it’ll be really exciting to get all those guys healthy, keep them healthy so we can figure out all the different creative ways to get guys the ball and get them active on offense.”
That said, the fall will be huge for Collins in continuing to get caught up on some of the developmental aspects he missed during his time away, the new coach stressed.
“Obviously, people were able to see the talented receiver he is,” Gattis said. “I think he can be an elite receiver. I really do believe it, and I’m excited to get the chance to work with him when we get back in the fall, to take his game to the next level.”
No. 4 — Senior cornerback Lavert Hill
The return of this first-team All-Big Ten cornerback gave defensive coordinator Don Brown a huge boost in constructing a unit for 2019. Hill remains Michigan’s lockdown corner, whose numbers (one interception, five passes broken up and 14 tackles in 2019) don’t do justice to how he changes things for opposing offensive coordinators.
No. 3 — Senior guard Ben Bredeson
The left guard rose to unanimous second-team All-Big Ten honors (for the second straight year) and the captain’s role on the 2018 squad. He’ll look to take the next step as a senior, one that includes a Big Ten championship ring and a second straight captaincy.
He’s extremely excited about what the Wolverines are doing on offense now, and plans to have himself and his fellow linemen ready to facilitate every move of the assault Gattis wants to unleash.
No. 2 — Junior wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones
Jones may or may not be Michigan’s best and most talented receiver in an array of redoubtable weapons. He will get the chance to make the most impact, after overcoming a significant spring injury.
That’s because in addition to getting the opportunity to top his team-leading 47 catches last year (for 612 yards and a team-high eight receiving touchdowns), he’ll touch the ball again extensively on special teams. He brought back 25 punts a year ago, averaging 10.0 yards per return with one 60-yard touchdown.
No. 1 — Senior quarterback Shea Patterson
Those declaring this Michigan’s breakthrough year to win a Big Ten title under Jim Harbaugh point directly to the man behind center as a major reason. Patterson proved solid (a 64.6 completion percentage, 2,600 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and only seven interceptions) in an offense not designed as a point-a-minute scheme.
Gattis left a wake of 1,000-yard receivers and big-numbers QBs in the offenses he’s worked. Handed a senior quarterback, a veteran offensive line and a host of gifted wideouts, it all ought to click.
Plus, Patterson isn’t just any veteran quarterback. He’s quick, mobile enough to take off on a defense cheating the pass, and he can improvise in ways that create when the initial design breaks down. He did so without excessive turnovers in 2019, and will get the chance to do so again.
“He’s been in control,” Bredeson said at the Big Ten football meetings in Chicago. “He’s taken over and he’s doing a really good job. He’s being a lot more assertive. I would say, acting like the starting quarterback a little bit more.
“It’s been great to see. He’s done a great job, and the entire team respects him and is going to follow him no matter what.”
Some big games last season underscored the fact that the Wolverines can’t just wear teams down and win on defense. Patterson becomes the key cog in an attack looking to bury people.
“He’s developed fine, he’s doing great,” Harbaugh said. “I love him. I like everything about him. I really do.”
Meanwhile, the head man is seeking the laser focus from Patterson like he is all his players.
“Just like all of us, it’s the things we’re all working on — being a disciplined thinker,” Harbaugh said. “The task at hand, what we’re doing right now, you can only be thinking about one thing.
“You can’t think about the end of the game before you get to the end of the game.”
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