Michigan Wolverines football senior tight end Sean McKeon was injured in the Sept. 21 loss at Wisconsin, and wound up missing three of the team’s next four games as a result.
McKeon finally made a significant impact in the 44-10 destruction of Michigan State on Saturday by reeling in two catches for 46 yards.
“I was at 95 percent for the [Nov. 2 win at] Maryland, and now I’m basically at 100 right now,” he revealed this afternoon.
“I tried to come back for Illinois probably a little too early, and tweaked it a little bit so that was a setback. I’m good to go now though.
“[Sitting out] was something I hadn’t really done before, but the trainers got me healthy as quickly as they could. I’m grateful for them and the way they got me back healthy.”
McKeon was one of nine Wolverines who hauled in a reception on Saturday, with senior quarterback Shea Patterson compiling a career-high 384 yards through the air and four touchdowns.
It was the fifth most yards any U-M quarterback had ever accumulated in a single game in Michigan history, and the most since Jake Rudock racked up 440 in a 48-41 win at Indiana in 2015.
Sophomore wideout Ronnie Bell also had a career game against the Spartans, setting new personal bests with nine catches and 150 yards.
“He had the hot hand and was making all of his throws accurately out of the pocket,” McKeon said of Patterson. “Shea on the move is pretty dangerous too, and he connected with Ronnie Bell in space a few times.
“It’s kind of weird [Bell doesn’t have a touchdown yet this season]. He’s caught way too many balls this year not to have scored.
“Hopefully he gets in there eventually.”
Eighty-seven of Bell’s 150 yards occurred after the catch on Saturday, as the rest of the club’s wideouts and tight ends blocked exceptionally well downfield.
“I’m just trying to do my job on every play,” McKeon explained, who has been praised by head coach Jim Harbaugh numerous times over the past year for his blocking abilities.
“I just try not to let my man make the tackle and hopefully move him a couple yards. Going against defensive ends who have 20 or 30 pounds on you is a little tougher, but the play action off of that is very successful in the passing game.”
Harbaugh admitted this afternoon that the wide receivers’ blocking wasn’t up to par earlier in the season, but that it’s been outstanding as of late.
Blocking downfield is one of the many aspects that has allowed Michigan’s offense to click in a big way over the past several games, as the club is averaging 428.8 yards and 38 points per game over its last five outings.
“A lot of people say the second half of the Penn State game [is when things started to click], and I think it started there for sure,” McKeon recalled.
“Eliminating all the turnovers was a big thing, and finishing drives with a kick has also helped — either punt, field goal or an extra point.
“Not having turnovers helps a lot. When you sustain drives, he [offensive coordinator Josh Gattis] can get comfortable and call the plays how he wants to.
“It’s hard to get in a rhythm when a drive is only two or three plays.”
Gattis showed a play on Saturday that Wolverine fans hadn’t seen before, when redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey took the snap and threw the ball to Patterson, who was then meant to throw it back to McCaffrey.
The redshirt sophomore fell, however, and Patterson wound up throwing the ball out of bounds.
“I was more of a distraction on that one,” McKeon laughed. “I don’t even know if I was one of Shea’s reads on that play. It was supposed to be a screen for Dylan, but he fell and it got blown up and didn’t really work.”
Notes
• Redshirt sophomore wideout Tarik Black was flagged for personal foul call when he simply flexed his muscles after hauling in a pass, a horrendous call by the infamous Dan Capron and his crew.
“He wasn’t staring anyone down or standing over anyone, so I’m not sure why he got penalized for that,” the senior tight end said.
“Ronnie kind of yelled at me too [later on] so I wouldn’t get a flag [when I signaled for a first down after a reception]. They’re a little inconsistent there.”
• Some have wondered if the Maize and Blue may be looking past Indiana a bit this weekend with the mammoth showdown with Ohio State on the horizon, despite the fact that the Hoosiers own a 7-3 record and rank in the top-35 nationally in both offense and defense.
“I wouldn’t say Indiana is a trap game because they’re a really good team and always play us tough,” McKeon stated.
“We’ll prepare as hard as we do for anyone else, so I wouldn’t say it’s a trap game.”
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