Michigan Wolverines football running backs coach Jay Harbaugh spoke with the media this week about senior running back Chris Evans potentially returning to the team next season, while also discussing trap games and the Maize and Blue's suddenly high-powered offense.
We recap a few of the highlights from what Harbaugh said, and then give our take on each matter.
NEWS: First-year coordinator Josh Gattis' new offense got off to a rough start in 2019, posting 340 yards or fewer in three of Michigan's first five games. Something seemingly clicked in October, however, and the Wolverine offensive attack has been on fire ever since, averaging 38 points over its last five outings.
HARBAUGH: “We’ve gotten better and better steadily over the course of the year, and have cleaned up some things that weren’t going our way. We’ve gotten better at taking care of the ball and being assignment sound.
"Everyone has elevated their play and we’re seeing what it looks like when a bunch of different individuals do that together. It’s expected to get better as the course of the year goes on.
"You’d like to play your best from the get-go, but that’s not how it goes all the time. You have to start somewhere and then build from it. Our guys are so focused and work so hard, so you know the improvement will come if you have the right process week to week.”
VIEWS: The fanbase expected Michigan to hit the ground running under Gattis' new up-tempo, spread system, but those expectations were perhaps a bit accelerated. There is a learning curve any time a team transitions to a new offense, and that adjustment period played out during much of the first half of the season.
Concerns that Gattis was perhaps in over his head as a first-year coordinator were uttered by some people, but the vision he had been preaching about all offseason has finally started to show itself on the field.
It was most evident in Saturday's 44-10 beatdown of Michigan State, when the passing attack exploded for 384 passing yards and the 'speed in space' slogan Gattis had often talked about was out in full form.
Eliminating turnovers has also allowed U-M's offense to take off, as the club has given the ball away just twice in their last four games. This comes after a horrendous start to the season in which they coughed it up nine times through the first three contests.
Significant in-season progress is oftentimes a sign of a coaching staff doing an excellent job, and the improvements Michigan's offense has made since September have been phenomenal.
NEWS: Senior running back Chris Evans was suspended for the entire 2019 season, though head coach Jim Harbaugh recently revealed he is on track to rejoin the team for the winter semester.
If he does indeed return, the 2019 campaign will have served as a redshirt year for him, making him a fifth-year senior in 2020.
HARBAUGH: “I was excited for him. For me or most others, it’d be tough to be away from the game. I was excited that he’ll get back to doing what he loves to do. I briefly spoke with him a handful of times since then, just checking on him and seeing how he’s doing, and where his head is at with everything.
"He’s excited to get back and to get more involved.”
