Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey’s 2018 season did not end the way he wanted it to.
After playing as a backup in six games last season, McCaffery broke his collarbone against Penn State on Nov. 3. At first, he thought the injury was similar to a shoulder injury he suffered the first game of the season against Notre Dame, but after not being able to lift his arm, he knew it was something different.
His broken collarbone would be the end of his season.
“You hate to hear that, especially at that time when there was no real chance of me coming back,” McCaffrey said on Jon Jansen’s “In the Trenches” podcast Wednesday. “A lot of times with the collar bone, there’s a chance of coming back sometime in the year, but you have to adjust your mindset and take it day-by-day and focus on the recovery.”
While the injury knocked him out of the last few games, he said the recovery process was not too difficult.
“It’s a little easier when it comes to bones than a lot of ligaments or muscles,” he noted. “Just had to completely rest it for a couple weeks. After that, it was more shoulder strengthening stuff, which is great for a quarterback anyway.”
Along with recovering from his injury, McCaffery has also had to learn a new offense this offseason with the arrival of offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. Nearing the completion of spring practice, McCaffrey likes where he’s at with the scheme and his health.
“Learning the new playbook was definitely the goal for most of the offense this spring,” he said. “I’m feeling really good when it comes to that. Obviously coming back from injury, I wanted to see where my body is at and it’s felt great. So, I’m in a good position.”
According to McCaffrey, the switch to Gattis’ speed-in-space offense has been a smooth one.
“A lot of guys are excited which helps that adjustment,” he said. “They are really willing to learn, and everybody has been hitting the books. Obviously, there has been some speed bumps. But I just think the team offensively has really bought in because they’re enjoying it. Throughout spring ball, we’ve seen it work a lot against our defense, which a huge sign because we probably have one of the best defenses in the country.”
One of the aspects of the new offense that McCaffrey likes the most is the speed of Michigan’s revamped attack.
Under Gattis, the offense will not huddle and will play significantly faster. McCaffrey thinks this will be beneficial.
“It allows defenses to show their hand a little bit,” he said. “They’re not going to be able to reach into their whole playbook in a matter of 20 seconds. They only have a certain number of things they can call.”
McCaffrey also talked about how the Wolverines have a boatload of athletes that are going to get more involved with the new scheme.
“I think just giving them more opportunity to go out and make plays rather than a couple touches a game, getting them the ball as often as we can is going to make a big difference.” he added.
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