Stock Report: Michigan Offense Post-Week 6

STOCK REPORT will be a season-long feature where we rank and rate Michigan football players within their position groups. This is more than a depth chart as we consider the player's impact and potential. After each game, we will reassess the rankings as players see their stock rise while others may see their stock fall.

Something happened in the second half for JJ McCarthy, Michigan took off the handcuffs.

Outside of scripted first drives, Michigan appeared to be holding McCarthy back the last few weeks. With the RPO game looking like the option to keep isn't always an option, that conservative game planning made its way into the passing game in the first half against Iowa.

While we know JJ has been overthrowing receivers on deep balls, the play calling didn't seem to lean into his or the offenses strengths. We didn't see any of the motion or misdirection Michigan likes to use. We didn't see crossing routes or screens, or any deep shots to the slot with Roman Wilson out. We know where McCarthy is comfortable, getting out of the pocket, on the run, and throwing past the marker.

With Blake Corum and the run game struggling to get traction, the Wolverines went to the locker room tied with the Hoosiers 10-10 at the half. The Michigan coaching staff decided, it was time to let JJ take over.

READ: J.J. McCarthy believes Michigan offense has yet to reach its full potential
READ: 5 takeaways from Michigan's 31-10 win over Indiana

McCarthy continued to struggle on throws over 20 yards. He is now 2/14 in the last three games.

STOCK UP: Where he didn't struggle is where he has dominated all season. In the second half, Michigan ran more intermediate routes, all 10 attempts coming after halftime. The offensive staff also got McCarthy moving more with bootlegs and just allowing him to leave the pocket. This saw him favoring his stronger right side, with all but three of his pass attempts going to the right side or middle of the field.

We've talked about the deep shots, and I think Michigan needs to continue to call those plays, but what McCarthy did Saturday is just more of what he has done all year. What he's doing on throws 20 yards or less is insane.

75% on intermediate throws.
90% on short throws.
100% on throws behind the line of scrimmage.
88% on ALL throws less than 20 yards.

It gets crazier. Two of his short throws, one intermediate, and one deep were drops. This makes his adjusted completion percentage on throws 20 yards or less 91% and his overall completion percentage 83.1%. While we did see his first interception of the year, this may have been the game where McCarthy finally earned the staff's trust. He's only going to get better, and mistakes will be made, but allowing JJ to take risks is far better than holding JJ back so much that he isn't able to do what makes him so special. What made him the starting quarterback, to begin with.

This series is about numbers. It's about analytics, metrics, trends, and anything else I can find to make a data-based assessment of performance. I try to eliminate things like the eye test and emotions. With the scary situation of Mike Hart's health emergency occurring during the game against Indiana, I don't want this conversation to be insensitive.

The moment had a huge impact on Michigan's running backs, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, who was consoled by other coaches and players as Hart was taken from the field to a local hospital. Corum acknowledged the entire situation was in the back of his mind during the game.

I am going to cover some numbers from this game, but I understand the life impact that can't be measured. I am also happy to hear Hart is stable and will be ok. I of course hope he is back coaching on the sidelines as soon as possible.

READ: Jim Harbaugh says Mike Hart is in stable condition after medical emergency

Corum was once again the bell cow of this running back room, getting 25 carries to Donovan Edwards's 7. That's 84 carries in three games for the nation's third-leading rusher. Corum was largely contained against Indiana, with 68 of his 124 yards coming on two plays, meaning he averaged 2.43 yards per carry on his other 23 carries.

That wasn't the story of this one, however.

While McCarthy was feeling the pinch in the passing play calls, the running game was equally frustrating. No jet sweeps, end around or reverses in this one. Michigan also heavily favored the gap scheme, with 27 carries to 9. With the offense focusing on the gaps, the runs largely stayed in between the tackles. This was frustrating because all the success came from the outside.

Even some of the bigger plays went outside simply because Corum took a massive cut away from a filled gap. Michigan had 7.2YPC on runs outside and only 2.42YPC on everything between the tackles.

STOCK DOWN: Still no CJ Stokes in this one. With Corum getting so many carries, you'd like to see the freshman get a little run again before Michigan heads to the strength of its schedule. I understand fumbles can't happen, but 11 quarters seem like enough punishment.

We wondered which wide receiver would step up in the absence of Roman Wilson, turns out just more Ronnie Bell.

STOCK UP: Bell finished the game with 15 targets, 5 more than all of the other receivers combined. He brought 11 receptions, 5 of which went for a first down. His 121 yards against the Hoosiers brought him to 390 for the season.

It looked early like AJ Henning was going to see a huge role increase, with him primarily occupying Roman's spot in the slot to start the game. He ended up with fewer snaps than Andrel Anthony, 28 to 21, and Bell took over the slot snaps, 21 to 11. After having Anthony as Stock Up last week, I am moving him ahead of Henning. It is surprising Michigan hasn't gotten either player involved in the offense more, but with Wilson, the man in the slot, and Michigan subbing Anthony in on the outside to move Bell to the slot, Henning's place in the depth chart was diminished in this one. He is so versatile, it is hard to imagine we won't see more of him as soon.

STOCK UP: I've said it the last few weeks, Michigan is trying to get Anthony going. He caught two in this one and made a couple of huge blocks in the run game. He continues to play behind Cornelius Johnson.

CJ had another ugly drop in this one but bounced back with a 29-yard touchdown in the same drive. He finished the game with 4 receptions for 58 yards and two scores. Johnson does so many things well, as all the tools, but just can't seem to be consistent enough. He is currently Michigan's lowest-rated starter on offense according to Pro Football Focus.

Luke Schoonmaker continues to thrive in the TE1 role.

As the starter in Michigan's first three Big Ten games, Schoon has games with 7, 4, and now 9 catches against Big Ten opponents. The staff continues to get more confident in the 5th year player, with him lining up in the slot or on the outside in 8 snaps against Indiana. He is becoming a favorite of McCarthy on short routes, getting a team-high 21 targets on throws 10 yards or less for 18 receptions and 151 yards.

Joel Honigford and Max Bredeson continue to find roles in the run game, but neither has seen an increased role in the passing game with Erick All out.

That honor continues to go to Colston Loveland. Michigan isn't rushing the freshman tight end, but it feels like a matter of when, not if, Loveland will make a huge play. Loveland played 8 passing snaps against Indiana, while Honigford and Bredeson each saw 2. All three are way behind Schoonmaker, but if the coaching staff is going to let JJ loose more moving forward, Loveland is most likely to benefit.

After finally seeing a game where Michigan's offensive line was healthy and all five starters played every snap, we saw another injury in Michigan's men up front. Trente Jones suffered an ankle injury and had to be replaced by a now-healthy Karsen Barnhart. The two competed this offseason for the starting job at right tackle. Jones took control of the spot early on in the spring and never gave up ground. With Jones likely to be sidelined, Barnhart will take over on the outside. He's played 48 snaps at right tackle this season compared to Jones's 310. Barnhart filled in well against Indiana, finishing rated as Michigan's 3rd best OL.

Jones was starting to get comfortable on the outside, rating ahead of Zak Zinter in pass protection and ahead of Olu Oluwatimi in the run game before suffering his injury against Indiana. Zinter and Olu have been the standard for the offensive line in 2022. Each playing in 340 snaps and giving up 6 pressures combined.

STOCK UP: Ryan Hayes always seems to bounce back in a big way after not having a great game the week before. He was Michigan's #1 rated offensive lineman in pass protection and the run game. It was a solid game in pass protection overall for Michigan, with Hayes, Olu, and Jones not allowing any pressures. Zinter had strung together a few good weeks, but he gave up two pressures in this one. As did Trevor Keegan who continues to grade out poorly in analytic metrics despite not giving up a sack this season.

The injury to Jones is a bummer, but Michigan is once again prepared with an experienced backup as we have seen at tight end. Behind Barnhart, Michigan still has depth with Giovanni El-Hadi performing well in the first part of the season and players like Jeff Persi, Tristan Bounds, Raheem Anderson, Andrew Gentry, and Greg Crippen all grading out well in their limited action.

---

Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards

Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer

Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @BrandonJustice_, @ZachLibby, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @DanielDash_, @StephenToski, @Baird_CJ, @JimScarcelli

Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube!

Follow The Maize and Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram