The New Michigan: Part One—The Offense

To see Schilling’s handiwork in action, go here or here (he’s number 52 on the right, and as much as I concede Vernon Gholston’s monster status in that particular game, his success speaks more of Schilling’s ineptitude than Gholston’s dominance).

Starters aside, only three other new starters saw regular playing time last season—wide receiver Greg Mathews, running back Brandon Minor, and tight end Carson Butler.

Unless you closely follow recruiting, you probably haven’t heard of the other new players on offense, mostly offensive linemen.  Mark Orttman, Tim McAvoy, David Moosman, and Corey Zirbil are all brand new linemen who figure to start this season.

If you are at all familiar with football, you know that the combination of the words brand new and offensive linemen usually leads to very bad things for the offense.  But for better or for worse, offensive line coach Greg Frey (also a new guy who followed Rodriguez from West Virginia) has a brand new batch of Big Uglies.   

Offensively, there will be new leaders to replace the voids vacated by Chad Henne, Mike Hart, and Jake Long.  Running back Brandon Minor is entering his third season as a contributor at Michigan, and Rodriguez mentioned that he was impressed with Minor’s leadership during Spring Practice.

Greg Mathews, also a junior and the third wideout last season, has emerged as the Wolverine quarterback’s go-to option with the evacuation of Mario Manningham and Adrian Arrington.

Of course, the quarterback is always a leader in one way or another, so Steve Threet or Nick Sheridan, depending on who wins the job, will try to replace Chad Henne’s leadership at the very least, if not his production.

Put your money on Threet, by the way, as he was a four-star product out of high school who is clearly more talented than the walk-on Sheridan. 

Production-wise, look for running back Carlos Brown to have a big season under the new speed-emphasized running attack.  The junior speed demon, who ran for a 93-yard touchdown last season (yeah, it was against Minnesota—so what?), has been praised by his coaches for his big-play potential.

“If he gets past the linebackers and the safety takes a poor angle, he’s going for a touchdown,” running backs coach Fred Jackson said during the spring.

Redshirt freshman Avery Horn looked impressive and fast in the spring game, but it is definitely possible that an incoming freshman will assume the fast back responsibilities.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Kevin Grady as an option at running back, though the former five-star prospect has underwhelmed in his Michigan career and is recovering from a torn ACL that forced him to take a medical redshirt last fall.

He has reportedly responded well to new Strength and Conditioning coach Mike Barwis’ new workouts, and he has said that he will try to take a leadership role on the team—but with all due respect to Grady, it is rather difficult to lead from the sidelines.

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