The New Michigan: Part One—The Offense

With the incoming class (which we will talk about in a moment), Michigan is very deep at running back, and it is unlikely that a power runner like Grady will play a huge role in the Rodriguez offense.

Because of the severe lack of numbers on offense, not to mention lack of experience, the Wolverines will likely play a rather large number of freshmen.  Highly-touted wide receiver Darryl Stonum will play significantly this fall for a number of reasons.

First, Michigan has precious few Big Ten-caliber wide receivers.  Only Mathews, Hemingway, sophomore Toney Clemons, junior LaTerryal Savoy, and freshman Zion Babb (who was moved to defensive back last season and may or may not switch back to receiver under Rich Rod) are playable non-true freshman wideouts on the Michigan roster.

With the four- and five-wide sets that Rodriguez often deploys, five wide receivers just isn’t going to cut it.  They will need some serious freshman help, and Stonum will be the first ’08 recruit on the field.

Second, Stonum is really an all-around package at wideout.  He was rated the second-best wide receiver after the catch by Rivals, and he has the hands, size, and route-running ability to be a legitimate star at the college level.

Third, Stonum was the only incoming freshman to enroll early at Michigan, so he went through all the spring drills and practices that the other players did, including the Spring Game.  With the new system Rodriguez brought in, the other wide receivers that are on the roster are not much further ahead of him.

Therefore Stonum—who was the seventh-ranked wide receiver and the 41st-ranked player overall on Rivals.com—will get plenty of playing time as an outside receiver. 

But just about every receiver on the roster is an outside guy, so Rodriguez will likely look to little speedy-bugger recruits Terrence Robinson, Martavious Odoms, and possibly running back-athlete Michael Shaw to pull the load as Darius Reynaud-type slot receivers.

To get a sense of what types of athletes these guys are, think Steve Breaston—who was inexplicably misused after his freshman year by the Carr regime.

Robinson and Odoms will vie for the return job, as well as bubble-screen/reverse duties.  They have a chance to be real game-breakers as inside receivers in this offense.  The prospect that Michigan actually has a coaching staff willing to play to these guys’ strengths is exciting for Wolverine fans, to say the least.

Rich Rodriguez did everything he could to get super-recruit quarterback Terrelle Pryor, but he simply entered the game too late, and Pryor went to Ohio State.  With the current quarterback situation, that really hurt.  But Rodriguez was able to nab one running quarterback—two-star prospect Justin Feagin.

Feagin is extremely athletic and will certainly see some playing time next season, and depending on how quickly he learns, maybe a little more than some.  But his throwing arm is suspect, and many recruiting gurus aren’t sold on his ability to be a quarterback at all.

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