Round Pegs in Square Holes? A Look at Michigan’s Offense

Another area (in addition to QB and OL) where there is not much depth.  Martavious Odoms (5-9, 171) is a great fit and has played well when the QBs have been able to get the ball to him.  As he is a freshman, there have been some plays where he has run the wrong routes, making Threet look even worse than usual.

As with Carlos Brown, another huge disappointment has been the absence of Terrence Robinson (5-9, 170) due to, you guessed it, injury.  He would give the team not only playmaking ability but badly needed depth at a position that is starved for it.

TE - Kevin Koger (6-4, 220)

Keeping with the general theme of misfortune, it’s ironic that this position of lesser importance is also the one with the most depth.

Koger, Martell Webb (6-4, 249), and Brandon Moore (6-6, 221) are good fits in the offense.  Carson Butler (6-5, 250) would be, but he is a knucklehead and recently moved to DE. 

Future Offensive Personnel

This is written assuming that the current verbal commitments will stay that way. 

QB - Tate Forcier (6-0, 185), Shavodrick Beaver (6-3, 185)

Both are good fits for the offense, and both bring a little something different to the table.  Forcier is a passer who can run, and Beaver is more of a runner who happens to be a good passer.  Ideally, Forcier will end up as the next Chase Daniel/Drew Brees/Troy Smith, and Beaver will become Donovan McNabb 2.0.

RB/Slot

I’m going to lump these guys together because I have no idea where they’ll end up.  Jeremy Gallon, Teric Jones, Vincent Smith, and Fitzgerald Toussaint are all in the 5-8 - 5-10, 165-190 range.  They’ll provide much needed depth and talent at the slot receiver position.

OL

Only one commit so far - Mike Schofield (6-6, 270).  Despite the general poorness of Michigan’s O-Line this year, they have no seniors, so they could have anywhere from 15-20 scholarship players for next season.  With six freshmen redshirting this year, the depth and talent will be much improved.

This is the end, I promise

Based on what I’ve seen and read, I’ve come to the conclusion that Michigan’s general offensive suckitude is not because players are out of position or are being asked to do things that are not their strengths.  The reasons of failure are: inexperience (which leads to inconsistency), lack of depth (not talent), and injuries to key players. 

Threet is young and erratic.  Four true freshmen have started at skill positions.  Out of all the starters, only Schilling has any extensive experience.  QB, OL, and slot are extremely thin on numbers and/or quality.

Injuries have happened to: Threet, Minor, Brown, Shaw, Matthews, Hemingway, Odoms, Robinson, and almost all of the linemen.  Two probable starters on the line have been out all year. 

This is why we’re bad.  The on-field manifestation of these three factors is lack of execution, mental mistakes, and turnovers.  The causes and effects are intertwined and feed off of each other. 

The talent is there, we just need more of it.  If our verbal commitments stick, the QB and slot positions will be infused with quality players.  The six current freshmen who are redshirting will bolster the OL. 

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Michigan will be much better next year (a very big sturdy limb).  Inexperience will still have to be dealt with, but not as much as this year.  More talent and depth will help the process.    

Okay I lied, this is the end.

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