Michigan Spring Game: Why We Won't Learn Much from First Look at 2012 Wolverines

Spring games are largely a waste of time and this is especially true this season if you're a Michigan fan.

This Saturday's spring game for the Michigan Wolverines is essentially going to be a glorified practice.

Because of reduced scholarships, the Wolverines lack the depth to produce two scrimmage teams to face off against each other. Brady Hoke stated that the team is short on offensive and defensive linemen and wide receivers in order be able to construct two full teams to play against each other.

This means that the coaching staff is going to have to come up with some unique and creative ways in order to play a football game on Saturday.

Perhaps it would be wise for them to run an offense versus defense type of game, much like the one Lane Kiffin ran last year for the USC Trojans, a team that has also been marred with lack of depth.

Whatever they decide to do, the fact that they don't have depth means that they're going to have a difficult time simulating game situations. Running a few two-minute drills or coming up with a creative points system for an offense vs. defense game four months before fall camp isn't exactly going to help Hoke and his staff learn much about their team.

There's nothing wrong with spring camp. It's an opportunity for younger players to show the coaching staff what they have in their arsenal and to battle for depth chart placement. But the spring game itself seems like a gimmick for fans. 

The coaching staff is forced to go out of their way to keep them entertained. It's sort of like an All-Star game, except it's played with mostly college scrubs who you'll never see in an actual game. 

At the end of the day, Hoke will learn the most about his 2012 team once Fall Camp starts. It's closer to the regular season and there aren't any classes at that time, allowing players to solely focus on football.

The spring game doesn't even draw that many people to the stadium, so coaches can't really see how their players handle large and boisterous crowds. Nothing, other than an actual regular season game at The Big House, can replicate that situation. A spring game isn't going to show how a new college freshman will handle the pressures of 100,000 screaming fans yelling at a football game.

It also definitely doesn't show how the Wolverines handle tough defenses. Unlike preseason games in the NFL where teams go up against unfamiliar opponents, the Wolverines will be going up against guys they see at practice every day and they might even be below them in the depth chart. Maybe if schools played against other nearby teams for their scrimmages it would be a better learning tool for coaches.

Having a gimmicky game like this for the fans is just not a valuable measuring stick to evaluate a team's talent.

But hey, it is Big Blue football so we might as well enjoy it, right?

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