The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1133482
THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 75 combined score of 103-54 — is the Wol- verines' accomplishment of reeling off 10 straight wins leading up to that finish. It's the start — and especially the finish — Michigan wants to change. Change became the touchstone of the off- season on McKeon's side of the ball. There's a new quarterbacks coach. There's a head coach giving up some direct control. Most noticeably, there's a new offensive coordina- tor injecting a strikingly different look to the U-M attack. Whether or not all of it provides an al- ternate ending remains to be seen. McKeon knows this much — he's fully invested in the attempt. "It's something new, fresh, different from the past," McKeon said of the pro spread with run-pass option (RPO) elements, intro- duced by offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. "Obviously, if something is not working, you've got to change it. Not to say our old offense didn't work, but it didn't really do too well in our last two games." Neither did the Wolverines. McKeon's out to do everything he can to affect his own change in his final campaign wearing maize and blue. That journey began shortly after the Peach Bowl turned sour. Making Positive Strides McKeon wanted to improve himself in several areas. As a sophomore, he actually led Michigan with 31 catches and three touchdown grabs, finishing third on the team with 301 yards (but just six yards behind the leader). U-M's too-young receiving corps grew up considerably last season, and tight end Zach Gentry emerged for 32 catches and 514 yards before foregoing his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. Those two team improvement factors left McKeon as a more complementary piece, with 14 catches, 122 yards and a single touchdown as a junior. "I thought last season was a little down from my sophomore year, production-wise," McKeon acknowledged. "But I thought it was good to experience all those games, backing up Zach, learning from him. He did a really great job last year. I thought we worked well together." The tight ends role in Gattis' offense hasn't been demonstrated on game day yet. But whatever it evolves to be, McKeon plans to be ready. "This offseason, I really focused on bulk- ing up as much as I could, cutting fat, stay- ing at 245 but getting leaner, quicker, faster and stronger," he explained. Most of those pursuits came in response to Gattis and his demanding drive toward a new system. McKeon acknowledged the new boss gets one's attention with a built-in bullhorn. "He's a really intense guy," McKeon said. "He's not afraid to get up in your face and scream at you if you mess up. He's really holding the offense to a high standard, so we can be successful." Gattis' motto for the offense — "Speed In Space" — becomes slightly altered for those with more bulk but lesser jet engines. "For tight ends, he says 'Big Speed In Space,'" McKeon noted, with a laugh. "That's definitely cool to see. Everyone needs to be fast when you're running routes, and I think we've got some pretty fast tight ends." After leading the Wolverines with 31 receptions in 2017, McKeon recorded 14 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown as a junior last fall. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL