The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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80 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW TIGHT ENDS TIGHT ENDS Redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey also mentioned All as someone to watch in the near future. "Erick is another one of those guys who fit the system really well," McCaffrey said. "He came in with a lot of energy and it carried over. He hasn't lost it yet, and I don't think he will, because he's ballin'. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does." Moore is also excited about the depth of Michigan's receiving corps, from the wide- outs to the tight ends. He insists the talent there will open opportunities for many, since U-M's quarterbacks won't be locked in on any one target. "We're going to have so many playmak- ers, it's going to be hard to key on one guy," Moore stressed. "If you want to try to stop Sean, then you have to deal with Donovan [Peoples-Jones]. If you stop Donovan then you have to deal with Nico [Collins], then you have to deal with Nick, then you have to deal with all the other guys we've got." Gattis agrees with that take, and he's going to make room for any tight ends that perform. They've learned to split out as receivers in this offense, as well as stay tight to the line. How much the Wolverines do on offense depends largely on what they can do, regard- less of position. "We're a personnel-driven offense," Gattis said. "When our best playmakers step up, we're going to find creative roles, whether that's putting them in the backfield, flexing them out. "Everybody has to learn the offense here, conceptually. The running backs have got to know what the receivers are doing. The receivers have got to know what the running backs are doing. We will try to create favor- able matchups for us by getting our best play- ers involved however we can do it." Some of those favorable matchups can come out of multiple-receiver sets, including a tight end. Defenses will be forced to decide who to use in coverage and sacrifice some- thing along the way. The season itself will tell the full tale of Michigan's tight ends in the new offense. They figure they're here to stay. ❑ Jon Jansen Gives His Takes On U-M Tight Ends Jon Jansen came to Michigan as a tight end, before becoming an All-American offensive tackle that wound up playing more than a decade in the NFL. He's now a U-M media specialist, who sees plenty of potential for the Wolverines at that spot. Here are Jansen's assessments of how Michigan's tight ends stack up: Senior Sean McKeon: "Sean is one of the most flexible guys you will ever come across at that tight end position. What that allows him to do is, when he's running in the flat and [senior quarterback] Shea Pat- terson throws a ball out to him, obviously the ideal situation is that the ball is two feet in front of him. He sticks his hands out, catches it and turns upfield to run. "That's not always the case. Sometimes the tight end has to be able to turn back while he's running. Sometimes he has to square his shoulders to the ball to catch it. Sean does an unbelievable to job of being able to run in one direction, look backward in another direction, catch the ball, and turn and do something with it." Redshirt junior Nick Eubanks: "Nick's a great kid. I love watching him run downfield, because he's a big kid. When he gets the ball in his hands, he can make some moves, make some guys miss. He can run away from linebackers. "His ability to block, to set the edge, improved a tremendous amount in the spring. What I like about both those guys in this new offense is, at times, you're going to see five wides. It doesn't have to be five wide receivers. You can flex those tight ends out. "Now all of sudden, you've got a nightmare of a matchup. Do you put a corner on them? Do you try to put a linebacker on them? If you do that, you leave a hole in the middle. Those two guys will create nightmares for defensive coordinators." Redshirt freshman Mustapha Muhammad: "Young kid. He's a natural athlete. He does great operating in space. When he gets the ball in his hands, much like Eubanks and McKeon, he does a great job of getting upfield. He's a great athlete in space." Redshirt freshman Luke Schoonmaker: "I just need to see more of him. He's got all of the tools." True freshman Erick All: "Erick could be the most talented one in the group. He's just young right now. Both of those guys [All and Muhammad] need experience. "When you look at the way they grew this spring in terms of understanding the offense, how to work with the offensive line — whether it's in pass protection, whether it's setting the edge on the run or getting a backside cutoff — both of those guys did a great job of improving their head placement, their footwork, putting themselves in position to help their tackle." — John Borton Four-star early enrollee Erick All turned heads this spring, but will have to surpass several older teammates to see the field this fall. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN "The coaches are giving opportunity for the play- makers to make plays. That's what he's empha- sizing on offense. That's where we're going." REDSHIRT JUNIOR TIGHT END NICK EUBANKS ON NEW OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOSH GATTIS AND HIS ATTACK