The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 85 almost all of Alabama's games," Runyan re- called. "I was trying to picture that with us. I didn't really know how that would translate, because I would see Alabama running RPO [run-pass option], see a receiver catch the ball on a slant and run about 60 yards to score a touchdown. "I really didn't know if we would have the capabilities of doing that. Going through these practices, I think it's definitely possible. It's really awesome. From an offensive line perspective, you can take a pass 60 yards downfield and get me off the field as fast as possible. I'd love that every single time." Throughout the spring, the Wolverines on offense became believers. That proved especially so in watching Patterson and in witnessing some of the receivers, even with several big names out of action with injuries. "There's a lot of decision making on the quarterback's part," Runyan mentioned. "It's going to have to happen quick. There are some plays that we don't know if the ball is going to be handed off or thrown, so it kind of throws off our fit sometimes, in run and pass fits. "We're all going with it. It's all new to us, but we're working through it. I'm excited to see it." Defensive coordinator Don Brown and his crew wasn't going to just sit back and let the new offense have its way. He began throw- ing in all sorts of wrinkles to combat the run-pass options installed in the early going. "The defense knows that, and they try to play off that and mess with his reads, put us in sticky situations a bunch," Runyan said with a smile. "They get us on that stuff all the time and try to fake us out — bringing a linebacker, dropping him. But it's going to be awesome." Even with junior wideouts Donovan Peo- ples-Jones and Nico Collins missing all or almost all of spring ball with injuries, and redshirt sophomore Tarik Black bothered by hamstring issues, Michigan proved ex- plosive at times. That's largely because of rookie wideout Mike Sainristil, who sprinted right past the break-in period and proceeded directly to weapon status, Runyan insisted. "I'm really excited to watch Mikey run around out there," he said. "He's made a few big plays for us. There have been a couple of times where me and [senior offensive guard] Ben [Bredeson] came up to him, and we're like, 'Mike, we need a long catch out of you. We need to get out of this period.' He's shown up for us, and we thanked him for it. He definitely has that speed." Runyan also looks forward to Michigan piling up points, which he contends can hap- pen in the new-look attack. "The more times you get the ball, the more points you're going to score," Runyan said. "That's why teams playing in the final four games last year, they were averaging around 40 points a game. We were averaging only 30-ish. The more times you get the ball, the more times you have an opportunity to score. "That's something we're really talking to the offensive line about, that we need to improve." Runyan is confident they'll get there. Truth be told, he's confident, period. It makes all the difference in the world. "It's huge," Jansen insisted. "He can look at all the film he had from last year and see the successes that he had, whether it was in the run game or blocking an opponent one- on-one. Was there a speed move or a power move that he struggled with, but then he was able to find a way to make that block? "All of a sudden, now you go into the sec- ond year with that confidence of, 'I'm All- Big Ten. I'm a guy that was recognized as being a pretty damned good football player.' "Now, you get a chance to go out there playing next to the same guys. It continues to build that confidence. You walk out there with a certain swagger, like 'I've done this before, and I'm going to do it even better this time.'" Runyan figures to better stomach the re- sults this time around, even in the first game of the year. Opponents might not, and that's the plan. ❑ Runyan's father, also named Jon, was an All- American offensive tackle for the Wolverines in 1995, before being selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, playing 14 seasons in the league and earning second-team All-Pro honors in 1999. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Jon Runyan Jr.'s breakthrough season as a first-team All-Big Ten performer wasn't merely a personal notch in the belt. The fifth-year senior's accomplish- ment figured as a step forward in an area where a proud Michigan tradition has been lacking of late. The Wolverines ran behind countless all-conference performers in the de- cades since Bo Schembechler and his successors ran the show. Not so much in recent years. Here's a look at Michigan's first-team All-Big Ten offensive linemen over the past decade. • Jon Runyan, 2018 — The son of a former Michigan All-American blocker rose to the top level of All-Big Ten status in his first year as a starter. He also did so in the first season of a new offensive line coach, Ed Warinner. • Erik Magnuson, 2016 — Magnuson proved U-M's best offensive lineman in a year in which the Wolverines came the closest they've been yet to the Big Ten championship game. One more play (or call) in Columbus, and they'd have been in Indianapolis. • Taylor Lewan, 2012-13 — Lewan rose to first-team status twice and went beyond that in both seasons. He was a consensus first-team All-American in 2012, and Sporting News selected him as a first-team All-American in 2013 before he went on to the NFL. • Patrick Omameh, 2012 — Omameh secured first-team honors after help- ing quarterback Denard Robinson bolt away for 1,266 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on Brady Hoke's second U-M squad. • David Molk, 2010-11 — Molk anchored the Wolverines at center in the bridge between Rich Rodriguez's last team at Michigan and Hoke's first. He also wound up as an All-American. That's the extent of Michigan's first-team All-Big Ten offensive linemen over the past decade. The last ones before the fivesome listed above were All- American Jake Long and Adam Krauss, each in 2006 and 2007, Lloyd Carr's final two seasons as head coach. Adam Stenavich and Matt Lentz earned first-team honors in 2004 and 2005, while Tony Pape (2002 and 2003), David Baas (2002, 2003, 2004), Jonathan Goodwin (2001), and Jeff Backus (1999-2000) welcomed the new millennium with a host of those achievements. No fewer than 15 Wolverines earned first-team All-Big Ten status as offensive linemen in t he 1990s, including Runyan's father, Jon, and fellow All-American guard Steve Hutchinson, who secured the conference honor in all four seasons he played (1997-2000) before he went on to an All-Pro NFL career. — John Borton Michigan's First-Team All-Big Ten OL Have Been Scarce