The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 45 life easier until you learn the basics. "You have to do it the right way every time. If you mess up, whether it's a missed assign- ment or blown technique, he's going to let you know about it, and you're going to do it again." Whatever the reason, it just wasn't regis- tering in 2017, Harbaugh's third year at the helm. The Wolverines lost starting quarterback Wilton Speight in the Big Ten opener, a 28-10 win at Purdue, when an untouched blitzer sacked him and another defender landed on him, severely injuring Speight's back and costing him the rest of the season. Brandon Peters got his shot and played decently for the better part of three quarters at Wiscon- sin, but the Badgers pulled away late for a 24-10 win after a defensive line twist confused the Michigan left side. That led to a clean hit on Peters, a concussion and a hospital visit for the quarterback. "They had guys who had played a lot of football who still had problems knowing where to be and were making mistakes," Skene said. "The results of those things were quarterbacks getting killed." It was clear, Skene noted, that whatever was being taught wasn't sinking in. It was too com- plex. Warinner seemed to sense it too. He got back to fundamentals when he first arrived, like he did with the Ohio State line. His 2014 group, in particular, was a mess in its first few games but jelled into a very good front by game 12 when the Buckeyes beat Michigan 42-28 on the strength of 233 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, plus no sacks allowed. "You can tell by breaking down the film that there are only three pass blocking concepts used at Michigan now," Skene said. "There are only a few different options to help a guy. "Simplicity is a good thing when you're playing that position. Keeping it simple helps guys because then they can focus on technique and aggression." Speight's 2017 injury was a season killer, and it was the result of a lineman on the right side being overwhelmed, Skene recalled. He didn't know where his help was coming from, was out of position in pass sets and didn't have any comfort level. "All that stuff collectively went away pretty fast when Ed took over," Skene said. "That doesn't mean guys weren't getting beat some- times, but collectively they seemed to be a lot more comfortable with what they're doing out there." A line that re- turns four starters in Runyan, Brede- son, Ruiz and senior right guard Michael Onwenu will have a chance to be Harbaugh's best since he's been in Ann Arbor and will arguably enter the 2019 campaign as the best in the Big Ten. "I feel great about my group," Warinner said with a smile this spring. "We gave each lineman a paragraph in January on what we wanted them to do better, ranging from better flexibility to more body strength, etc. We had a good plan for each player, and they've all worked on those plans tremendously. "They're at a whole different level now than "He demands guys do it the right way — it doesn't matter if you've been starting for three years or you're a freshman. He has the same standard for everyone: you do it right or you do it again." FORMER U-M ALL-AMERICAN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN JON JANSEN ON WARINNER Under Warinner, all five U-M starters earned All-Big Ten recognition last year, highlighted by first-teamer Jon Runyan Jr. (75) at left tackle (coaches, Associated Press) and unanimous second-team choice Ben Bredeson (74) at left guard. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN