The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1155524
SEPTEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 33 BY JOHN BORTON I t's another new era for Michigan football, featuring an up-tempo, no-huddle, speed in space offense. Whatever system a program employs, players have to get it done. It says here, the Wolverines should be well equipped. New offensive co- ordinator Josh Gattis, head coach Jim Harbaugh and all the bosses on the offensive side of the ball shouldn't be caught short, according to our an- nual rundown of Michigan's 25 most indispensable players. The top three all play on offense, with no big surprise at No. 1. It's the one many insist represents the perfect fit for the Gattis Gatling gun offense — senior quarterback Shea Patterson. He has plenty of company, with five other offensive performers — two top receiving targets and three returners from last year's decorated offensive line — joining him among the top 10. The defense isn't ignored, but there are certainly some preseason ques- tion marks while coordinator Don Brown reloads for 2019 following ma- jor personnel losses. There's room for major upward movement on this list, and some will take full advantage. But for now, here's the projection by The Wolverine on how the warriors line up: 1. SHEA PATTERSON, SR., QB Those declaring this Michigan's breakthrough year to win a Big Ten title under Harbaugh point directly to the man behind center as a major reason. Patterson proved solid (a 64.6 completion percentage, 2,600 pass- ing yards, 22 touchdowns and only seven interceptions) in an offense not designed as a point-a-minute scheme. Gattis left a wake of 1,000-yard re- ceivers and big-number QBs in the offenses he's worked. Handed a se- nior quarterback, a veteran offensive line and a host of gifted wideouts, it all ought to click. Plus, Patterson isn't just any vet- eran quarterback. He's quick, mobile enough to take off on a defense cheat- ing the pass, and he can improvise in ways that create when the initial de- sign breaks down. He did so without excessive turnovers in 2019, and will get the chance to do so again. "He's been in control," senior left guard Ben Bredeson said at the Big Ten football meetings in Chicago. "He's taken over and he's doing a really good job. He's being a lot more assertive. I would say, acting like the starting quarterback a little bit more. "It's been great to see. He's done a great job, and the entire team re- spects him and is going to follow him no matter what." Some big games last season under- scored the fact that the Wolverines can't just wear teams down and win on defense. Patterson becomes the key cog in an attack looking to bury people. "He's developed fine, he's doing great," Harbaugh said. "I love him. I like everything about him. I really do." Meanwhile, the head man is seek- ing the laser focus from Patterson like he is all his players. "Just like all of us, it's the things we're all working on — being a disci- plined thinker," Harbaugh said. "The task at hand, what we're doing right now, you can only be thinking about one thing. "You can't think about the end of the game before you get to the end of the game." 2. DONOVAN PEOPLES-JONES, JR., WR Jones may or may not be Michi- gan's best and most talented receiver in an array of redoubtable weapons. He will get the chance to make the most impact, after overcoming a sig- nificant spring injury. That's because in addition to get- ting the opportunity to top his team- leading 47 catches last year (for 612 yards and a team-high eight receiv- ing touchdowns), he'll touch the ball again extensively on special teams. He brought back 25 punts a year ago, averaging 10.0 yards per return with one 60-yard touchdown. 3. BEN BREDESON, SR., OG The left guard rose to unanimous second-team All-Big Ten honors (for the second straight year) and the cap- tain's role on the 2018 squad. He'll look to take the next step as a senior, one that includes a Big Ten champi- onship ring. He's extremely excited about what the Wolverines are doing on offense now, and plans to have himself and his fellow linemen ready to facili- tate every move of the assault Gattis wants to unleash. 4. LAVERT HILL, SR., CB The return of this first-team All-Big Ten cornerback gave Brown a huge boost in constructing a defense for 2019. Hill remains Michigan's lock- down corner, whose numbers (one interception, five passes broken up and 14 tackles in 2019) don't do jus- tice to how he changes things for op- posing offensive coordinators. MICHIGAN'S TOP 25 Offense Leads The Way Among U-M's Best Players Several of senior quarterback Shea Patterson's 2018 totals ranked among the top 10 single seasons in school history — he tied for fifth in completion percentage (64.6) and passing touchdowns (22), and ranked eighth in passing yards (2,600) and ninth in lowest interception percentage (2.15). PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN