The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2020 THE WOLVERINE 47 touchdowns and two interceptions, while each has also rushed for a pair of scores. "They [were getting snaps] with the twos and the threes, but they're not given the same opportunity as the starter," Gattis said. "As com- pared to spring ball, we've got to come up with a system of reps and opportunities to allow each and ev- ery one of our quarterbacks on our roster to be able to compete with a fair amount of opportunity and reps. "Whether that's splitting time with the ones, whether that's splitting time with the twos by rotation, it's some- thing we've got to be able to manage, and it's a challenge, especially when you have multiple quarterbacks." 5. Limiting Big Plays Against Top Athletes: Penn State, Ohio State, Wis- consin and Alabama — the four best teams on Michigan's schedule last year — all scored on big plays. Wisconsin's came in the running game when fits were off, but athletic receivers at the other three schools took advantage of blown coverages or mismatches to provide huge plays in the passing game. That needs to be fixed. ❏ 1. Center: Cesar Ruiz leaves early after two years manning the middle, and he's projected as a potential first- or second- round pick in the NFL Draft. This is one of the most important positions on the line, and two guys have emerged. "The guy who was the Scout Team Player of the Year, [redshirt freshman] Zach Car- penter, really started to shine and show some things," offensive line coach Ed Warinner said. "He got hurt early in Au- gust and missed two or three weeks there with an ankle, and once he came back, got healthy and got rolling, he really showed that he can be an outstanding center. "He'll be in there at the center position with Andrew Vastardis, a fifth-year senior that was our backup center this past year." Vastardis, a former walk-on, saw the field a bit in the Ohio State game but hasn't played much in his career (five appearances). Others could also vie for time here this fall. 2. Offensive Guard: This is a mix of veterans and young guys, and the com- petition should be fierce. "You've got [redshirt junior guard] Chuck Filiaga in there," Warinner said. "He's got all the tools — big man, really working hard. I loved what he did in bowl practice. "I thought his December bowl prac- tices really helped him in my mind, and he took it serious, got himself ready to go and made himself a better player, so I see Chuck having a legitimate chance to be a starting guard for us. He has flexibility, right side, left side." Redshirt freshmen Trevor Keegan and Nolan Rumler also got a lot of reps in bowl practices, while redshirt junior Joel Honigford has been around a while. "Trevor Keegan is a guy who has a ton of talent," Warinner said. "He got a lot of reps in the two-deep in the bowl prep. "… [We have] very talented, very tough guys, very com- mitted, so just seeing who catches on the fastest, who starts to play the best. They'll compete it out, and it will be fun to watch. I'm excited, because as a coach, when guys are get- ting better, that's when you really get excited." 3. Quarterback: Redshirt junior Dylan McCaffrey is consid- ered the frontrunner here, but redshirt sophomore Joe Mil- ton is one of the hardest workers on the team. One of them needs to emerge as a big-play guy who can put the team on his back. Simply put, the nation's (and Big Ten's) best squads usually get great quarterback play. "We were much better at the end of the year than we were at the beginning of the season, but you need skill to take over games," offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said. "You need that from your quarterbacks. "If the job is coming down to just two guys, then obviously it's a two-way sys- tem. We feel like [redshirt freshman] Cade [McNamara] has developed, Joe has developed. I'm really excited to see Joe; I'm really excited to see Dylan. "So we've got to figure out a way to get those guys the equal amount of opportunities to be able to show what they can do and lead this team in the direction we need them." 4. Defensive Tackle: Fifth-year senior Carlo Kemp returns as the only "proven" commodity on the interior line. Sopho- more Chris Hinton played more as the season progressed, but still only logged 129 defensive snaps (75 of which came against Ohio State and Alabama). No returners other than Kemp saw a lot of playing time last year. At least two guys need to emerge here, probably more, and all will get a look. "[Redshirt junior and former walk- on] Jess Speight has had time," defensive coordinator Don Brown said. "I'm really happy with [redshirt junior] Donovan Jeter; he's had a good winter and just continues to impress." Jeter had a good spring last year, too, but it didn't translate over to games in the fall. He needs to play lower and be more consistent to earn his time. 5. Kicker: This one comes down to two guys who have had plenty of success, and it wouldn't surprise to see both fifth- year senior Quinn Nordin and junior Jake Moody get their opportunities on an alternating basis like they did last year. There's no margin for error here — only one kick separated the two last spring, according to head coach Jim Harbaugh, and both are talented enough to play. — Chris Balas Redshirt sophomore Joe Milton (above) will compete with redshirt junior Dylan McCaffrey for the starting quarterback job. In his first two years, Milton has completed 6 of 11 passes for 117 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, while he has also rushed 12 times for 47 yards and two scores. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL The Five Most Important Position Battles