The Wolverine

2020 Football Preview

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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56 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW QUARTERBACKS "But we haven't seen him take the shots and keep the football on the read option. How does he look doing that stuff? That is a part of this offense. I wish we could have seen more of that out of him. "Just going off the physical, if this guy's got the grit we hope he has, that's a force to be reckoned with out there. You think of the other big, strong quarterbacks that have a knack and an ability and a desire to run, that sometimes just run through people — he could be an absolute beast out there." Milton hasn't seen much action against top competition, and McNamara has seen the true fire even less. Incoming freshman quarterback Dan Villari out of Plainedge High School in Massapequa, N.Y., is just beginning the process. So fall camp, in light of the spring shut- down, becomes more important than ever in picking a quarterback. At the same time, Skene noted, the return- ing quarterbacks will all benefit from this being their second season in Gattis' offense. "There's no doubt about that," Skene said. "The comfort level with what they're trying to accomplish offensively, with the X's and the O's, and the trends, the standards they want to set, that's a huge advantage for these guys. That's in the plus column." There is another column, he stressed. "Over in the question mark column, both of these guys are going to try to win this job behind four new offensive linemen out of five," Skene stressed. "That grittiness and toughness, they'd better have it. "The lack of spring football also prevented some learning and growth of these young of- fensive linemen. You could see some strug- gles early on, getting comfortable in live game action with pass protection. "Quarterbacks around the country are probably going to have a shot or two deliv- ered on them, early in this football season, as offensive linemen get used to pass protec- tion in live conditions. Michigan will be no different." The battle ensues shortly. The time to grab the top spot gets truncated this year by the lack of spring practice. Gattis vowed nothing that's happened to this point factors into the choice for starting QB. It will all be determined in the weeks to come. "It's not something you can evaluate until you get on the field," Jansen said. "That battle is really going to go down much like it did in '97. We didn't know if it was going to be Scott Dreisbach, Brian Griese or Tom Brady. "It ended up being Brian Griese, but we didn't know that, even as a team. I don't think Lloyd [Carr] knew it until a week be- fore we played our opening game." That one worked out all right. There are obviously no guarantees, though, especially in a year fraught with all kinds of setbacks. "I'd be looking for a guy who's got a little creativity, some toughness and grit, who's going to take a shot and not be bothered," Skene said. "I would look for the leadership qualities when maybe things are not going well — you've got a receiver that didn't run a great route, a lineman who missed a block and the quarterback gets hit. "It's so important that a quarterback con- tinues to encourage his guys, and yet chal- lenge them at the same time, without causing a problem. That quarterback position needs a leader who is loved and respected." One aspect remains certain. If they play football in the fall — and it looks more and more like they will — somebody will lead the men in the winged helmets onto the field to start the season. Don't ask who, just yet. From head coach Jim Harbaugh, to Gattis, to quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels, they'll be watching, learning, charting and comparing. Then they'll make the call on who makes the calls. ❑ QUARTERBACKS Debuts Dropped Off After Chad Henne's Gem Chad Henne delivered in unprecedented fashion as a new starting quarterback for the Wolverines in 2004. He certainly wasn't perfect, taking losses at Notre Dame, Ohio State and in the Rose Bowl against Texas. But he delivered something no Michigan quarterback, regardless of experience, has managed since — a Big Ten championship. He also took the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl as a true freshman, a feat never before accomplished anywhere. In Pasadena, Henne played brilliantly in one of the most exciting Rose Bowls ever, a 38-37 loss to Texas on a last-ditch field goal by the Longhorns. Henne threw for 227 yards and four touchdowns that day, but Texas' Vince Young ran wild, rushing for 192 yards and four touchdowns on 21 carries, while throwing for another 180 yards and a score. Since then, Michigan's first-year quarterbacks have been seeking the elusive conference title and coming up short. Here is a look at the results: 2008 — Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan: This duo followed Henne, taking over in a system to which they were not well suited, under new coach Rich Rodriguez. The result was a disastrous 3-9 campaign, including losses in seven of the final eight games. 2009 — Tate Forcier: He provided an upgrade from the previous year, but could not get Michigan to a bowl game. The Wolverines finished 5-7, following a 5-2 start to the season, including a 38-34 shootout victory over Notre Dame in Michigan Stadium. 2010 — Denard Robinson: He became Rodriguez's third new starting quarterback in three seasons, producing an amazing offensive show himself — 1,702 yards and 14 touchdowns on 256 rushing attempts, and 182-of-291 (62.5 percent) passing for 2,570 yards with 18 scores. Michigan (7-6) did find its way back to a bowl, but a defense-deficient crew lost 52-14 to Mississippi State in Rodriguez's final game. 2013 — Devin Gardner: The Wolverines went 7-6 with Gardner, with some incredibly tough losses. They beat Notre Dame early (41-30), but lost to Penn State in State College in four overtimes (43-40) and fell to Ohio State on a failed two-point conversion at the end, 42-41. 2015 — Jake Rudock: He delivered by far the best first season for a Michigan quarterback since Henne, with the Wolverines racking up a 10-3 record and a decisive win over Florida in the Citrus Bowl (41-7). A fluke loss to Michigan State on a mishandled punt cost them one of those three, after they narrowly dropped the opener at Utah (24-17). The Wolverines ran out of gas in the regular-season finale against Ohio State, but finished strong in the bowl in year one under Jim Harbaugh. 2016 — Wilton Speight: He came the closest to delivering a Big Ten championship in the Harbaugh era. He had the Wolverines a play away from beating Ohio State in Columbus for the right to go to the confer- ence title game in Indianapolis. But the Buckeyes — with some home-cooking assistance — won 30-27 in double overtime and the Wolverines wound up 10-3. 2018 — Shea Patterson: He also guided the Wolverines to a 10-3 mark, including 10 straight victories after a seven-point, opening-game loss at Notre Dame. The Wolverines were even favored to go into Columbus and win, again for the right to pursue a championship in Indianapolis. Ohio State exploded for 62 points, though, ending that dream. — John Borton "We're excited about the guys we've got on our roster. We've got to solve that question later on down the road, when we get an opportunity to. No one has a leg up. It's not based on depth chart last year, it's not based on skill set this year." U-M OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOSH GATTIS ON WHO WILL BE THE STARTER UNDER CENTER

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