The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2. Develop a championship quarterback … or two Michigan's last championship signal-caller was true freshman Chad Henne in 2004. The Wolverines had a dynamic runner in Denard Robinson for four years, but Iowa transfer Jake Rudock is probably the closest thing U-M has had to an NFL guy since then. Devin Gardner (2012-14) could have been, but he never got the support needed from his offensive lines. It's time for one of the quarterbacks Harbaugh recruited, either redshirt junior Dylan McCaffrey or redshirt sophomore Joe Milton, to blossom. Teams with elite quarterback play tend to win titles … sometimes it's just that simple. THE WOLVERINE 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 47 Michigan's 2020 Captains: Best Bets Michigan has some obvious choices for team captains and a number of others who are worthy. Here are The Wolverine's picks for U-M's leaders this season, a favorite and some dark horses on each side of the ball: Defense DT CARLO KEMP Kemp was last year's defensive captain (as predicted) and we assume he'll return in that role as a fifth-year senior. He was a stalwart on the interior line last season, extremely quick off the ball and willing to take on blockers 30 pounds heavier. He's a team favorite. The dark horses — Senior end Kwity Paye and junior end Aidan Hutchinson: Paye is extremely well respected by his teammates and never takes a play off, leading by example. Defensive coordinator Don Brown said last year he's always in the right position, an indication of a guy who cares. Hutchinson is only a junior, but his objective is and always has been team success. He just wants to win for Michigan like his dad, All-American defensive tackle Chris (1992), before him. Offense WR Nico Collins Collins is quiet and leads by example, but he's respected for his work ethic. He returned for his senior season to go out on the right note, and a captaincy seems a logical next step in his development. The dark horses — Senior tight end Nick Eubanks and junior receiver Ronnie Bell: Eubanks is almost a candidate by default as a fifth-year guy, while Bell is one of the team's hardest workers and best perimeter blockers. His teammates seem to love him. 2020 SEASON PREVIEW 3. Take the offense to the next level Michigan finished 2019 44th nationally in scoring (31.7 points per game), 50th in passing offense (250.8 yards per game), 77th in rushing offense (150.7 yards per game) and 74th in third-down conversion percentage (39.1). Still, they were close to being in the top 10 percent in all programs in finishing drives and red-zone offense (using stats from Power Five games only), according to offensive coordinator Josh Gattis this spring, who insisted they just needed to do a bit of cleaning up on the fundamentals. That will be an emphasis from late summer into the fall — the little things it takes to be a champion. 4. Become more explosive This one goes hand in hand with taking the offense to the next level. The Wolver- ines tied for 73rd nationally with 13 plays of 40 yards or more, not good enough for a team with so much talent at the skill positions. Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet's biggest run of the year (41 yards) came in the opener against Middle Tennessee State, while the pass catchers were 48th of 130 teams in aerial plays of 30-plus yards (21). That needs to improve. 5. Improve turnover margin Michigan moved from No. 90 to 40 nationally in turnovers gained between 2018 (17) and 2019 (20), but the Wolverines matched their 20 takeaways with 20 giveaways last year, which tied for 81st in the land. Simply put, teams that win the turnover battle in tightly contested games have a much better chance of winning. This group must be better at protecting the ball. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN