The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1422614
NOVEMBER 2021 THE WOLVERINE 27 two all year). That's huge for an offense missing its top receiver. The offense needs to be ahead of the sticks, and they have been thanks in large part to the running game and McNama- ra's decision making. It's Lloyd Carr ball, Jim Tressel ball, whatever you want to call it, and it's effective when the defense is good enough (for the most part, Michi- gan's has been). They're playing percentages, and it's been making a huge difference. It's not sexy, but you can win that way. McNamara hasn't been perfect, but not nearly as bad as his critics have made him out to be throwing the deep ball. He's had a couple of beauties to Cornelius Johnson, including an 87-yarder, a nice one to Day- len Baldwin at Nebraska … and yeah, he's missed a few, too. Everyone does. Overall, he's doing a solid job in his first year as a starter and had Michigan undefeated and No. 6 nationally. We'll see if he can do it in November, too, but the Wolverines didn't put up 38 points at Wisconsin and 32 at Nebraska "in spite of him," as some have claimed. He com- pleted 63 percent of his passes with five touchdowns against only one pick, good for 1,115 yards, in the 7-0 start. We also love backup J.J. McCarthy's potential and believe he's the future with his dual-threat ability, but McNamara is the starter for good reason, something we wouldn't have said about Joe Milton last year. RUNNING BACKS: A Both Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum have been outstanding, and both have im- proved dramatically in pass protection. We'll credit new running backs coach Mike Hart for that. This group looks like a former U-M assistant Fred Jackson- coached unit in that area, and that's a positive. We'd still like to see more of Corum in space, but it's hard to argue with the freshman's ability to make someone miss. He's averaged 6.3 yards per carry and led the team with 729 yards, while Haskins notched 602. We also want to see more of frosh Don- ovan Edwards, but Haskins and Corum have earned the right to play ahead of him. WIDE RECEIVERS: C+ This group misses junior Ron- nie Bell (out with a knee injury suf- fered in the first game) more than a n y o n e m i g h t h a v e t h o u g h t . Transfer Daylen Baldwin has been solid, but expectations were a bit higher, espe- cially after Bell went out. Sophomore Cornelius Johnson has been hit-or-miss as a deep threat, catch- Midseason Awards, Offense MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: RB HASSAN HASKINS The redshirt sophomore has done it all — big third-down runs, pass blocking, huge plays in the fourth quarter (a long run at Nebraska on which he hurdled a defender) — and was second on the team with 602 yards rushing, averaging 86 yards per game. He epitomizes the toughness head coach Jim Harbaugh asks of his group. MOST IMPROVED: C ANDREW VASTARDIS The sixth-year senior has been one of the team's most pleasant surprises after many thought he could be a weak link on the line this year. He is stronger, has been outstanding with his checks at the line of scrimmage and will be a candidate for All-Big Ten honors. He's been an incredible captain. UNSUNG HERO: RT ANDREW STUEBER The redshirt junior has been a road grader in the run- ning game and outstanding in pass protection. He's a leader by example, but he's been everything line coach Sherrone Moore could have asked for and more as a mentor on the field. Stueber's 82.3 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF) was first in the Big Ten and 19th nationally among tackles with at least 400 snaps played. He's allowed only two quarterback pressures — both just hurries — all year. BEST POSITION GROUP: RUNNING BACKS AND OFFENSIVE LINE Yeah, it's a cop out to name two, but these two groups go hand in hand. Haskins and freshman back Blake Corum (726 yards, 10 touchdowns rushing) have been a great 1-2 punch with 1,300-plus yards and 20 scores on the ground, and the line has been outstanding despite several injuries up front. It's as deep as the coaches and players hoped it would be, led by Stueber, Vastardis and freshman right guard Zak Zinter, who has been slowed by injury but still dominated when he's played. MOST IMPROVED POSITION GROUP: TIGHT ENDS Sophomore Erick All has caught just about everything thrown at him, hauling in 16 receptions for 157 yards to lead the group. He and redshirt sophomore Luke Schoonmaker, especially, have upped their games when it comes to blocking, a big part of U-M's success on the ground. — Chris Balas Through seven games, redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins had a team-high 124 carries for 602 yards (4.9-yard average) and 10 touchdowns. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL