The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/144506
ber. The secondary could be decent, even without [Jordan] Kovacs. It has a chance to be good, getting Blake Countess back. "The wide receivers are all veteran guys. If a couple of the young receivers step up, like [Amara] Darboh and [Jehu] Chesson, that position could be strong, too. Linebackers, secondary and wide receivers I would identify as strengths right now." Heininger: "The team just having so much talent and the ability to compete in practice is a strength. When you have so much competition, it breeds the best teams. Coaches will always preach competition, but let's face it — sometimes you don't have the numbers to do it. "You can't just be banging against each other in practice all the time, if that's all you've got. Now we've got a lot of talent, and there's going to be competition all over the board. It's going to breed even more competition, and the best players are going to play. "Secondly, having the experience, a third year with these coaches, having Devin know the offense and having Devin, period, as an athlete, those things are all strengths for Michigan." The Wolverine: What are the potential weaknesses you see? Dienhart: "I think they need to get a pass rush, obviously. Is Frank Clark going to be that guy? That's an area that would scare me a little bit. "Depth at quarterback, obviously. After Devin Gardner, you've got a true freshman as the backup. "Running back, at this point, it's hard to call it a strength. Maybe weakness is too harsh, but is [Fitzgerald] Toussaint going to be okay? None of the veterans who played in the spring really stood out. I think all of those guys are just guys — nobody special there. Is the freshman, [Derrick] Green, going to be that good?" Heininger: "My biggest fear, looking at it on paper, would be if Devin were to get hurt, just because you'd be relying on somebody who has never taken a college snap before. That could drastically change the course of the season. It would change the ceiling, in my opinion. "There's the challenge of having the lines come together. It takes time for lines to jell, especially the young kids on the offensive line. There's a lot of talent there, and I'm not really as worried as I'd normally be. That's an area for potential weakness, or a learning curve." Karsch: "I have concerns, probably along with everybody else, about the middle of the offensive line. Not that there isn't talent there. It's just highly inexperienced. There is always the factor of sorting out which five, six, seven guys will make for the best three to go guard-center-guard. "While we think we have some idea, you just never know how it's going to play itself out. Will a true freshman be in the mix? I think [Pat] Kugler could be an impact guy in the middle right out of the gate. [Kyle] Kalis has got to be a heavy favorite to play right away. If those guys solidify the middle of that offensive line, they could be something.