The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MAY 2022 THE WOLVERINE 25 quarterback." Enough said in the spring, but McCarthy will still be looking to say more come fall. That makes for a healthy situation behind center for the Wolverines. Plus, they'll both have a host of talented re- ceivers from which to choose, from the veteran Bell to rookie sensation Darrius Clemons. "Most importantly, in all of college football, if you have a quarterback that can manage your offense and not turn the ball over with regularity, your per- centage chance of winning goes way up," Skene insisted. "With McNamara back in there — complemented, hope- fully, by a healthy McCarthy — and you throw in the two backs, that's a great start. "Donovan Edwards is primed to be- come a star at Michigan, along with Blake Corum, who is already a really nice back. Again, this offense looks strong coming into this season. I like it. "Add the receiving corps that we have. You always build from the inside out, up front to the back, and out to the edges, and that's exactly what this of- fense looks like. This offense should be exciting." 6 Defense Hit By Attrition, But Stabilized Again, this one's based on system sta- bility. Michigan must develop a new set of stars and major contributors on the defensive side, but at least they're not getting thrown into a deployment that's completely foreign to them. Several players have commented on the continuity from Macdonald to Minter, and that should ease some of the growth necessary. "They're in a system now, in Year 2 of it, that they understand," Skene said. "They know the substitutions, the de- sign of the defense. There's a lot of guys that participate in that defense. There are a lot of dudes coming on and off that field, which I think helps the whole de- fensive roster. "Anyone in that two-deep has to be ready to go, so in theory, they're focus- ing more in practice, more engaged in practice, preparing to play on Saturday rather than settling into a backup role. That's a good thing. "But if you can't disrupt a quarter- back, you are dead in the water. You're going to give up an enormous amount of points. The No. 1 thing that has to be done is get to and disrupt the quar- terback. "I know Morris is back and he had a really nice year last year, and in the middle, you've got [redshirt sophomore tackle] Mazi Smith. But I look forward to seeing who the new faces are going to be that are going to step up on that defense." 7 The Schedule Looks Manageable The non-conference slate features Colorado State, Hawaii and Connecti- cut, which finished with a combined 10- 27 record a year ago. New starters can get comfortable without staring down a Notre Dame early on. Then comes a fourth straight home game, the Big Ten opener against Maryland, before the first real test — at Iowa on Oct. 21. Penn State and Michigan State are at home in the middle of October, and two of Michigan's other Big Ten road games will see the Wolverines favored — at Indiana and Rutgers. The big one — at Ohio State on Nov. 26 — will likely determine who ends up in Indianapolis for the conference championship game. "On paper, it looks as though the Wolverines will have the luxury of eas- ing into the difficulty of their schedule, not having a juggernaut to disrupt your early season," Skene said. "But we've seen, in recent years, Army almost win, but for a missed field goal by a true freshman. BYU almost knocked us off. "Michigan should handle its busi- ness in September, and then you'll find out what you're made of when you go to Iowa. It always seems to be a prob- lem for us. That's never an easy place to play. "We'll see whether this team has got any real grit. By the end of Octo- ber, you'll know if the team has got a chance to get another trophy." ❏ What They're Saying Nationally About The Wolverines There's no lack of respect for Michigan football around the country, following U-M's conference title and playoff berth. The question is, can Jim Harbaugh's team get over the biggest league hurdle, like it did last season. For instance, ESPN's 2022 Way-Too-Early college football top 25 placed Michigan No. 5 in the nation — but slotted Ohio State at No. 2, behind only Alabama. The big question cited for the Wolverines en- tering the 2022 campaign — restocking the defensive side of the ball. "The Wolverines' defense is losing a ton of production and its coordinator from this past season, and there isn't a clear picture of who will step in to fill the void," ESPN noted. The assessment came out before the hir- ing of Jesse Minter as defensive coordina- tor, but it pointed out "the team is also losing defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, safety Daxton Hill, line- backer Josh Ross, safety Brad Hawkins and corner Vincent Gray. That is a lot to lose in one offseason, and there is no defini- tive answer up front for how Michigan will replace Hutchinson and Ojabo's 25 sacks from this past season." — John Borton New coordinator Jesse Minter has plenty of talent to work with as the Wolverines reload on defense after los- ing a lot of star power in the offseason. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL