The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 35 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL a big part in what comes next for Michi- gan's offense. "It's a blessing for us to have," Weiss said. "It's another Jim Harbaugh stroke of genius, where he somehow found a way where he got two, where everybody else has one. I think we work well to- gether, and we're very collaborative. "Sherrone is a great resource for me, and I try to be a great resource for him. So far, we're really happy with where the offense is at and where we're going. We have the same vision, all on one ac- cord, and I think it's exciting. I know I'm glad that he's here with me; he's a great coach. And hopefully, he would tell you the same thing." "We'll be collaborative," Moore said. "We have a method to how we are doing things. We've been pretty smooth so far. It's just been rolling. The kids have adjusted, and everything's been good." — Anthony Broome WHY — AND HOW — EDGE MIKE MORRIS GOT UP TO 292 POUNDS Senior Mike Morris is Michigan's heaviest edge player at 292 pounds, af- ter gaining 14 this offseason. He was in- tentional about getting bigger this off- season and had a specific goal in mind. "I got with Abigail O'Connor, our nu- tritionist, and I said, 'I want to be big- ger. I want to be bigger. I want to play all levels of our D-line,'" Morris revealed. "So that's what our game plan was — but I also wanted to maintain my speed and my athleticism. So that was the game plan the whole month of May, and we did that and I feel great. "I passed my conditioning test with flying colors, running with linebackers, quarterbacks and the tight ends. I feel great." Playing behind All-Americans Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo at Michi- gan's edge spot last season, Morris was unselfish and willing to play anywhere along the defensive line. Here are Mor- ris' most common positions of align- ment last season, according to Pro Football Focus: edge (173 snaps), three- technique (81), five-technique (66) and nose tackle (18). That's 45.8 percent of his snaps at a position other than edge. Morris said early in the offseason that he wasn't going to try to be the next Hutchinson, who finished as the 2021 runner-up for the Heisman Trophy, col- lege football's most prestigious individ- ual honor. Instead, he's paving his own path, which includes a different role. "I'm a big body at 292," Morris ex- plained. "I can rush from the nose, the three, a wide-three, a five and outside and the ghost nine. I can rush all levels of the defense, which is what I wanted to do, but now I'm in a position where stuff can be ran through me, instead of me running it through Aidan and 'Jabo.' So that's probably the difference [be- tween this year and last year]. "My vision was, I wanted to be domi- nant at every level of our defense, no matter where I'm at — if I'm dropping in coverage, rushing from the nose or the three. I want to be dominant at ev- ery level of the defense, so I wanted to put on more weight in order to be that dominant. "At 280 last year, I felt like I was mak- ing an impact, but I really wasn't very physical in that middle. But now, with [strength and conditioning coach Ben] Herb[ert], Abigail, I feel like now I'm a lot more physical, a lot more physical. Just the weight room, eating right, tak- ing the right protein with Abigail and just taking care of my body." — Clayton Sayfie RYAN HAYES AND TEAMMATES USING 2021 LOSSES AS MOTIVATION Graduate student offensive tackle Ryan Hayes has seen a lot in his career. The struggles built a callus that helped U-M to a 12-2 record and Big Ten title in 2021. Even with the breakout effort last season, he sees a team ahead of the de- velopment curve heading into the 2022 campaign. He also sees a team that wants more and is demanding more of themselves. "Michigan State and Georgia are our biggest motivation right now," Hayes said. "Those two games were not good for us. We want those back. I guess it's just preparing. We won a Big Ten cham- pionship, we won against Ohio State. We want more than that right now. That's our motivation and we're going to keep working towards that." Hayes was among the several players who transformed themselves physically this offseason. He has focused on his technique and also getting stronger. "I changed up some of my techniques from last season, which has helped me," Hayes said. "Also just putting on more muscle. And I think that's what I've no- ticed the most the first week, week and a half is just I feel a lot stronger and a lot more comfortable taking on bull rushes and stuff like that." — Anthony Broome Senior edge Mike Morris changed his diet to bulk up to 292 pounds (while maintaining his speed and athleticism) with a specific goal in mind. 'I wanted to be dominant at every level of our defense, no matter where I'm [lining up] at,' Morris said. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS