The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 41 had. But JJ emerged out of that as a true freshman. So, that kind of took off and took on a life of its own. "We'll see where this journey takes us, with all of those variables. What we do is challenging to defenses. We're really hard to defend, with what we throw at de- fenses. We have a lot of advantages, with the way we do things. But when it comes down to it, how well can we block? How good is your quarterback play? That's go- ing to drive that thing more than any- thing. What does that look like, when we really get into it? There's a lot to be discovered there." The Wolverine: There's obviously been a lot of talk about sophomore q u a r te r b a c k B r yc e Un d e r wo o d . Where was he — in terms of the prog- ress you want to see — by the end of spring? Beck: "He definitely made progress, got a lot better, but still has a long ways to go. It's a weird thing as a coach. You never feel great about anything, because things are never consistently perfect. We made progress, but there's a lot of work to do, in terms of what we're asking him to do. We have a much better feel for Bryce, so we're really trying to adapt the offense to him. "When we say build your offense to your personnel, that is the other 10 people, but very importantly, it's around the quarterback with what he does well. We've got a lot of work to do that way, just coaching-wise, making sure we're putting him in the best positions to be successful. Then having him do that at a high level, and at a consistent level." The Wolverine: Can you list two or three advances you'd like to see him make before the start of fall camp? Beck: "What we've been working on a lot is his feet, getting a good drop from the O-line, so as pressure comes, you have good space in there. You have a good base. It's being fluid with those feet, and staying in there at times when it's appropriate, to deliver the football. And then, scramble out, make a play when it's time to do that. "That's really complicated. It sounds really easy, but it's really complicated. When's the time to stand in there and deliver a ball, and when's the time that the protection is breaking down, and I need to escape and extend the play? Right now, it's all about that kind of footwork. "The second part is the timing with the receivers. Run a route, then throw with great timing. You're not going against a defense, with all those variables. That's what fall camp will address. Right now, it's that footwork, and the timing and chemistry with the receivers." The Wolverine: You ran your quar- terback a lot last year. Can we expect to see the same this fall? Beck: "There's always a fine line with how you balance what you're doing. I do think it is a strength for Bryce. He's a very capable runner, and that's a weapon for him to attack. How much is going to de- pend on how much we need to. If our pass game is effective, the receivers are producing, the quarterback is making the reads and delivering, when you're hand- ing the ball off to the backs they're mak- ing positive things happen, then there's a little less need to put the pressure on the quarterback. "Last year, there were times at Utah when those things were not happening, so we had to ask the quarterback to do more. So, that could happen. "That's one part. The other part is, we do a lot of reads with the quarterback. We'll balance that and account for it. But depending on how they want to play it, play our RPO game and some of our run game, that can cause more QB runs, when you're pulling it, giving it, throwing it, that kind of stuff. Part of it, how is the D playing it and what kind of an advantage can we gain that way?" The Wolverine: How much is the starting offensive line up in the air for the fall? Beck: "It's still up in the air. I feel pretty solid about several spots. [ Ju- nior tackle] Andrew Sprague had a re- ally strong spring. [Junior center] Jake Guarnera had a really strong spring. Other guys like [redshirt freshman An- drew] Babalola didn't do anything in the spring. He's a guy that we've heard great things about. The film looks extremely promising. How can he impact the mix, in terms of finding your best five? "[Senior] Evan Link was a guy we barely got to see in the spring. I have his tape from last year, but he barely practiced the last week. So, there are still several things up in the air. Some of those battles remain, to find our top five. And as I mentioned, we'll play with that sixth O-lineman as a big tight end. And what's that Rhino posi- tion look like, both who and how much of a strength can that be for us?" The Wolverine: When this offense is up and running, what do you ex- pect to stand out? Beck: "There are not a lot of teams ev- ery year that are able to run it and throw it over 200 yards a game. It's that kind of balance and attacking that leads to scor- ing points and winning games. When we're clicking, you're able to be very unpredictable and attack the opponent. You're able to do what you want. To have that kind of balance and that kind of pro- duction — both throwing it and running it, to score points and win games — that's what we want to see." ❑ Under Beck's direction last season, Utah ranked second in the FBS in rushing offense (266.3 yards per game), fourth in total offense (482.9) and fifth in scoring offense (41.2 points per game) with the nation's lowest interception total (5). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL