The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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kills, and that makes playing wideout a real challenge. Unlike at tight end, Michigan wide receivers have to roam farther and identify more in searchand-destroy missions. "One of the hardest things is when you start identifying in the run game who you're going to block," Hoke said. "With coverages changing, some people disguise what they're doing. Especially when you start looking at the read plays and those kinds of things, it's who he's going to block? Is he going to bypass the read key? It's all of those things." "It's different," Hecklinski concurred. "You're talking about angles, you're talking about being on the perimeter, being in space, covering a lot of ground. Understanding angles and the speed and how to get there are things he's learning. He's learning on the run." The task becomes even tougher in the face of all the blitzes Michigan has faced in recent weeks. Foes are coming from all angles, which can lead to confusion, especially for someone new to a position. "As we're seeing over the last couple of weeks, there is a lot of movement happening," Hecklinski said. "We're getting pressured a lot. There is a lot of movement taking place, a lot of movement in the run game that, as we go on and get more experienced, that movement will lessen and lessen. People will become more base. "Right now, he's identifying and picking that stuff out. At the end of the day, go pick out an off-color jersey and eliminate them. He's doing a Funchess reeled in 42 reception for 684 yards (16.3 yards per catch) and five scores in U-M's first 10 contests this season. photo by per kjeldsen good job of that." Funchess appears at his best when he's catching the football, an attribute easily spotted by the most X's and O's-challenged fan. He goes up and gets the ball with a forcefulness that should only continue to cause doubletakes. According to many, including Funchess, some of his best grabs aren't witnessed on ESPN, or in the stadium on Saturdays. Now, he's enjoyed plenty of big afternoons — seven catches for 151 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota, four grabs for 112 yards and a touchdown at Penn State, etc. — but there have