The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FROM OUR READERS experience and physical maturity, but it takes longer to develop a good offensive lineman. They need to study complex blocking schemes while working in sync with other linemen. Significantly, they need to spend a great deal of time building the strength and endurance needed for the position. If you pick up any preseason an- nual and look at the rosters of the various teams, you will notice that the overwhelming majority of start- ing offensive linemen are juniors and seniors. Even the bad teams em- ploy upperclassmen at this position. So the answer to what is going on is crystal clear — an overabundance of youth on the offensive line. Kyle Kalis, Kyle Bosch and Erik Magnu- son are big, strong, talented athletes; but they are 19 years old and we realistically can't expect them to successfully line up nose-to-nose opposite 22-year-old men who have spent the last five years of their lives in the Spartan weight room. This is clearly a time of struggle, but these young men have a great deal of talent and I have every rea- son to believe that they are going to develop into fine offensive linemen. I recall in the '70s being at several Michigan blowouts when Bo emp- tied his bench in the fourth quarter. Some of the young O-linemen were really bad and missed many of their blocks; fast forward two to three years and several of them were lin- ing up to play on Sunday. Harvey Dasho Walnut Creek, Calif. People get tired of hearing about youth, Harvey, but you make some good points. Not everyone is a Steve Hutchinson or Jeff Backus, who rose up to excel as redshirt freshmen. At the same time, there are learning struggles, then there was the futility Michigan ex- perienced, blocking-wise, in 2013. They've made moves to rectify the problem. Now it's time to turn last season's hard knocks into more positive results. CONFIDENT FOR THE FUTURE Dear The Wolverine: Lately I've been hearing more and more comments from impatient Wolverine fans who are tired of los- ing and criticizing Brady Hoke's coaching, his staff and his recruiting, among other things. I too am getting impatient and can't wait for the Blue to be back on top, competing for Big Ten championships and national prominence. It's been too long since we've had our thirst quenched. We've been kind of spoiled what with so many good coaches and so many winning seasons in the past. Even though it's taken longer than many of us expected, myself in- cluded, I'm not about to give up on Brady Hoke or the impressive coach- ing staff he assembled. His recruiting has been top notch. Not many other teams in the coun- try, if any, have brought in as good a group of offensive linemen, as good a group of running backs, as good a group of wide receivers, as good a group of QBs, as good a group of de-