The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/402034
insisting he'd win a national cham- pionship in Ann Arbor, given Michi- gan's ability to pull in talent. Mean- while, Hoke won over many with his impassioned "This is Michigan" introductory speech as head coach and even more so with an 11-2 record that first year. Hoke's crew knocked off Notre Dame, Ohio State and Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, and slashed the points allowed from 35 a game in 2010 to 17.4 in 2011, sixth in the na- tion. They restored pride wounded through three seasons featuring a pair of no-bowl efforts and one holi- day pummeling. They made it seem like all was right in Michigan's world once again. But even amid the maize and blue confetti drifting down from the Loui- siana Superdome rafters, Hoke knew he faced a tough, uphill climb. He'd inherited a roster with a Rim- ington Award winner in David Molk, but he was gone after 2011, just like defensive stalwarts Martin, Ryan Van Bergen and Will Heininger. Gone as well were wideout Junior Heming- way, defensive back Troy Woolfolk, tight end Kevin Koger and offensive tackle Mark Huyge. Meanwhile, the most dynamic Wolverine in memory — quarter- back Denard Robinson — forced a more measured move away from the spread toward power football. Michigan needed a host of offen- sive linemen, tight ends, fullbacks and others who could backfill. It ached for bigger versions of every- thing, including running backs, re- ceivers and cornerbacks. In short, a second dramatic personnel change- over in four years was underway. Ray isn't a doctor, and he didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, but he draws a certain medical parallel between Michigan's sharp swerve of seven seasons ago and an issue he experienced back in high school. He broke his foot as a junior, and the doctor told him to stay off it for six weeks. He didn't, made it worse, and it took him six weeks just to get it back to where it stood after the original break, and an additional six weeks to completely heal. "That's how I look at Michigan's football program," Ray said. "You were supposed to stay off that bro- ken foot, with your first hire after Lloyd. But somehow, some way, you made it worse, whether it was the culture, wins and losses — you made it worse. "Then you try to spend the next three or four years with Brady Hoke getting it back to where it was when Lloyd retired. Now, it gets further away from where it was. That's how I see it." "When Brady took over, he had eight scholarship offensive line- men," Skene marveled. "I don't care what school you're at. I don't care how great of a coach you are. When you've only got eight kids in there, if you get one or two injuries, you're out in the cold. You're not winning much, when you're starting from scratch. "This transition period, that people thought was going to happen in a year or two, it's taken many years