The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Diego running back J.T. Rogan, who rushed for 1,946 yards and 21 touch- downs on 374 carries (5.2-yard av- erage) in two seasons with Drevno. "He's largely responsible for the suc- cess on the ground of the 49ers, Stan- ford and USD. He's a grinder that at every stop he's made, he's taken an average or poor running game and got it going." Stanford averaged 65.1 yards rush- ing per game before Harbaugh and Drevno showed up. Three years later, the Cardinal averaged 218.2, 11th in the nation. Rogan noted he expects a division of duties in play calling. "I don't think you'll see Coach Drevno calling a lot of the pass plays," Rogan said. "That's not his role. His job is to make the offensive line physically overpowering, and he'll do that. And then his job is to make the running game the best it can be, and he'll do that. And he'll know what running plays will work best in every situation, but the pass- ing plays will be someone else [Fisch] and that's the way Coach Harbaugh likes to do it. "He gives every coach as much responsibility as their resources al- low so that whatever their task is, they can give it their entire focus and make sure that particular phase of the team is extremely capable. "Coach Drevno may be the best running-game coach in football, and he's going to make Michigan's run- ning game a factor in his first year. And then with each year after that, they'll get better and better until we see what he did at San Diego, and Stanford, and San Francisco where it can take over a game if it needs to, but most critically, can consistently provide the yards an offense needs to be successful." STRENGTHS MAXIMIZED THROUGHOUT Fisch certainly won't be out of wa- ter when it comes to calling an aerial attack. He started his career as a grad assistant under Steve Spurrier, has coordinated college offenses at Min- nesota and Miami (Fla.), and in the pros for the Jaguars. But that's the way it is throughout this coaching lineup. Deep experi- ence and accomplishment pervades the ranks. In nine years at Fresno State, Bax- ter oversaw 84 blocked kicks or punts, along with 39 special teams touchdowns. At USC from 2010-13, his squads scored seven more special teams touchdowns, to boost the total to 46. By comparison, Michigan has reg- istered 56 special teams touchdowns … ever. "He's a junkie. He lives for this," said Kyle Negrete, USC's starting punter in 2011-12. "However long it takes, however many times he has to watch film, he's looking for that one little thing, whether it's in punt pro- tection or punt blocks, field goal de- fense, to put his players in the right position to make a play. "He has an uncanny way of pick- ing things apart, dissecting film and finding that one thing that he can exploit." Negrete is another who will be