The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/465847
FROM OUR READERS the want list in future wide receiver recruiting. Michigan has not had a great run- ning back since Anthony Thomas (some might say Chris Perry). Mike Hart would not rank in my top 10 Michigan runners. Derrick Green is solid, and I think Ty Isaac will be as well. De'Veon Smith is limited and Drake Johnson has a second torn ACL. I look for Ty- rone Wheatley to help bring back the • One of the great characteristics of Jim Harbaugh is you already know what you're going to get. Make no mistake about it, he is a direct, grind-you-all-day- long guy. It is the type of football philosophy that should have you excited. It will not be pass happy, read the defense, hurry-up tempo. It is not the philosophy of the spread offense. The spread is an offense that takes advantage of space and defensive weaknesses. It reads you and your defensive alignment and adjusts the play accordingly. That isn't what Jim does, nor what he will run. It may not be exciting to watch, but it will be a joy to behold. Jimmy doesn't wait. He doesn't care how you line up. He doesn't read you. He wants to dictate and bring the fight to you. He'll line up 300-pound linemen and double you off the ball to create a gap, an angle. That's his offense the way he wants to run it. He'll dictate this gap or angle and send his offensive weapon through. If you put eight or nine in the box he'll bring in eight or nine guys to still double you and create a gap. He'll hit you in the mouth until you're out of breath, then he runs the same play from another set, so you are getting hit by a different guy. That causes frustration. When you're tired or frustrated, he'll run the tight end up the seam or wheel the back out on a linebacker. He makes no bones about what he'll do. It is the Michigan I remember, what was commonplace. Don't react, take the position you want when you want it. The game is about aggression and confidence; who can impose their will on another? One of the greatest feelings a football player can have is when you look at an opponent and you know he can't stop you. They can't stop "power," even with 10 in the box. I was at that USC game where he ran "power" eight or nine times in a row and chewed up nine minutes (hung 55 points on Pete Carroll, when Pete had way better athletes) and SC couldn't do a damn thing about it. That feeling feeds on itself, and with it you can create a monster. When con- fidence is high, players play beyond their ability and do extraordinary things. It is a feeling I'm expecting Michigan players in the near future will experience as "commonplace." CJS85 From Our Website