The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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to the point of running with the fourth team at other junctures. And Malzone is a rookie, battling through his first spring at the collegiate level, produc- ing its own inconsistency. In the spring game, Morris com- pleted 11 of 24 throws for 135 yards with one touchdown, accounting for the only score in a 7-0 contest with a 14-yard scoring toss. His numbers would have been significantly better with more help from his receivers, including one deep sideline throw that trickled off a wideout's hands and went for an interception — the only one Morris tossed. Malzone did not direct his Maize team to a score, but made some nice throws in going 15-of-27 passing for 95 yards with two interceptions. He also would have benefited from more help by U-M pass catchers, having a pass go off a receiver's numbers and into the hands of a defensive back. But he also made some ill-advised throws that could have been picked off and were not. Speight did not appear in the spring game, remaining on the sideline for undisclosed reasons. The bottom line for this group is that nothing will be settled until well into August. Offensive Line The seismic shift at center drew much of the attention here, and rightly so. Within the span of a week, the Wolverines lost arguably their top two centers, including the pre- sumed starter for 2015. Potential fifth-year senior Jack Miller, who started all year in 2014, decided he'd had enough football. Fifth-year senior Graham Glasgow violated his probation in an alcohol- related incident, and that left sopho- more Mason Cole moving in from left tackle to take charge for the bulk of the spring. Glasgow performed in the spring game, but Michigan lost some time in building continuity with those around him. Right now, a reason- able projection for Utah is as follows: Cole at left tackle, redshirt junior Ben Braden at left guard, Glasgow at cen- ter, redshirt junior Kyle Kalis at right guard and redshirt junior Erik Mag- nuson at right tackle. Others stood out and pushed for time, most notably 6-7, 309-pound redshirt sophomore tackle Logan Tuley-Tillman. Redshirt junior Blake Bars also gave U-M spring snaps at center, and so did redshirt sopho- more Patrick Kugler. Several of those linemen have a couple of years behind them, in terms of on-field experience, but remain in their infancy in terms of teaching from line coach Tim Drevno. Word that Michigan hadn't run the ball well at all in practice the Satur- day prior to the spring game brought with it all the expected angst. It's too early to worry about that yet, especially considering the line has looked better at times. In the spring game, only junior De'Veon Smith did anything of note on the ground, breaking off a 34-yard gain on the scrimmage's first play and ending up with 50 rushing yards. Harbaugh noted afterwards the line's pass protection has been solid, but the run game involves a longer-