The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/49941
M BY JOHN BORTON ichigan offensive coordi- nator Al Borges makes it abundantly clear — he's not worried about any- one's individual numbers. He, like head coach Brady Hoke, is worried about winning football games. That approach certainly paid off, producing Michigan's first 10-win season since 2006. It required all of the Wolverines buying into the team sys- tem, and some groups — like U-M's wide receivers — being particularly conscious of "The Team, The Team, The Team." "The one thing those guys have proven — they're tough guys, the way they go down the field and block in the run game," Hoke said. "They con- stantly are running their feet through guys, and I don't know if I've been on a team where we consistently have that many guys going to do that at the wideout position. "A lot of them think they are just out there to change the formation or catch balls, and I don't see that in this group. Jeff Hecklinski does a nice job with them, and they do a nice job." Hecklinski, who coaches Michigan's receivers, knows how far his group Michigan Wideouts Spread The Wealth And The Welts UNSELFISH CREW "We get too enamored with num- bers and get away from what's really important, and that's wining football games," Borges said. "There are going to be games where you have to throw more to win. It happened against Notre Dame. There are games you'll have to run more to win. "I don't get caught up in, is this guy happy, or is this guy happy? To hell with that. We don't coach that way. We coach to win football games and however it falls, that's how it falls." The football fell into the hands of a host of receivers, while Michigan rose in the ranks of the Big Ten. When those wideouts weren't securing a combined 145 catches for 2,249 pass- ing yards and 20 touchdowns, they were attacking would-be tacklers downfield. Those efforts helped produce Michi- gan's first pair of 1,000-yard rushers (junior quarterback Denard Robinson, with 1,163, and redshirt sophomore tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint, with 1,011) since 1975. More importantly, the U-M wide- outs played their part in a campaign producing wins over Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State, putting Michigan in contention for a BCS bowl berth. The new head coach appreciates what that group brought to the table. 36 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2011 has come over the course of nine months. COMING TOGETHER "We're night and day from where we were in the spring," Hecklinski said. "In the springtime, they were trying to learn what the names of the routes were and, 'When this is called, this is what I do.' We're beyond that. We're working on little route-running techniques, versus press, versus off, literally getting into step-by-step things to help them get open. There's coverage recognition, and being able to see things develop." Hecklinski recalled observing a good attitude in the receivers' room from the time he entered it last winter. The process to move past introduc- tions and into advancing as a unit in a new offense inevitably proved longer and more involved. Throughout, Hecklinski noted, Michigan's wideouts brought the sort of effort into the mix that made it eas- ier to learn and improve. "There was a lot of building," he said. "There were a lot of bad days. I say that because there were a lot of days, especially during fall camp, that I could tell they were thinking. There were days when they would drop some balls that we normally wouldn't drop, because we were thinking more than just reacting or playing. "It was, 'Did I do this right?' Then all of a sudden, the ball is on top of them, and they're trying to catch it, but their thoughts are, 'Did I just run the right route?' There was a lot of that that went on. They know I'm here for them, and they know I'm in it with them." Now, Hecklinski noted, those dif- ficult days are mostly in the rearview mirror. "Things are starting to become nat- ural," he said. "They're not always natural, but they're starting to become natural. The energy and the effort and the toughness — those things are hap- pening, play in and play out. You can overcome mistakes, but as long as they're playing with high motors and they're playing tough … and they're doing it." Michigan's receivers themselves might have been surprised that Heck- linski didn't come on — as many new coaches do — with a my-way-or-the- highway approach. There has been give and take almost from the begin- ning. Redshirt sophomore Jeremy Gallon noted he connected early on with the new boss, and indicated that has been the case with many of the Wolverines. "He's a down-to-earth guy," Gallon said. "He's willing to accept you for who you are. As long as you're put- ting in the hard work and showing him you're willing to put that hard work in, he's willing to talk to you. He's a nice guy. "He's easy to talk to, and not always about football. If you just want to come talk and get a little bit off your chest, he'll accept that and talk to you about whatever." A number of U-M receivers have noted Hecklinski's willingness to lis- ten. "We're very open with each other — player to coach, coach to player," Hecklinski said. "We speak pretty honestly with each other. I'll ask them, 'Okay, what's going on? I want to know what you're thinking. I want to know what's working, what's not working.' "That's a part of working together Fifth-year senior wideout Junior Hemingway was the Wolverines' leading pass catcher in the regular season, hauling in 32 receptions for 636 yards and two touchdowns. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN