The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Newsome burned his redshirt when he suited up against Michigan State. He has since played in both the Rut- gers and Indiana games in short-yard- age formations on which the Wolver- ines bring an extra offensive lineman onto the field. "Grant is a very intelligent young man. He has got good football aware- ness, good ankle flexion and great length, and he's ready," offensive line coach and running-game coordinator Tim Drevno said. "We're excited about the future for Grant." After playing just eight offensive linemen as true freshmen in the first 40 years of freshman eligibility (1972- 2011), the Wolverines have used three true freshmen in the past three years — Kyle Bosch in 2013, Mason Cole in 2014 and Newsome in 2015. "You've got to feel it in your stomach as a coach. You've got to know in your mind and heart he's ready to do it," Drevno said. "We put Grant in tough situations in practice to see how he responds and takes to coaching. And if he can fix a problem … you're get- ting a step closer. "We're here to win now, and we've got to put the best guys on the field to put us in successful situations." • After averaging 201.3 yards rush- ing per game and 4.7 yards per carry in their first six games, the Wolverines averaged only 120.0 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry in their next four. In 10 games on the year, Michigan ranked 67th nation- ally, averaging 168.8 yards per game and 68th in averaging 4.33 yards per attempt. "We need to get back on track," fifth- year senior center Graham Glasgow said after U-M's win at Indiana. "We're going to get back to fundamentals and get back to what we were doing well earlier in the season." • Redshirt junior offensive tackle Erik Magnuson offered some color- ful takes on Michigan's offensive and defensive lines, following the Wolver- ines' goal-line stand for a win at Min- nesota. Although he's glad Michigan won, he felt some empathy for a Go- phers line that got overwhelmed by the U-M front. "I felt bad for their offensive line," he said. "We have to play against that defensive line every day in practice. Doing goal line against them is miser- able." He'd noted earlier the offensive line- men consist of "trained pigs" who "just do as we're told." The defensive line- men, Magnuson insisted, sometimes take it up a notch. "We're pigs, but they're extreme wild boars," Magnuson said. "That's a tough situation to be in, especially trying to do a QB sneak. There is so much beef up front — [redshirt juniors] Ryan [Glasgow], [Chris] Wormley, Wil- lie Henry and all that. That's a tough situation to be in for them. "I don't know what else they could have done. When you're that close on the goal line, everyone is so close to each other. You don't have much room to get momentum or anything like that. You saw the picture — you're nose-to-nose."