The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL the high hurdles two years," Jackson said. "He weighs 212 pounds today. He's probably going to weigh 225 pounds, and he's going to be like those guys. "His senior year, he started to run behind his pads a lot better. The rea- son he didn't get a lot of attention from other schools was because peo- ple knew, eventually, we were going to offer a kid like that. "He had the great year he had, and before he's done. He's got all the intangibles. "A guy that big, and that fast? I saw him run track last year, and for 210 pounds, he can roll." Jackson agreed with the incoming a lot of people just didn't want to throw that offer out there to him and say, 'Okay, you've got an offer, but you're probably going to go to Michi- gan anyway.'" Jackson was determined to make certain it happened. "That's what he was going to do," Jackson said. "He made that pub- lic, that he wanted to go to Michi- gan. He's going to be outstanding freshman, who claimed he was over- looked by recruiting services in large part because he didn't attend some of the camps and combines that gener- ate a lot of hype. "The guys that go to those camps on offensive linemen. The Wolver- ines brought in a very solid class up front, and will continue to provide blockers with size, while increasing depth in the days to come. That's music to the ears of a run- ning backs coach, whose players' success depends in large part on the opportunities they're given. "Man, I'm so excited," Jackson and combines, everybody gets them and they rate them and rank them," Jackson concurred. "That means nothing. To me, as a coach, I just want to see them on the field, see if he can do the things I want a run- ning back to do at Michigan that will make him successful. This kid can." Jackson also insists several of the said. "You just asked the question that excites me. Now, I know the guys like Fitzgerald Toussaint, who finally got going a little bit last year, and Stephen Hopkins, the [Thomas] Rawls kid, Vince [Smith] — you'll think, those guys are a little better than I thought. "It's not that they're better than running backs in his room can get the job done, given Michigan's emphasis nating 47-17 win over Florida State — had visions of a na- tional championship in its very near future. Seven days later, the Sooners ran into the steel bear trap of all trap games: a hungry and talented Air Force team. The Falcons racked up 351 rushing In September 2010, No. 7 Oklahoma — fresh off a domi- yards — the most a Bob Stoops de- fense has ever surrendered — and nearly pulled off the upset before fall- ing 27-24. "I never want to see this kind of of- fense again," star Oklahoma linebacker Force in the non-conference, the term "trap game" is all too appropriate. The Falcons have an offensive playbook unlike any other in the country. "Air Force isn't just option, For any team that has played Air " you thought. It's that they'll be bet- ter because of those guys in front of them. That excites the heck out of me." ❑ Early Look At 2012 Opponents: Air Force Diego State; and two, the Falcons will be rebuilding in 2012. Air Force graduates eight offensive starters, including three-fifths of the offensive line, both starting wide receivers and second-team All-Mountain West Conference tailback Asher Clark, who nearly set the pro- gram record for career rushing yards (3,594). The hardest to replace, though, will Travis Lewis said after the game. "I love Coach Stoops and the way he sched- ules our non-conference, the tough ones. But not this one. be quarterback Tim Jefferson. Al- though service academy quarterbacks are largely stereotyped as run-only players, Jefferson added an aerial at- tack to the Falcons offense, complet- ing 60.7 percent of his passes for 1,637 yards with 14 touchdowns last season. Rising fifth-year senior Connor Dietz Schwab, the Air Force beat writer for the Colorado Springs Gazette. "They're miscast as a triple-option-only team. They do a lot of different things. They do just as much zone running, which [Air Force head coach] Troy Calhoun picked up when he was an assistant with the Denver Broncos, as they do option. Army and Navy pretty much run the same play every time and try to out-ex- ecute you, but Air Force has a bunch of different formations, a bunch of different plays. That's what makes them unique. The Wolverines have two things in their favor: one, head " said Frank Troy Calhoun, who has a 41-24 record in his first five seasons as Air Force head coach, faces the challenge of having to replace eight offensive starters in 2012. PHOTO COURTESY AIR FORCE coach Brady Hoke is somewhat familiar with the compli- cated Air Force offense, having seen it twice during his time in the Mountain West Conference as the head coach of San 84 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 " side, including All-MWC safety Jon Davis. "Whatever advantages Air Force has — because it's in be- There are also eight starters to replace on the defensive " " Schwab said. "He really brought another dimension to the offense. They weren't just run- ning the ball every time; they could throw downfield and make plays that way. And they're not going to have that this year, with Dietz. He has some experience, but he's a different style of guy. He's not a great thrower, so Air Force is going back to probably being pretty one-dimensional. tween Alabama and Notre Dame for Michigan, because it's tough to prepare for or whatever — will be wiped out by the fact that they'll still be figuring themselves out that early in the year, — Andy Reid is expected to be the next starter. "The difference really is that Jefferson was a dual-threat guy," Schwab said.