The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL them positively because of the expe- rience the second-stringers and even third-stringers received a year ago, and how they continue to grow. "In this program, and it will be this way forever, the expectations are for the position, so the way we practice, where you're rotating first- and sec- ond-team unit all the way through practice, the second-unit guys be- come better faster," he said. "They may not be very good at one point, but by getting in there and having the repetitions every practice, and in games too, now when a senior leaves that hole is not so drastic. "The other thing you want to do is have a veteran play so if you have a talented freshman come in, he can work his way in there and not be thrown in there right away." FITZGERALD TOUSSAINT EXPECTED TO saint should be even better than he was last year, offensive coordinator Al Borges said in the weeks leading to spring practice. The coaches won't eat him up in March and April, hav- ing already seen what he can do. The coaches will, however, ask a Redshirt junior Fitzgerald Tous- ADD CARRIES AGAIN lot of him this fall. Toussaint will be asked to take even more pressure off senior quarterback Denard Robinson. "Fitz is Denard's best friend be- Fifth-year senior tight end Brandon Moore has provided solid blocking, but he has posted only two catches in his U-M career. be certain games he carried it more." Toussaint supplemented that void, he added. "Knowing Denard wasn't going to PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN carry as much, where are you going to get your yards? It took us a few games, but finally when we settled in and Fitz got a little momentum, he really figured it out and literally ran with it," Borges said. "He was very valuable, and was instrumental as anyone in keeping Denard healthy." cause, as much as people probably didn't want to hear this, our goal was not to run Denard as much, and we accomplished our goal yet still ran Denard," Borges said. "He went from carrying the ball 23 or 24 times a game to carrying it around 17, which was around where we tar- geted, knowing there were going to 2012 Football Schedule Date Sept. 1 Sept. 8 Opponent Sept. 15 Sept. 22 Oct. 6 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 vs. Alabama* Air Force Massachusetts at Notre Dame at Purdue Illinois * at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas Nov. 10 Nov. 17 Nov. 24 at Ohio State 42 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2012 number of positions, and tight end will be no exception. A typical Al Borges offense relies heavily on the position, and with longtime starter Kevin Koger having graduated Michigan's offensive coordinator says it will be paramount for a few to rise to the occasion. The problem — there still isn't the Spring will be key to sort out a WOLVERINES SEEKING SOLID TIGHT END PLAY depth he'd hope to have at the po- sition, and the returning tight ends have two career catches between them, both by fifth-year senior Bran- don Moore. Redshirt sophomore Ri- cardo Miller is the only other one with any experience, and he still has plenty to prove. "That does hamstring us a little Michigan State at Nebraska at Minnesota Northwestern Iowa bit, but it is going to give Brandon and Ricardo a chance to prove their worth," Borges said. "They are very talented kids, both of them, and Brandon played some last year, Ri- cardo some on special teams. "This spring is going to be big for both of them. We're going to see if they take the next step, because when things are right, we are a tight end- oriented offense. You can see in our recruiting, it's an emphasis for us. Those two have talent and can do it — it's just a matter of how they play this spring and when fall hits." Walk-on Chris Eddins moves over from defense this spring to help so- lidify the position, as does redshirt sophomore Jordan Paskorz, who was previously a linebacker. Two true freshmen — Cincinnati's A.J. Wil- liams and Farmington Hills, Mich., native Devin Funchess — will even- tually challenge them all. "Both of them bring a different skill set to the table," Borges said. "What they do is very important to what we want to be. A.J. is a big, powerful kid who can block on the line of scrim- mage, yet has enough skill to catch the ball. I don't know that he's a great vertical threat yet, but he can catch the ball with bodies around him." He also played some offensive line in high school and is used to playing physically. Funchess, meanwhile, is more of a pass catcher, and he'll need to add strength. That said, he's a gifted re- ceiver. "He is kind of in the mold of the players the NFL is using now, the Rob Gronkowski type," Borges said. "A guy who can put his hand on the ground but can be a move guy, maybe a slot. He is highly skilled receiver. "We'll see. You never know how those kids are going to be until you get them, but we have a role for all of them if they prove they deserve to be in the game." ❏