The Wolverine

March 2017 Recruiting Issue

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 19 rick Omameh, Stephen Schilling and Michael Schofield. At Indiana, Frey mentored two- time All-American right guard Dan Feeney and All-American left tackle Jason Spriggs, an Outland Trophy semifinalist. Sam Beishuizen, staff writer for TheHoosier.com, stressed that Frey faced an uphill climb in his early days in Bloomington. "The thing that stood out the most about him was how he got so many guys that were undersized, not really Big Ten bodies, to buy into the pro- cess of working together," Beishui- zen said. "He had some guys coming in there that were just twigs, when he took over this program. "There were really small guys, who just didn't look like they belonged with a college team. They just didn't. He didn't let that deter him, even coming from Michigan, where he has a lot better bodies. He said, 'We're going to figure this out, one way or another, and we're going to have to do it by tactically being better.' "They weren't missing blocks. They weren't taking reps off. They were just working hard. Then it changed when he started recruiting guys who were just significantly better, like the Dan Feeneys of the world." Those breakthroughs helped the Hoosiers really ramp up an offense that averaged more than 500 yards a game in two of the last five seasons, and never dipped below an average of 400 per contest. Along the way, Frey became Indiana's run game coordinator in 2012-13, co-offensive coordinator in 2014-15 and assistant head coach in 2016. At Michigan, Frey will be working in conjunction with offensive coor- dinator Tim Drevno, passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton and, of course, Harbaugh himself. Harbaugh demands a more than capable rushing attack, and Beishuizen insists Frey can certainly help deliver in that area. "I do think he prefers to just run the ball," the Indiana beat writer ob- served. "He takes a lot of pride in just beating people up and getting his guys down the field. He liked to see guys like Dan Feeney get some space and lead block for guys like [IU and NFL running backs] Jordan Howard and Tevin Coleman. "He wanted to show those guys off a little bit. They weren't just big guys. They were athletes. They were finely tuned machines. I think he took a lit- tle pride in showing off, saying: 'My guys can run a little bit. They can get down the field and make plays themselves.' "Running is a priority, because you can show that off a little more. But he'll do whatever. Throw him what- ever scheme, and he'll figure it out." Beishuizen pointed out Frey is not afraid to start true freshmen on the offensive line. He did so the past two seasons at Indiana, which is good news for frosh like Filiaga, who will be competing hard for starting spots this fall. Meanwhile, Frey's Florida roots could mean a boon to U-M recruiting in that talent-rich state. The Clear- water native lettered three years at Florida State under Bobby Bowden, helped FSU earn a national champi- onship in 1992, and was part of four consecutive Atlantic Coast Confer- ence championship squads that went 31-1 in league play. Indiana has done incredibly well recruiting in Florida, featuring nine Floridians in its recently signed class of 2017. "He was the lead recruiter in Flor- ida, which was huge," Beishuizen said. "Indiana has nailed it down there. They've just crushed it. "In this last class, you can see how many Floridians they were able to sign. It's a historic thing right now. Indiana has just been killing it down there. They just get so many talented Florida kids. "That's totally attributable to Greg Frey and what he's doing. That has been his biggest impact, aside from teaching kids to block. I don't know what his magic formula was, but he convinced those kids to come to Indi- ana, and it's been huge." The IU beat writer conceded that teamed with Harbaugh and Michi- gan's other assets, Frey's efforts in Florida recruiting and beyond won't suffer. "I'm sure between those two, it's just going to be ridiculous," he said. "It just clicked with him. They gave him a state, and he took off with it. He never slowed down." Harbaugh's thumbs-up alone is enough to satisfy most Michigan on- lookers, given his recent hires. Those at Frey's most recent stop insist the rich just got richer. "It's been steady progress," Bei- shuizen assured. "There are so many factors that go into it — head coaches, assistant coaches. But Greg Frey has been around for all of it. He's been part of it the whole way. "He deserves his fair share in turn- ing Indiana into a respectable offense — there's no question about it." ❏ INDIANA OFFENSE WITH GREG FREY COACHING OL In the three years prior to Frey's arrival as offensive line coach and eventual co- offensive coordinator, Indiana averaged no more than 27.2 points per game and as few as 20.5. The Hoosiers' high point involved averaging 387.5 yards of total offense in 2008. Here are the numbers showing what IU did over the course of Frey handling the offensive line (and more) for former Hoosiers coach Kevin Wilson, from 2011-16. Year Average Points Average Rush Average Pass Total Off. 2011 21.4 161.0 199.4 360.4 2012 30.8 130.8 311.2 442.0 2013 38.4 201.8 306.7 508.5 2014 25.1 263.6 141.4 405.0 2015 36.5 210.5 293.9 504.3 2016 25.8 152.2 273.8 426.0 The Greg Frey File Michigan Position: Tackles and tight ends, run game coordinator Coaching Stops: Indiana (2011-16), with positions as run game coordina- tor (2012-13), co-offensive coordi- nator (2014-15) and assistant head coach (2016); Michigan (2008-10), as offensive line coach; West Vir- ginia (2007), offensive line; South Florida (1996-2006), as a grad assis- tant (1996-98), defensive line coach (1999) and offensive line coach (2000-06). College: Florida State, as a three- year letter winner with a national championship and four ACC title rings. Hometown: Clearwater, Fla. Family: Wife, Andrea, and sons Bryce, Alex, Cameron and Drew.

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