The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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8 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2018 J im Harbaugh and Michigan remain a powerful pull in college football. Just ask Shea Patterson. A former No. 1 prep quar- terback in the nation and argu- ably the best sophomore QB in the country, Patterson enjoyed plenty of options. The NCAA- scandal-beset Mississippi pro- gram allowed him and other Rebels to audible to another home, likely for immediate eli- gibility. Patterson chose a winged helmet. He tabbed Harbaugh to mentor him through his re- maining collegiate years and into the pro ranks. That's huge news throughout college football and for a Michigan program featuring a signal-calling situation in 2016 more unsettled than a vegan at a wild game dinner. It's not that the Wolverines don't have talent. With redshirt fresh- man Brandon Peters, true freshman Dylan McCaffrey and now Patter- son, they possess one of the most enviable quarterback lineups in America. Patterson's arrival inspired even Michigan haters to declare the Wol- verines a national contender in 2018, provided he's eligible next fall. Add a tested triggerman to an offense armed by a host of now- experienced skill-position weapons, a top-five defense and Harbaugh's driving passion for a breakthrough season and … well, it's coming. It will truly arrive when the Wolver- ines get fully squared away in one more crucial position. If you don't know which one, you haven't been watching closely. You also haven't engaged former Michigan football luminaries Jerry Hanlon, Dan Dierdorf, Doug Skene, Jon Jansen, Rod Payne or a host of others in conversation lately. They're a special band of broth- ers who remain convinced it all rises and falls on the offensive line. They'll shrug over supposed great running backs, insisting those who make the holes create greatness. They'll nod and smile about a suc- cessful passing game. Then they'll remind everyone that only the of- fensive line makes the difference between Michigan ecstasy and — as Skene bluntly put it recently — scraping the QB off the turf and tak- ing him to the hospital. To a man, they'll acknowledge getting Patterson on board is a big deal. To a man, they'll insist fixing Michigan's offensive line remains a bigger one. The Wolverines enter the Outback Bowl showdown against South Carolina tied for 99th in the nation in allowing tackles for loss, an aver- age of 6.58 per game. They're 113th in sacks surrendered, giving up 2.83 per game. Michigan rushed for more than 186 yards per game this year, but in its four losses, averaged less than half that total at 90.75. While an experienced interior returns in 2018 with sophomores Ben Bredeson and Michael Onwenu at the guards and freshman Cesar Ruiz presumably moving in at cen- ter, tackle appears a huge question mark. Payne recalls the ferocity he learned, coming in as a freshman in 1992, from road-grading pow- erhouses like Skene, Steve Everitt, Joe Cocozzo and others. It didn't take long to get smacked in the face by the realization that talent isn't enough. "You watch those guys go to work every day in practice and you realize there's a lot of work to be done to uphold what you came into," Payne noted. "Four straight Big Ten champion- ships, and I was part of the fifth one." He witnessed Everitt slam a bigger, stronger teammate to the turf with jaw-dropping vio- lence. Payne learned immedi- ately his position, at this level, is no place for the timid. "It was the viciousness of that one-on-one pass rush," he said. "I tried to rip people's face off every day. "It was going to be a war. You were never going to beat the offensive line. You were only go- ing to match their viciousness and intensity. We beat the mess out of people." Harbaugh and offensive coordina- tor Tim Drevno have put together hugely successful lines in the past. The sooner the front wall in The Big House becomes dominant again, the sooner championships return. "People used to complain about Michigan being three yards and a cloud of dust," Payne said. "You look at when we have had the down years. We didn't have the ability or the strength to say, 'Okay, we're go- ing to run it four yards right here. Do something about it.' And we'd run it four yards." Payne, Everitt, Jansen, Skene, Di- erdorf and the rest love Michigan. They're more passionate than the most wild-eyed ticket buyers. They've lived it. They've bled and still do. "It still has that allure to it," Payne said of Michigan. "Harbaugh brought back a lot of that excitement and a lot of solidarity. But we've got one last mission, and that's to start knocking off our rivals." That happens when the Wolver- ines begin mauling people again, where it all begins. ❏ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB _ Wolverine. WOLVERINE WATCH JOHN BORTON The Offensive Line Remains The Key For the regular season, Michigan finished tied for No. 99 nationally in allowing tackles for loss, an average of 6.58 per game, and was No. 113 in sacks given up, surrendering 2.83 per game. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN