The Brady Hoke era is over. The Jim Harbaugh era has begun.
It's about time Michigan football made its comeback.
The first step in that process arrives on Saturday, when the Wolverines host their annual Maize and Blue Game. And judging by the mood around the program, which landed its Plan A-through-Z head coach in Harbaugh, the atmosphere in The Big House will feel a lot more like The Big House than it did in 2014.
The Wolverines made 33 consecutive bowl games between 1975 and 2007, but have since missed three bowls in seven years. They've posted a 46-42 record since Lloyd Carr retired as head coach—their worst seven-year mark since going 34-31-2 under Bump Elliott in the 1960s. The winningest program in college football history has never been this desperate for a winner.
How long will it take until Harbaugh, a legendary Wolverine quarterback who in 2013 took the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl, restores his alma mater to the pinnacle of college football? Can he cobble this team into a Big Ten contender by next season?
The spring game is our first chance for answers.
Here's a preview of what to watch for.
Viewing Info
When: Saturday, April 4, 2015, 12 p.m. ET
Where: Michigan Stadium; Ann Arbor, Michigan
Watch: Big Ten Network; Michigan/IMG Sports Network
Listen: MGoBlue.com; Sirius Channel 93, XM Channel 195
Rosters
Key Storylines
1. Harbaugh's Debut: Saturday will be The Harbaugh Show—start to finish. How does he look on the sideline? Is he happy, angry, energized, aloof? What sort of Twitter-based, Bo Pelini-esque viral antic is hiding up his sleeve? (You know it's something.) And most of all, how has he changed things since last year? His offense won't be fully installed, but it has to look more organized than Hoke and Doug Nussmeier's These fans require something to latch onto.
2. Jabrill Peppers' Return: Peppers took a medical redshirt after leg problems ended his true freshman season. But the former 5-star athlete—who now runs exclusively at safety—has earned strong praise for his work behind closed doors. Defensive backs coach Greg Jackson described his star pupil to Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press:
Reminds me of Rodney Harrison when I played. He reminds me of Rodney: enthusiastic, intense during practice, full speed to the ball all the time. He's a kid that's hungry, ready to prove himself and a guy like Peppers, you can't teach hustle, he's just got it, just got that knack of being a football player. If we just keep him going in the right direction coaching him, I think he's going to be a really good player.
Peppers was the flagship recruit of the Hoke era. His failure to perform as a freshman—injury-related or not—was a microcosm of the former regime, which recruited like a standard Michigan program but developed more like Eastern or Central or Western.
Peppers enters 2015 with mammoth expectations, especially considering his peers from the last recruiting cycle. The only two players who ranked ahead of him, LSU running back Leonard Fournette and Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, are listed as the No. 3 Heisman Trophy favorite by Odds Shark and broke the SEC freshman sack record, respectively. The player who ranked one spot behind him, Alabama lineman Cam Robinson, started 14 games at left tackle and was one of the best offensive players on a team that broke numerous school records, won the SEC championship and reached the College Football Playoff.
Those are Peppers' physical contemporaries: the players his talent most closely resembles. Michigan, far more than any of those teams, needs him to play like it. The final score of the spring game doesn't matter, but Peppers' performance does. Even one big play would soothe Michigan fans through the summer.
3. Quarterback Stock Watch: No one trusts reports about quarterback play; they only believe what they see. And what they've seen from rising junior Shane Morris, last year's No. 2 and the only seasoned quarterback in camp, has thus far been a letdown.
Can Morris turn things around under Harbaugh, a confirmed quarterback guru, and justify his former pedigree? Can 6'6" redshirt freshman Wilton Speight, a 2014 scout team darling with a giant arm, make the push so many UM fans expect? Can true freshman Alex Malzone put forth a strong foot in his public debut? No matter how it plays out, we'll gain clarity. For a more in-depth look, here's a preview from Bleacher Report's Adam Biggers.
Key Position Battles
1. Running Back: Is it Derrick Green, Ty Isaac or De'Veon Smith? Green and Isaac were top-60 recruits in 2013—the latter starting his career at USC before transferring and sitting out last season—but Smith, the No. 207 recruit in 2013, ran well as an underclassman. Harbaugh prefers a big, bruising workhorse (think Frank Gore in San Francisco), which also gives the edge to Green (5'11", 234 lbs) and Isaac (6'3", 240 lbs), but Smith (5'11", 228 lbs) added muscle this offseason and warrants a hard look. For more, here's another good report from Biggers.
2. Offensive Line: Jack Miller's abrupt retirement—explained in this special to Bleacher Report—leaves an obvious hole at center, the new keystone position on Michigan's offensive line. Freshman All-American Mason Cole, who earned those honors playing left tackle but was projected out of high school as an interior lineman, has taken some reps up the middle, and so has starting left guard Graham Glasgow, who recently returned from suspension.
If Glasgow plays center next season, that moves Cole back to tackle and leaves Ben Braden and Logan Tuley-Tillman to compete for the other starting job. If Cole plays center next season, that moves Glasgow back to guard and leaves Kyle Kalis and Erik Magnuson to compete for the other starting job. Others will throw their hats into those rings, but based on the first-team line during Glasgow's suspension, these six look like the primary starting candidates.
In that case, what happens at center is in many ways a product of what happens at guard and tackle. Glasgow and Cole (and maybe—maybe—Kalis) are the only surefire starters, and if the goal is to put the five best blockers on the field (which it is), offensive coordinator Tim Drevno might have to shuffle the deck based on where he feels the best about his depth.
Drevno, who served as Harbaugh's offensive line coach at Stanford and in San Francisco, left the 49ers last winter to become the running game coordinator at USC. New to the Trojans program, he mixed and matched a group of mostly underclassmen blockers—three of whom were true freshmen—to build a strong offensive line.
If he can do the same at Michigan, which has recruited at the same level as USC but struggled beyond comprehension in the trenches, it would drastically change the outlook of next season. Winning at the point of attack is crucial to Harbaugh's offense.
3. Quarterback: Discussed above, but we can't overstress the importance. Morris, Speight and Malzone have enjoyed the benefit of going through spring ball, and they can't blow that head start. Not with former Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock, a 25-game starter who actually beat Michigan two seasons ago, reportedly set to transfer in this summer, according to Dan Murphy of ESPN.com. Top-175 recruit Zach Gentry, whom Harbaugh hand-poached from Texas, will join the fray after spring camp and compete to start next year, too.
Players to Watch By Position
QB: Speight: Morris is a semi-known commodity. Malzone is likely too young to start. But Speight, the redshirt freshman with the NFL frame and the year of scout-team workouts behind him, has a real chance to claim this job. Secondhand reports have moved Michigan fans to the edge of their seats, but now, for the first time since last spring, they get to see Speight in person. Is he ready for his closeup?
RB: Isaac: Green ranked slightly better in high school and improved before missing the second half of last season with a clavicle injury. Still, his slow feet and occasional lack of explosiveness have made running back a position of need. Isaac arrives with an even higher ceiling and cuts the figure of a well-built NFL inside linebacker (again: 6'3", 240 pounds!). If all goes according to plan, he'll be the bully Harbaugh covets at running back.
Note: Twitter rumors suggest Isaac might miss the spring game with an injury. As far as I can tell, no reliable outlet has reported this. Even if Isaac does miss the scrimmage, the battle between Green and Smith is worth watching; but regardless, I'd like to cover all bases, so consider Green the "Running Back to Watch" if Isaac sits out. Keep an eye on how he moves his feet in the backfield: his speed coming in and out of cuts.
WR: Freddy Canteen: The star of last year's spring session, Canteen underwhelmed in the fall. Catching five passes for 22 yards is OK for a true freshman, but after dominating offseason workouts and lobbying for a meaningful role, his first year was an abject disappointment. Can he get the ball rolling with a strong performance Saturday? Someone needs to replace Devin Funchess.
OL Logan Tuley-Tillman: With ideal size (6'7", 309 lbs) and length for a pass-blocker, Tuley-Tillman makes sense at left tackle. When Cole took snaps at center during Glasgow's suspension, that's where he lined up. Can he make a case to start there next season? He and Cole are on different teams, so he'll receive an extended look. The 2013 Under Armour All-American has made no impact the past two seasons.
DL: Bryan Mone: Mone played sparing reps as a freshman but has made noise with a strong offseason. He sports an ideal frame for a defensive tackle (6'4", 325 lbs), especially under defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, who rotates between 3-4 and 4-3 fronts. Can he take the next step and become an impact player up the middle? Saturday will lend us some insight.
LB: Desmond Morgan: Morgan missed last season with a hand injury but received a medical redshirt and returns for his fifth year. His leadership will be paramount for a linebacking corps that lost Jake Ryan—the heart and soul of last year's defense—and on paper looks like the weakest unit on the field. With James Ross III unavailable, Morgan will be counted on to fly around the ball and direct the Blue Team linebackers into position.
DB: Peppers: How could it be anyone but Peppers? He'll start Week 1 no matter how he performs on Saturday, but the spring game provides a glance into how far he's come along. Is he healthy? Is he happy? Is he ready to fulfill expectations? Because of Hoke's recruiting, Michigan does not lack depth. What it lacks more than anything is star power. Peppers represents its best chance at fixing that.
Will he finally give the people what they want?
Note: All recruiting info refers to the 247Sports' composite rankings.
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