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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There’s been a ton of hype surrounding Michigan football’s offense, a unit that’s been nothing more than above average, at best, since Jim Harbaugh took over in 2015.
Now though, with Joe Milton the presumed starter at quarterback and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis entering his second year with the program, the Wolverines may very well be in a position to join the upper echelon of offenses around the country.
It all starts with Milton, but it hasn’t just been the local media or the offensive players who have been enamored with his skillset. Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has been singing his praises this offseason, as has fellow FOX Sports personality Matt Leinart.
But those who have been trying to beat Milton in fall camp, the remnants of last year’s No. 11 defense nationally, have nothing but emphatic enthusiasm for the third-year QB and the rest of the players around him.
“Explosive,” fourth-year linebacker Josh Ross said of the offense. “Joe’s one of my good friends and to see him thrive and flourish, it’s been amazing. He’s been practicing really, really well and I can’t wait to see him go out there and ball. Our offense is gonna be elite!”
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High praise, but Ross isn’t alone.
Michigan defensive tackle Carlo Kemp had a lot to say about the offense as a whole having so much promise before eventually speaking similarly on Milton.
“This offense – I’m just excited,” Kemp said. “Because no one has really gotten to see all the talent and all the things that they can do. The only people that know are the people here at practice, and the people on the team and the coaches. But just getting to see these guys play, there’s a lot of chemistry on that side of the ball, as well. There’s just so many good players. At running back, there’s tremendous players. At wide receiver, there’s tremendous players. We’ve got a quarterback leading the offense, leading the entire team in a very special way.
“You look at Joe and you’re just excited for Joe because you know everything he’s gone through to get to this point and we watched him grow since his freshman year. I go back to Joe’s freshman year when he was the scout quarterback and how he led the scout team, you knew one day – ‘OK, this guy, here, when it’s his time, it’ll be his time and it’ll be very special.’ And now he’s grown up into his third-year with those guys he used to lead on that scout team and all of them have developed and gotten better, he’s gotten better himself. It’s like – seeing all of that coming into fruition is incredible.
“What we have at quarterback this year is very special – a very special leader, a very special guy and I’m very excited for him.”
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Have goosebumps yet? Well, Milton isn’t the only offensive player who’s ready to make a big impact.
Though the Wolverines are loaded with talent at wide receiver, tight end and running back, there’s one offensive player who can play multiple roles on offense that has Ross particularly salivating after seeing what he can do in practice.
As he puts it, essentially: meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
“I can’t say you guys haven’t seen him much, because he’s been there, but he’s back this year – and that’s Chris Evans,” Ross said. “He’s gonna have a fabulous year. Has been practicing really well and our whole time practicing in these past few months. He’s gonna make a big impact on Saturdays.”
We’ll see just how good this new-look Michigan offense might be on Saturday, when the Wolverines take on Minnesota at TCF Bank Stadium in primetime.
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