Athlon Sports came out with an article on Tuesday in which other Big Ten coaches talk anonymously about the schools residing in the conference.
Athlon Sports asked for honest assessments from the coaches that it contacted, but in order to do so, it needed to be anonymous.
When it comes to Michigan, it appears there were four different coaches that had a say about the Wolverines.
The first coach talked about Michigan being a changed program in 2021. The unnamed coach said the energy was different — for the better — and the Wolverines had more speed. This coach thinks Michigan is pretty loaded on offense, but the coach is curious about how Jim Harbaugh and Michigan handle the quarterback situation between Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy.
“This was a changed program in 2021, and the results reflect that. Even before they beat OSU or won the conference, I think the coaches in the league knew it could happen. You saw a different energy here; they had more speed than in recent years, and they were still just as physical. They were violent on film. It was Michigan football. They had two good backs that got downhill, one is coming back this year, and I expect more of the same on offense. They have good tight ends, and they’re still young overall on offense. The big pieces are in place on this side of the ball. We’re curious how they’re managing the two quarterbacks and if J.J. [McCarthy] gets more time. They both have upsides, but that’s always a tricky thing to manage correctly.”
The second coach has questions about the Michigan defense. He noted that both Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo are gone, and it’s not just a plug-and-play situation. The Wolverines will be trying to replace NFL players, and the coach wonders how that will work.
“Defensively, you can’t just replace those edge guys. Those are NFL players, and Michigan is great, but that’s not a plug-and-play situation for anybody. So the defense will have a different identity. The measure of this program is how they replace league-caliber guys who leave. How deep can you stock your roster to where you’re sending these guys off and still competing close to that level?”
The third coach has a short statement about new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Minter is coming from Vanderbilt, but he worked with former Michigan coordinator Mike Macdonald with the Baltimore Ravens. This coach doesn’t believe Michigan will see much of a scheme change with the coordinator change. During Big Ten media days, the players had similar sentiments.
“[DC Jesse] Minter will transition right in; I don’t think you’re going to see any kind of departure in terms of scheme.”
The fourth and final coach wants to see how Michigan resupplies after 2021. Does losing so many good players on the defensive side of the ball hurt the Wolverines, or do they have enough players to soften the blow?
“What you’re looking for this year is how fast they resupply. Was ’21 the exception or the new rule?”
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=61156]