ANN ARBOR, Mich. — On June 1, Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh told media at the SoundMind SoundBody camp at Wayne State that the plan was to diversify the offense. And five practices into fall camp, it appears that he’s remaining true to his word.
A handful of players had their first fall camp media availability on Monday, and those who hail from the offensive side of the ball are already noting the difference from this year to last year.
Not only do the Wolverines appear to be repping the pass game more to this point, which could pay dividends for the offense, but senior right guard Zak Zinter notes that it’s benefitting the defensive side of the ball, too, because they’re able to work more on their pass rush.
Either way, both sides of the ball will be that much more prepared for the pass-heavy teams that come later in the schedule.
“I can promise you we’ve passed the ball a lot these last couple of practices!” Zinter said. “And the D-line has gotten a lot of work in the pass rush moves. But yeah, I mean, it’s a big focus this year. If we know we can run the ball and when we want to, even if they know we’re gonna run the ball, we can run it. But the pass rush and just passing in general has definitely been an emphasis for us this camp and it’s been going really well for us.”
Quarterback J.J. McCarthy feels that diversifying the offense is the right way to go if Michigan wants to go for the top prize of a national championship. Having balance should therefore allow the team to be more unpredictable on one hand, but should also allow for the aerial attack to get more in rhythm compared to finding that element of the game later in the season.
“I feel like in order to get over that hump, in order to push through and be — wring out the most potential we have as an offense, you got to be balanced,” McCarthy said. “Whether you’re a human being, whether you’re an offense, the more balanced you are, the more successful you’re going to be. So feel like that just opens up to different levels of attack. And we’ve been working on it crazy.
“I mean, the pass game, we’ve been more heavy focus on the pass in these first five practices. So it’s been great to be able to get those reps, get those opportunities. But like you said, we’ve got to be balanced. So no matter what it is, or how it gets there, we’re gonna get there.”
Fans will get an opportunity to see whether or not Michigan has truly emphasized the pass game starting on Sept. 2 when the Wolverines host East Carolina for the 2023 season opener at The Big House.
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