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Michigan’s offense has the opportunity to take a big step forward in year two of Josh Gattis coordinating the unit.
While the maize and blue lost both starting quarterback Shea Patterson and four offensive linemen this offseason, this season will be the first time that the Wolverines have paired a quarterback who was already on the roster and a returning offensive coordinator since 2016, when it was Wilton Speight and Jedd Fisch (the pass game coordinator).
That season’s offense was so potent, while it wasn’t up there in yards-per-game (it was ranked 54th nationally), it was elite in points-per-game, coming in at No. 10 in the country. Michigan hasn’t replicated such success since.
What it’s capable of, however, is wholly dependent on who’s under center, which, at the moment, is a mystery. It could be either redshirt junior Dylan McCaffrey or redshirt sophomore Joe Milton, with the former providing more of a typical dual-threat look while the latter has that capability, but is known for his strong arm and throwing prowess. Not to be left out, Cade McNamara, a redshirt freshman, is also in the mix, as the all-time leader in Nevada’s high school passing attack.
The way that wide receiver Ronnie Bell sees it, the Wolverines are capable no matter who’s leading the charge. He shared with Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast that while they all possess different traits and attributes at the quarterback position, the team is in an advantageous position regardless of who ends up being under center.
“Working with (the QBs) the last few weeks we’ve been here, just working with those guys – just like I was talking about with the details – the amount of detail that they all have in their own art, what they do at quarterback – they all three have a different kind of way they play that,” Bell said. “Not that they’re necessarily similar, but they’re all great in their own separate ways. I think that makes the decision of who’s gonna be the quarterback the craziest thing because they’re all three different players, but all three are amazing players and have crafted their art at such a high level. I think it’s gonna be such a tough decision and it’s amazing working with those guys.
“As a receiver, you’re lucky because you can’t go wrong with whoever’s in the game, no matter what’s going on, what the situation is. You’ve got a quarterback that’s all so elite.”
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The added bonus here is that they all have familiarity with one another — the quarterbacks and the wideouts.
It’s not a situation where the wide receivers have to adjust their game with a different quarterback — instead, they’re all acclimated to the offense as well as to the players.
“We receivers have all worked with these quarterbacks so much that our speed, our top whatever – route-running, whatever part we’re moving – the quarterbacks are all (on the same page) as us and have that in lock,” Bell said. “So as a receiver when you line up, it doesn’t matter who’s back there. You’re gonna run your route and you’re gonna get open. It’s not necessarily a different pace to your route or different footwork to your route because of who’s at quarterback.”
But, Michigan’s not just in a good position because it has a bona fide competition at QB with three capable players. The WR group is also in a stellar position we haven’t seen in some time.
While much was made about the trio of Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black and Nico Collins, only Collins put up relatively lofty numbers. Bell had his own say, leading the team in receptions and yards in 2019 — despite being considered the low man on the depth chart, relatively speaking.
Now, Collins and Bell return, along with a lot of potential in Giles Jackson, Mike Sainristil, Cornelius Johnson and true freshmen A.J. Henning and Roman Wilson. The old adage of ‘you can’t cover them all’ seems to be likely, assuming the QB situation works out as expected.
With Bell looking at his particular unit, he can’t wait to see what it does once the season comes.
“I’m just beyond excited for everybody in that room because I feel like everybody in that room has a chip on their shoulder and really wants to prove themselves,” Bell said. “I feel like guys that are hungry like that it just makes it, first off, fun to be around. It makes it a blast to be around all those guys. They all train so (hard). It’s just so exciting. Last year, guys got their feet in the water and Nico coming back, I’m head over heels excited for what the season’s gonna bring.”