Tag: Ryan Hayes

Why Cade McNamara has emerged as a cohesive leader for Michigan football

This is what #Michigan has been sorely lacking the past few years.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Something has long been missing from Michigan football in recent years and it’s something that’s come to the forefront: team-led leadership.

After the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day in 2020, cornerback Ambry Thomas lamented the lack of leadership from the players. The team brought in a Navy SEAL during the offseason to help mentor the players on becoming better leaders. But it hadn’t seemed to have taken hold during the actual 2020 season when the Wolverines seemed lost and rudderless throughout the shortened pandemic year.

Fast forward to this year, and with a new starting quarterback in Cade McNamara, change has appeared on the horizon. While Michigan has had intermittent quarterback play since Jim Harbaugh arrived, what it hasn’t had has been a signal caller-as-leader. Though Jake Rudock, Wilton Speight, John O’Korn, Brandon Peters, Shea Patterson, and Joe Milton all had their moments of solid play on the field, none of the above were necessarily the one that the team would look up to. A lot of those who were staunch field generals tended to be those in the captaincy or elsewhere — from Jake Butt to Devin Bush to Ben Bredeson, etc. But with the quarterback position being the most important on the field, it’s crucial that the Wolverines produce not only a player who can make plays but someone that the other players believe in intrinsically.

“Cade’s leadership – since I’ve been here, I haven’t seen a quarterback really take charge like he has,” fourth-year left tackle Ryan Hayes said. “He’s really trying to lead, he’s really putting that effort in, he’s not afraid to tell you when you need something or he wants something from you. So it’s been nice to have – nice change.”

You can see McNamara’s leadership skills on display in a Twitter video posted by the official Michigan football account on Aug. 19, when he talked about the privilege of playing in The Big House.

That’s an important message, particularly because the Wolverines lost all three games in Michigan Stadium a year ago — though it wasn’t quite the normal homefield advantage, given the lack of fans. But his message should be prescient in that it is the home turf and hallowed ground in college football.

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So why has McNamara been such a beneficial leader? What has Hayes seen from him in that role? Really, McNamara has naturally stepped up and in, coalescing the entire offense, which is something that Hayes hadn’t seen in his previous three years in Ann Arbor. Not to mention, he’s not afraid to speak up and tell other players what is needed of them while encouraging them all the same.

“At certain times in the past years, people haven’t been doing what they need, practices haven’t (gone) how they want,” Hayes said. “Nobody’s really stepped into that role to get everyone together. Different (position) groups have, but he really tries to get the offense together as a unit.”

We’ll see how adept McNamara is in that role in less than two weeks[listicle id=38136] when Michigan hosts Western Michigan for the 2021 season opener in Ann Arbor.

 

5 Michigan football starters appear to be out vs. Penn State, some return

While some injured players return, it appears Michigan football will be without multiple players against Penn State.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There were a lot of questions about who would or wouldn’t take the field for Michigan football in Big Ten Week 6 against Penn State on Saturday.

Two Wolverines left last week’s contest with injury in Brad Hawkins and Cam McGrone, with the latter having been carted off and needing an MRI in the game’s aftermath, per head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh was mum in his weekly press conference about either’s availability after having sustained ailments at Rutgers.

However, on the other side of the ball for Michigan, not only were the maize and blue without offensive tackles Jalen Mayfield and Ryan Hayes for the third-straight week, but center Andrew Vastardis also missed the game with injury. OL coach Ed Warinner noted that the tackles had returned to practice this week, so there’s some potential positive news on that front entering Saturday’s game.

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So who at least dressed for the game? At the stadium, we saw DE Kwity Paye, LT Ryan Hayes and S Brad Hawkins in uniform during pregame warmups. However, though unconfirmed by a team spokesman, WR Giles Jackson, K Quinn Nordin, LB Cam McGrone, C Andrew Vastardis and RT Jalen Mayfield are out due to injury.

Michigan football and Penn State are set to kick off at noon EST.

Update: The above has been confirmed by a team spokesperson.

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Ed Warinner updates OL injury status ahead of Penn State

Could Michigan football get one or both of its injured offensive tackles back vs. Penn State?

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Could Michigan get something of a boost this week against Penn State up front?

Both offensive tackles in Jalen Mayfield and Ryan Hayes have missed from the end of the Michigan State game to last week’s contest against Rutgers. While Michigan offensive line coach Ed Warinner wouldn’t say whether or not either would play this weekend against Penn State, he did say that both players have, at least, been cleared to practice and have been on the field working to get back this week.

“They’re both practicing, so we’re just working, seeing how quickly they can come back,” Warinner said. “They’re both out there and doing practice reps, so it’s good to see them out there. I won’t say anything other than that, but they are not in the training room during practice. They are on the field in gear working out and we’re moving them along. They want to get back as quickly as they can, so we’ll see when that is. Both or one might be able Saturday.”

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But Mayfield and Hayes aren’t the only two offensive linemen who have missed time. This past week against Rutgers, center Andrew Vastardis also was a no-go, and was replaced by Zach Carpenter, a second-year player, at center in Piscataway.

Warinner didn’t have as firm an update on him — though he wasn’t responding to a direct question about his availability, as he was with Mayfield and Hayes — but said he’s making progress.

“We’ll see where Vastardis is as he works his way back,” Warinner said. “He’s working hard to get back, too. So go from there.”

The offensive line already was coming in as a young unit, with Mayfield the sole returning starter from 2019. Though Hayes and guard/tackle Andrew Stueber both had starting experience, it was minimal — two games a piece — heading into 2020.

With Mayfield, Hayes and Vastardis out, the line had been completely reshuffled, with second-year tackle Karsen Barnhart, fourth-year guard Chuck Filiaga, second-year center Zach Carpenter, first-year guard Zak Zinter and the aforementioned Stueber playing against the Scarlet Knights from left to right.

It’s been a difficult transition, Warinner notes, given the massive, wholesale changes up front, these aren’t excuses — they’re facts. The Wolverines are massively inexperienced up front, and could have used spring ball and traditional fall camp more than most — certainly more than any unit on the team.

Still, the group is adjusting and learning on the fly, especially given the relative youth of the offensive line.

“We’re doing the best we can,” Warinner said. “We lost four starters last year and three this year. So we’re down seven starters since the Alabama game. Pretty good – I’m pretty proud of the guys how they’re sticking together and working.”

Those players up front will have some strong competition lined up across from them in the form of the Penn State front seven, as the Nittany Lions come to The Big House on Saturday at noon EST.

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Four Wolverines out vs. Rutgers with injury

The Wolverines will be missing four starters who haven’t been declared out with season-ending injury vs. Rutgers.

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The reeling Wolverines will continue to be short-handed on Saturday as it prepares to take on fellow 1-3 Big Ten East foe Rutgers.

Just like last week, when Michigan was missing both offensive tackles and defensive ends, Kwity Paye, Ryan Hayes and Jalen Mayfield all remain home, as none made the trip to New Jersey due to injuries, as confirmed by a team spokesperson.

But a new name is added to the list: starting center Andrew Vastardis also didn’t make the trip, and based on what we’ve seen in warmups, redshirt freshman Zach Carpenter is likely to take his place in the starting lineup.

These names are added to a list that also features defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who sustained a season-ending injury early in Big Ten Week 3 against Indiana. He’s since had surgery and is in recovery. At end, Luiji Vilain and Taylor Upshaw are expected to take the mantle for Paye and Hutchinson, much like they did against Wisconsin a week ago.

Michigan and Rutgers are set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. with the game being broadcast on BTN.

Key Michigan football inactives for Wisconsin

Per a team spokesperson, three starters for Michigan football are out against Wisconsin.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It appears Michigan will be shorthanded on Saturday night’s contest against Wisconsin.

While we’ve already noted some of the likely inactives for the Badgers, there are some key figures missing for the maize and blue as well.

Going through pregame warmups in pads, the starting offensive line looks to be the same as it was last week, with Karsen Barnhart, Chuck Filiaga, Andrew Vastardis, Zak Zinter and Andrew Stueber the first up in unit drills. We have yet to see either Jalen Mayfield or Ryan Hayes — either in preliminary, non-padded warmups, nor later.

On the defensive line, obviously Aidan Hutchinson is out for the foreseeable, but Kwity Paye doesn’t appear to be present, either. Paye’s absence was first noted by Wolverine Digest.

A Michigan spokesperson has confirmed that all three are out due to injury.

Kickoff is set for 7:44 p.m. EST.

3 things to watch for against Wisconsin

Michigan football needs a huge win against Wisconsin this week. What three things should you watch for against the Badgers?

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Back-to-back losses before its Big Ten Week 4 matchup against Wisconsin is far from what people predicted about Michigan football’s 2020 season.

Last week’s 38-21 loss to Indiana was the dagger in any postseason championship hopes for the Wolverines. With the season now about being underdogs, they are huge underdogs as they take on the Wisconsin Badgers this week.

Michigan is coming in 1-2 and looking to rebound with a big upset against the Badgers. Wisconsin is 1-0 and hasn’t been able to play its last two games due to COVID-19. Wisconsin impressed in its first game. Backup quarterback Graham Mertz made a statement with five touchdowns against Illinois.

There is a great deal to talk about concerning the two teams. Both have had a bumpy and unexpected road so far in the 2020 season. What are the three biggest things to focus on Saturday night?

1. Will a game even be played?

The biggest question that needs to be discussed is will Michigan actually play Wisconsin? Wisconsin had a huge COVID-19 outbreak two weeks ago with 12 players testing positive. The game against Nebraska was canceled. The week after, the situation grew worse for the Badgers: 27 tests came back positive. The game against Purdue was also canceled.

The Big Ten’s schedule left no room for error, so if you missed a game, you can’t reschedule it because the last week of play is the day before the College Football Playoff final rankings are revealed. With the shortened season, missing games can hurt your chances of making the playoffs, especially if you have played as well as Wisconsin did in its season opener against Illinois.

If Wisconsin can reduce its cases, then this week’s game should stand. Wisconsin missing two games has already hurt the team and missing a third could make the Big Ten West division championship hard to figure out. This season’s divisional championships will be decided by a winning percentage instead of record unless there is an unbalance with scheduling due to games getting canceled due to COVID-19. With Wisconsin already missing two games, missing a third will make that more challenging.

NEXT: Will rest help or hurt Wisconsin?

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‘Feel very good’ – Jim Harbaugh notes likely starting OL for 2020 opener

Though there were six names that the Michigan football head coach rattled off on Monday, we now know who will likely be starting on the OL.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Though Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh evaded answering whether or not quarterback Joe Milton had won the starting job, posturing by saying ‘Joe’s been running with the ones,’ he wasn’t so mum about what’s going on with the offensive line.

With the Big Ten 2020 season opener coming up on Saturday at Minnesota, Harbaugh eagerly listed six players who have been contending for five starting roles, while denoting precisely who will be playing where.

“Feel very good,” Harbaugh said. “Big, a lot of length and really good athleticism. The two tackles are both experienced guys – Ryan Hayes and Jalen Mayfield. Karsen Barnhart, also consider him a starter as well. Inside, Chuck Filiaga has really made a lot of strides. He’s playing extremely well. He’ll be in there for us at guard along with Andrew Stueber – who had an ACL last year in camp, but did a great job rehabbing. He’s back healthy and been very good and consistent. Andrew Vastardis is the starting center. We’re excited with our offensive line.

“Them jelling, coming together has been a good process. Excited to see them let it rip, too.”

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That said, clearly one of three of the listed tackles between Hayes, Mayfield and Barnhart won’t actually be in the starting five — with chances that Barnhart is the odd-man out. He got added experience this fall with Mayfield having initially opting out before reversing course a month later when the Big Ten announced it was having a fall season after all. Perhaps the Wolverines would use Barnhart as an extra blocker in certain rushing sets, as the New England Patriots have with former Michigan RG Michael Onwenu early this season.

Nonetheless, despite only having one nominal starter from 2019 returning, Michigan is poised to have a solid group up front with the 2020 season opener on the horizon. In order to keep Joe Milton upright and create running lanes for the Wolverines deep group of backs, it’s imperative that the O-line comes together sooner than later once actually facing opponents wearing different colored jerseys Saturday and beyond.

WolverinesWire projected offensive line starters:

Left tackle: Ryan Hayes
Left guard: Chuck Filiaga
Center: Andrew Vastardis
Right guard: Andrew Stueber
Right tackle: Jalen Mayfield

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How the offensive line can dictate the 2020 season for Michigan

How Michigan football does in 2020 depends on how the new revamped offensive line can do with four new starters.

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Michigan lost a lot of pieces at the end of the 2019 season. Out of all the pieces, the biggest one that was lost was the blow the offensive line took. Three of the four players that left were out of eligibility, while center Ceasar Ruiz declared early for the 2020 NFL Draft. With four starters now gone, it was almost all five as right tackle Jalen Mayfield opted out of the season, but he would opt back in and help out the Wolverines.

With Mayfield returning, that gives the offensive line a big boost as they face a lot of uncertainty with how they will perform this season. On the positive side, offensive linemen Andrew Stueber will return after missing all of last season with an injury. Stueber was competing with Mayfield for the starting right tackle job last year before he got hurt and with Mayfield playing well, Stueber will move to the right guard spot.

The other position that has some good news with it is at left tackle. Last year, starting left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. was injured and missed the first two games leaving Ryan Hayes to take over for him. Hayes performed well and looks like he should be the starting left tackle this season.

So now with three of the five starters having experience, the left guard and center spot isn’t as clear as the others. The center position seems to have Andrew Vastardis all over it, but anything can happen in less than two weeks. At left guard, that is a battle between Chuck Filiaga and Trevor Keegan with possibly Nolan Rumler in the mix as well.

Keegan and Rumler have yet to play in a game, while Filiaga has played on special teams and in games where the Wolverines brought in the backups. Those two spots are going to be the biggest question marks of them all out of the five on this offensive line.

The offensive line is going to be what makes or breaks this offense this season. The running back room is loaded and being able to not help create the space for these running backs to showcase what they can do could be just a waste of the talent in the backfield. With quarterback Joe Milton being the starter, having to run for his life when pressure consistently hits him is going to make his first year one to forget.

Milton might need time in the pocket for his wide receivers to get open. The positive side is Milton’s arm strength is good enough that he doesn’t need the extra time to wind up when throwing it deeper downfield. He wouldn’t complain though if he has the extra time to make sure his throw is as best as it can be.

This offensive line is going to have a lot of pressure on them, but with the way the offensive line coach Ed Warinner has been at Michigan, they should be more than ready for when the play Minnesota on Oct. 24. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis will have a second year to showcase his speed in space offense and it should be more relevant this year than last year.

The only way that it has a chance to improve though is if the offensive line allows it to happen. They don’t need to be the top offensive line in the country, but if they can do just as well as the group did last season, they shouldn’t have an issue helping the team put up points and be more effective than last season. If the offensive line isn’t able to step up, then the offense could take a step back despite having weapons all over the field.

Contact/Follow @WolverinesWire/ @BKnappBlogs

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Why Michigan’s OL is poised to be better than pundits believe

Many think the Michigan football OL could be taking a major step back in 2020, but the U-M OC explains why it’s a pretty experienced group.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — We’re heard the same thing all offseason long: Michigan’s not only replacing its starting quarterback in 2020, but the bulk of its offensive line in the fall.

While that’s true from a literal standpoint, that doesn’t automatically mean a step back.

For quite some time, we’ve been pointing out that three of Michigan’s likely five starters have starting experience. Right tackle Jalen Mayfield started last year, left tackle Ryan Hayes started the first two games, while right guard Andrew Stueber started the last two games of 2018 at right tackle. But the Wolverines also like the pieces they have at left guard and center.

While we don’t know the starting lineup for sure, as fall competition is still underway and padded practices don’t begin for another week, there’s a lot to like about the position group, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis says. And it starts with the team’s presumed center, who only started being on scholarship one year ago.

“That group has started to come together in my eyes,” Gattis said. “And though a lot of people assume that it’s new faces, but a lot of old heads. A lot of guys have been in the building, that have been around – veteran-type players. First and foremost, the guy I think has done an exceptional job of leading our offensive line unit is Andrew Vastardis. He’s a fifth-year player who started as a walk-on. And I can’t say enough great things about – he’s the guy that gets it going at the center position for us. From a communication standpoint, making sure everybody’s on the same page. But then I would see his approach. And he showed flashes at the end of games last year when we were able to get him in with some leads. First, Michigan State, he got in for a few plays when Cesar went down. But being able to replace your center is always an important piece. And we feel like we’ve got an important piece with Andrew Vastardis there as our centerpiece. He’s back up to having some competition by (Zach) Carpenter, and we want to keep developing that room with Reece (Atteberry).”

Of course, it’s not just Vastardis or the aforementioned returning trio who can provide a lot for the OL. A lot also has to do with offensive line coach Ed Warinner, who has a long, long track record of producing NFL-caliber offensive lines.

Beyond coaching, however, the group has more experience than many recognize. Some of it isn’t game experience, but for those, they’ve been in the building for some time, as it were. But the most important thing, Gattis notes, isn’t necessarily experience, nor is it individual skill or effort.

No, it’s the chemistry between the five actually on the field. And that’s what Gattis is starting to see build.

“These guys are going into their third and fourth year into the program, so they’re not your typical freshmen or first-year players that you’re looking to replace a lot of your offensive linemen with,” Gattis said. “Obviously getting the great news that Jalen’s coming back. For Jalen, being around the team is so important. There was a number of different key components that really led to his decision: being around the team, getting his degree, but more importantly, he loves football. He wants to be an elite talent, he wants to be a first-rounder.

“So we feel really, really good about where we are as well as building depth. Seeing guys like Chuck Filiaga step up right now. Karsen Barnhart, Trevor Keegan – just to name a few. We feel very strong – Trente Jones has had a great camp. We feel very strong about the depth that we have, obviously now having Jalen back. But the pieces are coming together and you can see chemistry, the camaraderie really show itself. And that’s the key piece whenever you’re replacing a whole line. It’s not about how one individual can play, it’s about how all five can play together. So that’s the biggest thing we’ve been trying to create is an atmosphere where they’re playing closely together and being able to be all on the same page.”

However, it’s still a long way until the season opener on Oct. 24 at Minnesota, and Gattis wants to make sure the offensive line is ready to play.

That doesn’t mean he wants them to know the playbook or what defenses are doing, per se — though, of course, they should know that. But they need to be physically prepared to take the field.

What does that mean? Well, you perhaps saw the rash of injuries that plagued the NFL in Week Two, as several notable names were lost for the season. Nick Bosa and Saquon Barkley were among the casualties, and Gattis wants to ensure that his offense, particularly the offensive line and running backs, don’t suffer similar fates, as they’re the ones who take on the brunt of the physical toll on that side of the ball.

“I think that’s gonna be the emphasis once Sept. 30 hits and they allow us to get physical contact,” Gattis said. “It will be about how physical we can become as a football team and I think right now, I think there’s concerns overall in football because of all the time that we’ve missed. You’ve seen throughout the NFL this past week, there was a rash of some pretty bad injuries, because a lot of people missed all this contact. Initially, I think we all thought as coaches that we didn’t need the training camp, we didn’t need the spring football, but that’s starting to be proven wrong, that you need that physicality early on to provide that callous on the body to be able to withstand some of the physicality that’s in this game.

“When Sept. 30 hits, that’s gonna be a major emphasis. Up until this point, it’s been about the mental edge, it’s about the footwork, it’s about the hand placement, about the fine details. But when we can get the pads on, we’ve gotta make sure we get our guys ready for game one.

“And that’s not just our offensive line, that’s even our running backs. When you look at one of the key issues we experienced last year offensively was fumbling the football. So we’ve gotta make sure our backs are getting hit in practice, they’re getting thudded up, they’re getting taken to the ground so the first time we get touched in a game, we don’t respond in a negative way, that we could respond in a positive way, with power, and be able to play with a physical presence.”

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Michigan readying for potential October start

With reports swirling that the Big Ten may vote again on Friday, the Wolverines are ready to go if a fall football season comes to fruition.

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It seems that mountains are being moved to accommodate the Big Ten resuming football as early as October, potentially.

Earlier this week, Dan Patrick reported that the league was eyeing a possible return to action on Oct. 10, assuming that safety protocols and testing meet the conference’s criteria. And, according to several outlets, there appears to be a re-vote on the horizon come Friday, Sept. 4 for the presidents and chancellors in the Big Ten, despite commissioner Kevin Warren stating weeks ago that a fall season would not be revisited.

As aggregated by Outkick the Coverage:

1) Dave Biddle of Bucknuts, the 247 site for Ohio State (subscription required and recommended), first reported that the Big Ten’s presidents and chancellors have “tentatively” agreed to revote on either Friday or Saturday.

2) Kevin Noon of Buckeye Grove, the Rivals site for Ohio State (subscription required and recommended), confirmed the Bucknuts report, adding: “There is no guarantee as to how this vote will go but it is thought that a vote to resume the season would mean a mid-October start, potentially October 10th.”

3) Sean Callahan of HuskerOnline, the Rivals site for Nebraska (subscription required and recommended), added the following: “A behind the scenes vote count is being taken, and if there is enough support to bring it to a vote, it will happen. If they know they won’t get the 9 votes from the Presidents/Chancellors on Friday there won’t be a revote. So if a vote does happen this week, it means they already know they have the support to overturn this. Stay tuned. If that happens, camp could open as soon as Saturday. It sounds like there are a few teams that just don’t want to play. So you could have three or four teams sit it out and not play if the vote gets overturned.”

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While Michigan isn’t quite getting its hopes up that the team will return to action next month, according to redshirt sophomore left tackle Ryan Hayes, Jim Harbaugh did prepare the team for such a possibility.

“Yesterday before practice, Coach Harbaugh did say we could possibly play in October, just to give us a little motivation,” Hayes said. “Just keep practicing hard and we’re gonna be prepared. We have mentioned October, but nothing’s for sure.

“If we could play as soon as possible, I’m in. We haven’t really stopped practicing, we feel really prepared and we’re ready to go.”

The Wolverines have continued practicing throughout, with eyes on holding a team-specific combine at The Big House on Oct. 24 should the season not resume as currently planned. With 12 hours per week allowed, Hayes believes that the maize and blue will be ready to go if the original call to postpone the season to spring or winter is reversed.

“It’s been a little different — when I was a freshman, that spring ball was really important for me,” Hayes said. “I made a lot of strides back then. So it’s been a little different.

“But we’re practicing without pads, so it’s been really nice because we can start working on our footwork and hands really well. Once we do put the pads on we will definitely have the technique down, so that’s been one positive about it.”

The revamped schedule, which was released six days before the conference voted to postpone the season, would have seen Michigan hosting Purdue this upcoming Saturday at The Big House. Instead, however, parents of the players are hosting a protest for fellow parents, players and fans in the wake of the conference’s decision.

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