Tweaks coming for Michigan offense: 'You're going to see some things this year that we didn't do last year'

Michigan Wolverines football‘s offense was high powered last season, ranking 16th nationally with 35.8 points per game. It leaned on the run game, producing 214.4 yards per game on the ground, and was timely with the pass, averaging 228.7 yards through the air per outing.

Given the results — which included a win over arch rival Ohio State, Big Ten title and College Football Playoff appearance — Michigan would love to be just as effective this fall. But how the Wolverines get to that point might — and likely will — look different, one way or the other.

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First, the Michigan offense brings back nine players who caught 10-plus passes and eight who registered 148 or more receiving yards last season. Graduate wide receiver Ronnie Bell missed all but one half of football last year, after leading the team in receiving in both 2019 and 2020, but he returned, potentially better than ever. The Wolverines are one of five programs with multiple Mackey Award watch list members at tight end in senior Erick All and graduate Luke Schoonmaker.

The quarterbacks throwing to those pass catchers — senior Cade McNamara and sophomore J.J. McCarthy — have the 2021 experience under their belts and are both trusted.

And junior running back Blake Corum (952 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 2021) and sophomore Donovan Edwards appear to be one of the Big Ten’s top running back duos.

At Big Ten Media Days, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said the Wolverines still want to maintain an identity of being physical and running the ball, but that the team’s personnel may allow it to open the offense up even more.

When speaking with the media this week, co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss added that the coaching staff has a vision for the unit this fall. Michigan wants to do more of what it did last season, plus add to its repertoire.

“Our vision is directly from Coach Harbaugh,” Weiss began. “If you look at his history of teams and the culture that’s here at Michigan, that’s the vision for the offense. I think you can see the evolution last year with what [co-offensive coordinator and line coach] Sherrone [Moore] did with the offensive line with how physical they were and the way he coached gap schemes. I think that’s a calling card of Michigan football. It’s an all-weather conference. You have to be able to play in the cold, in the rain — and certainly running the ball is a part of that.”

Michigan’s emphasis on the run game will be an emphasis, but the Wolverines want to be ’50-50,’ Moore said Sunday. Weiss expanded on how the two methods can be complementary.

“Running the ball sets up the pass game,” Weiss continued. “It’s a lot easier to throw the ball when you can run the ball. It’s a lot harder to throw the ball when you can’t run the ball. And even, you look at the best passing teams in the NFL, which is more of a passing league, they still run the ball because that’s a part of passing.”

This is just the beginning of the Michigan offense, which, despite having two new coordinators (albeit internal hires), is “the same” system, Harbaugh has noted. Weiss said Michigan has big plans for some tweaks and additions.

“Any good offense will continue to evolve,” Weiss explained. “So last year, you guys saw an evolution with the offense, where it was different than previous years, so that’s a starting point. There aren’t any wholesale changes; we’re still the same system, same ways of calling everything. But there are areas that we’re looking at to get better, and it’s going to be a continued evolution.”

It’s a must to evolve, Weiss said, because not only does Michigan have a target on its back, each opponent has film of what the Wolverines have done in the past.

“You’re going to see some things this year that you didn’t see last year, just like last year you saw things that you didn’t see the year before,” Weiss said. “And I think you have to do that, because right now every team we play is looking at our tape. If they’re finding a way to exploit us and the stuff that worked last year, we may not be as good. But we still want to be great at that, and we want to have new things to be good at. That’s the vision.”