Michigan on alert for 'dynamic pieces' on Washington offense

ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines are gearing up for a College Football Playoff National Championship rematch with the Washington Huskies this weekend with both teams taking on a much different look than when they met on Jan. 8.

For Washington, it comes in the form of a brand new coaching staff under former Michigan assistant Jedd Fisch. The Huskies have racked up a ton of yards this season and Fisch has found ways to get multiple players the ball.

The Wolverine coaching staff is on guard for that heading into the first road trip of the season. Running back Jonah Coleman and wide receivers Denzel Boston, Giles Jackson and Jeremiah Hunter all have the attention of U-M.

“Yes, they have some really dynamic pieces,” linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary said on Wednesday. “Coach Fisch and their offensive staff, we have a lot of respect for them in this building. He did a lot of really good things when he was here. The quarterback is who stands out. The experience got a chance to watch him in the other league. He’s very accurate, like a coach on the field, Will Rogers is. We’re going to have to do a great job of slowing him down. Then, their skill talent. I think the Coleman kid is one of the better running backs in the league that we’ve seen so far. They’re explosive at wide out with Boston. Giles Jackson, who was here also. It’s going to be a challenge, but we’re going to be up to it.

Rogers cut his teeth at Mississippi State in the late Mike Leach’s air raid offense. Jean-Mary saw him on tape at times when he was game planning at Tennessee.

Saw a little bit of him in crossover tape,” Jean-Mary said. “We didn’t get a chance to go against him. Obviously, with the system they had with Coach Leach, may he rest in peace, we always had a chance to watch how people defended them and saw the accuracy, saw the ball delivery as far as getting the ball out on time. Just the things that you see from experienced quarterbacks. I have a lot of respect for him, and I think that’s carried over to Washington.”

The Huskies are going to try and offset the Michigan pass rush with quick throws out to the perimeter, and Jean-Mary knows the unit will have to be disciplined.

“Yeah, they do it at a high level, too,” Jean-Mary said. “They throw screens. They have some dynamic guys in space. They try to get the ball in their hands in space. Screens are two-fold. Because of the pressure we can get on defense, whether it’s a four-man rush or a blitz that gets the ball out of the quarterback’s hands, and then it gets the ball, in their minds, in the athletic skill guy’s hands to see what he can do with it. And then two-fold.

“That’s why I said I thought our coverage was good at times where we were taking away some of the deeper throws, and good offense is going to counter that by getting the ball to their skill guys in space with shorter throws that are easy for the quarterback. Now all we have to do is be able to rally back and go tackle them. I thought we didn’t do that at times or were out of position at times where we could have got the ball on the ground before it was an explosive play.”

There is not a lot for Michigan to glean from the film study of the Huskies given the amount of turnover from last season, but the staff has looked at a bit of everything. Even with Washington’s 3-2 record, this is the time of year young and inexperienced groups start to hit their stride.

“You always want to watch just so you can kind of see how they’ve grown and developed compared to last year,” he said. “But they do have a new outfit, but they have the uniform on and they still wear the helmet, and I know they’re going to have the same pride as those guys. So I know it’s going to be a big game for them.

“But as you can see a little bit like with us, with some of the new players that weren’t here and the guys that were here last year and didn’t play a lot, through September I think everybody is kind of feeling their way to kind of see how they fit in offense or defense or even special teams. And I think most teams’ best football starts in October because now they’re in a routine. They kind of know what’s expected and what the fit is for what they need to do as teammates.

“So I’ve seen them get better. I thought there was a tough one at Rutgers. I thought they played well enough to win. They didn’t come out with a victory, but I thought they did a lot of good things there, and you can see them starting to gel as an offense.”

Michigan and Washington’s rematch is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from Husky Stadium in Seattle with NBC carrying the national broadcast.