Best and worst from Michigan football 2023 spring game
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Maize team defeated the Blue, 22-21, in the 2023 Michigan Wolverines football spring game at The Big House. Here are the best and worst from the intrasquad scrimmage.
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Gutsiest call
Michigan running backs coach and run game coordinator Mike Hart was the Maize team head coach (Jay Harbaugh ran the Blue). Hart’s crew didn’t lead the entire game … until there was just 1:44 remaining.
Junior quarterback Davis Warren led a touchdown scoring drive, before Hart made the call of the game. It was an “easy” decision to go for two, Hart said afterward, noting it’s the spring game and there’s not much to lose (other than potentially eating hot dogs instead of steak). Warren converted the two-point conversion on a pass to junior wideout Peyton O’Leary, his roommate and fellow former walk-on turned scholarship player.
Sloppy play
It started with junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy throwing the first interception of the game. All told, there were 5 turnovers — 3 picks and 2 lost fumbles.
Michigan’s ball security isn’t something to be concerned about coming out of the spring game, given all the different players who were on the field. If anything, it made the scrimmage more exciting, and you’ve got to give credit to the defensive players who made big plays.
Sophomore nickel back Kody Jones (Blue) and sophomore linebacker Ernest Hausmann (Maize) each forced a fumble, and sophomore cornerback Myles Pollard (Blue), graduate safety Quinten Johnson (Blue) and sophomore safety Zeke Berry all had an interception.
Best situational football
McCarthy got off to a slow start, with the first-drive interception being the worst of it. He was only supposed to play the first quarter, according to the Michigan radio crew, but stayed in the entire first half for the Maize team.
The starting signal-caller redeemed himself with a nice two-minute drill at the end of the second quarter, leading a 7-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in 2:22, which ended with only 10 seconds left on the game clock. While scrambling out of the pocket to his left, McCarthy fired a 5-yard touchdown pass to wideout Jake Thaw to cap it off.
Biggest surprise
This has got to be freshman early enrollee Benjamin Hall. The former three-star recruit didn’t have much fan fare when he entered the program in January, but has generated some buzz this spring and showed why Saturday.
Senior Kalel Mullings ran well while he was in early in the game, but Hall was the most impressive back on this day. He displayed patience, a burst and some power, dragging tacklers.
The 5-foot-11, 235-pounder rushed 13 times for 96 yards and 1 touchdown, with a 31-yard long down to the 1-yard line, where he stepped out of bounds.
Hart said postgame that he feels much better about Michigan’s running back depth now than he did at this time last year. Hall has gotta be a big reason why. The assistant coach added that Hall is “going to be special.”
Freshman wide receiver Fredrick Moore is another who came in under the radar but played well, after having a nice spring overall. He caught 4 passes for 62 yards with a 41-yard long.
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Man who met the hype
Last season, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said O’Leary had a “Cooper Cupp-like training camp.” When asked before the 2022 season who’s going to surprise people, Ronnie Bell said O’Leary, who was originally committed to play lacrosse at UMass.
Others chimed in about O’Leary last season, but we didn’t see the 6-foot-3, 195-pounder play any meaningful snaps. In fact, he played only 18 offensive snaps as it was, hauling in just 1 catch for 4 yards in the season opener against Colorado State.
O’Leary lived up to the hype Saturday, leading all of Michigan’s receivers with 6 grabs for 126 yards (and the game-winning two-point conversion). He got open on deep routes and was able to create separation on quicker hitting plays. His performance leads us to believe he could get into the rotation this fall.
Two transfers flashed on defense
Michigan junior EDGE Josaiah Stewart (Blue) and sophomore linebacker Ernest Hausmann (Maize) were both all over the field.
Stewart, a Coastal Carolina transfer, shined as a pass rusher, registering 5 tackles, 2 stops for loss and 1 sack. He was constantly providing pressure, and got extended run.
Hausmann also got a lot of opportunity at linebacker. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said this week that his message to Hausmann is to take somebody else’s job, and gained some ground in attempting to do that Saturday.
The Nebraska transfer led all Michigan defenders with 8 tackles, adding 1 stop for loss and a forced fumble on a really nice hit on quarterback Jack Tuttle.
No. 1 pick shines
Michigan sophomore defensive tackle Kenneth Grant has always looked the part. If it were up to us, he’d be the first Wolverine off the bus on road games — he’s extremely physically imposing, even though he’s a smily and nice kid off the field. Now, he’s starting to turn that into a higher level of play on the field.
Grant was the No. 1 overall pick in the spring game draft, with Jay Harbaugh selecting him, and he definitely looks like he’s taken a big step forward this spring. He looked better with his pad level — an emphasis of this spring, the Michigan D-tackle has said — was impossible to block at times and even got too close to McCarthy, providing pressure on a throw.
Best celebrations
We’ll leave you with the best celebrations from the afternoon.
