4B — Monday, April 15, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
During spring ball, injuries lead to new opportunities for freshmen
Mike Sainristil got the ball on
a crossing route at the 23-yard
line, beat his defender and
coasted into the end zone.
It was the first drive of
Michigan’s Spring Game on
Saturday, and though there was
no real scoring, it wasn’t lost on
the crowd that the freshman
wide receiver had scored the
opening touchdown — well,
insofar as there are touchdowns
in a no-tackle scrimmage.
Sainristil is supposed to still
be in high school now, preparing
for exams, going to prom and
planning graduation escapades.
Instead, he early-enrolled and
joined the Michigan football
team. There, he was thrust into
a role bigger than he could have
imagined.
Under
new
offensive
coordinator Josh Gattis, spring
ball was supposed to feature a
heavy dosage of the Wolverines’
three top receivers — junior
Donovan
Peoples-Jones,
redshirt
sophomore
Tarik
Black and junior Nico Collins.
But Black is the only one of
those that’s been
healthy. With the
other two out, it
gave
Sainristil
a
chance
to
get
reps
with
the
first-team
offense
—
an
opportunity
he
wouldn’t
have
had otherwise.
There,
he’s
dazzled, earning
praise from players and coaches
alike as the freshman that’s
stood out the most. Though the
spring game itself means very
little, the experience players
like Sainristil have gained has a
much greater significance.
“For a lot of people to come
out and get their spot, come out
there and show everybody on
offense … and show everybody
what they can do,” said senior
defensive tackle Carlo Kemp.
“And it’s been a lot of fun seeing
how many guys
have been able
to come and get
that
play
just
because it’s been
unfortunate
with how many
people have been
hurt.”
As
for
the
injured
players
themselves,
they’ve
stayed
involved in other ways. In
between rehab sessions, they
feature heavily in meetings with
their respective position groups,
learning the playbook, keeping
the energy up and encouraging
camaraderie.
In the running back room, for
instance, there’s a full layout
of
the
field
where
they
draw up plays
for simulation.
Injured
veterans
can
still take part
and
impart
their
wisdom
on
the
new
crop of players
coming up.
“(Running
backs coach Jay Harbaugh)
preaches mental reps a lot,”
said senior running back Tru
Wilson. “And they’re really,
they’ve gotta hold the ball on
the sidelines, they gotta see the
call from the side, they gotta go
through the play like they’re in.
So it’s helpful for them because
everybody
knows
the
play,
everybody’s getting work in on
every play.”
And when the young players
do take the field in place of an
injured starter, those veterans
have the opportunity to pull
them aside and act almost as a
second coach, telling them what
to work on or what to do when
they see certain formations,
encouraging them and learning
what they’re capable of.
Senior
defensive
tackle
Michael Dwumfour, out with
a
torn
plantar
fascia,
has
especially
taken
that to heart. He’s
aided
freshman
defensive
tackle
Mazi
Smith
on
and off the field
and
helped
the
entire
defensive
line learn their
roles.
“(Dwumfour’s)
done it with all of
us,” said redshirt
sophomore
defensive
tackle
Donovan Jeter. “Mike’s been
in every big game. Ohio State,
Penn State, Michigan State,
Notre Dame, he’s been in all
the big games, so if he’s telling
you
something,
he’s telling you
something
from
experience.”
Defensive line
and wide receiver
are two of the
positions
with
the biggest depth
concerns.
So
while the rash of
injuries at those
two
positions
are in one way a bad sign for
the Wolverines, those injuries
have at the same time given
reps to players who may not
have gotten them otherwise.
That helps build up a steady
stream of backups waiting in
the wings should one of those
players go down. Spring camp is
a big step up from high school,
giving those players valuable
development time.
“Adapting real fast to spring
ball, the practices are longer,
everything’s
longer,”
said
redshirt sophomore offensive
tackle Andrew Stueber. “So it’s
kind of more brutal. And if you
get through that, then practices
in the fall and the camps, it’s
shorter, and you’re kind of used
to how the play goes and how
the practice goes.”
And with Black, Peoples-
Jones
and
Dwumfour
all
expected
back
for the start of
the season, the
young
players
will face tough
competition in
fall camp.
Then,
when
they
get
the
chance
to
step
into
the
spotlight
—
whether
in a year or two when their
predecessors
graduate,
or
because of an injury — they’ll be
ready to shine.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Writer
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Freshman wide receiver Mike Sainristil has impressed in spring camp with Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones out.
(Jay Harbaugh)
preaches
mental reps a
lot.
Mike
(Dwumfour’s)
been in every
big game.
The practices
are longer,
everything’s
longer.
Moments before the start of
Michigan’s spring game Saturday
afternoon, a plane flew over
Michigan Stadium. Behind it flew a
sign reading, ‘Hey Jim, this is God.
It’s OK to pass on first down. Let’s
try it.’
An
hour
later,
when
the
Wolverines lined up for their
first 11-on-11 play of the day, Shea
Patterson took the snap, sprinted
to his right and pitched to senior
running back Tru Wilson. Then
came a jet sweep to freshman wide
receiver Mike Sainristil before a
zone run up the middle. Only on
the fourth play from scrimmage
did Patterson finally drop back and
fire off his first pass of the day —
one that went for a 15-yard gain to
sophomore wide receiver Ronnie
Bell.
The pre-game plane carried the
optimistic hope for change that
has defined Michigan’s offseason
since it hired Josh Gattis as its
new offensive coordinator on Jan.
10. And while aspects of that hope
may be rooted in reality, Saturday’s
spring game was a reminder that
the Wolverines’ running game isn’t
going anywhere.
“Gattis came in and did a great
job adapting his own mindset
and the offense,” said redshirt
sophomore right tackle Andrew
Stueber. “But he was very specific
to say, it’s not his style, it’s our style
as a team. So he’s not coming in
playing strictly his own style, he’s
kinda changing it to the whole
team adapting their style. What
worked last year will continue to
work and what he can bring to the
table, he will.”
But
Saturday
was
also
a
reminder that this running game
is different. For every remnant of
the old — think redshirt freshman
running
back
Julian
Garrett
getting stuffed on a third-and-goal
carry up the middle — there were a
handful of signs of the new.
Those first two plays of the
game, a read option with Patterson
and a jet sweep to one of the
Wolverines’
fastest
receivers,
weren’t non-existent a year ago. But
they wouldn’t have been Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh’s first two
plays of any game, scrimmage or
otherwise.
“We see a lot more long
zone, a lot more stretches,” said
sophomore
defensive
lineman
Aidan Hutchinson. “It looks like
he’s trying to stretch the field out
and that’s what I’ve seen when I’ve
gone against the offense.”
The
available
personnel
certainly lends credence to hopes
of a shift toward a pass-first
offense. Karan Higdon and his 224
carries are off to the NFL, Chris
Evans and O’Maury Samuels are
no longer with the program and
sophomore Christian Turner and
early enrollee Zach Charbonnet
have spent the spring injured, going
through plays on a layout of a field
that Michigan has in its running
backs room.
But instead, the focus has
merely shifted onto Wilson — the
only running back who played last
year to feature on Saturday — and
the inexperienced underclassmen
behind him. “I’m just building
confidence,” Wilson said. “Just
trying to be a leader more for some
of the younger guys in the room
and just be able to make plays, play
fast. … But I’m really enjoying it,
I’m really enjoying the style of play
we’re in.”
And that — the style of play
— is the key. Five months out
from kickoff, it doesn’t matter
that the personnel isn’t there yet.
Charbonnet will inevitably be
a major part of the offense and
Turner likely will too.
For now, what matters is that
Michigan’s offense is still going
to run the ball. And when it does,
it’s going to be a whole lot more
exciting than it has in the past.
All you need to do to find that out
that is ask the one defense who’s
faced it:
“I’m tired of them going hurry
up. It’s annoying,” said redshirt
sophomore
defensive
lineman
Donovan Jeter.
“… It’s a blessing and a curse
cause there’s days when you’re
dead tired but it’s gonna be like
that on Saturdays. So I’m glad our
offense has just changed the way
they do everything.”
Shea Patterson was buried
in the corner when Donovan
Jeter’s turn came to answer
questions.
Michigan’s spring game was
still going on, and about 100
yards up the tunnel, Patterson
was standing in a room off to
the side wearing a tank top and
a cap turned backwards, the
reins at quarterback turned
over to early enrollee Cade
McNamara.
Jeter looked over at the
senior quarterback, or what
he could see of him behind a
scrum of reporters that reached
four deep.
“They got Shea,” Jeter said,
loud enough to hear over the
clamoring. “They ain’t worried
about me.”
And, well, he wasn’t wrong.
A few weeks ago, offensive
line coach Ed Warinner called
Josh Gattis’ offense, “tailor-
made” for Patterson — and on
the first drive of the spring
game, Patterson hit Ronnie Bell
on a crossing route, then Mike
Sainristil for a touchdown, both
balls thrown exactly where
they needed to be.
Spring games are inherently
farcical,
even
without
the
added stipulations Michigan
football puts onto them. Trying
to extrapolate anything from
a scrimmage is hard. Trying
to extrapolate anything from
a handful of drills with some
non-tackling scrimmage snaps
tacked onto the end is fool’s
work.
Later though, with the pocket
collapsing, Patterson stepped
up, saw Oliver
Martin
alone
near the end
zone.
Another
dart. That play
got blown dead
on an artificial
sack,
and
it
was in a setting
that
shouldn’t
matter. But, of
course, it does.
Last
year,
Jim Harbaugh’s offense hit a
wall. Good. Not good enough
— especially when it counted.
The
Wolverines
shredded
Wisconsin and Penn State.
They fell short at Ohio State
and did next to nothing against
Florida.
Whether or not this offense is
where Patterson will thrive is a
question that will be answered
in November and December. To
hear him tell it, there already
seems to be a conclusion.
“It’s just, it feels natural,”
Patterson said. “… I think the
game’s slowed down a little bit.”
This offense, at least for now,
lived up to all the hype built in
the form of pent-up frustration.
Michigan went fast. Michigan
didn’t huddle. Michigan ran
shotgun. Michigan ran speed
options and RPOs. Michigan
seemed to click on all cylinders,
doing something completely
different than it has in the
duration of Harbaugh’s time in
Ann Arbor.
So,
when
Patterson
was
asked about the truthfulness of
Warinner’s description, it really
wasn’t all too surprising when
he gave a one-word answer.
“Yeah.”
As Patterson pointed out,
Gattis is the sixth offensive
coordinator to coach him in the
last six years. He ran something
similar at Ole Miss, but at this
point, he’s used to learning
something
different
every
spring.
“(Patterson) looked pretty
comfortable
today,”
said
senior tight end
Sean
McKeon.
“He’s
been
licking his chops
all spring with
this
offense.
Just getting new
stuff right now.
He said it was
pretty similar to
some stuff he did
at Ole Miss, so he was already
pretty used to most of the stuff
we ran.”
Gattis’ system makes things
simple for everyone else, but
the quarterback needs to do
a little more compared to last
year. There’s more reading
the
defense
—
on
RPOs,
Patterson needs to pick out the
option player, often based on
alignment, then figure out what
he’s doing. He’s required to
know the protections, the runs,
the running back’s footwork,
the receivers’ routes.
Harbaugh’s
offense
was
complicated,
too,
albeit
in
a completely different way.
Everyone had to think about
everything, all the time, which
meant things could get too slow
and too complex. This, at least
for now, is different.
“It’s night and day,” Patterson
said. “… As far as similarities, I
think there’s very few.
“It’s gonna be fun.”
New offense, new hope
Led by Shea Patterson, Michigan puts new OC Josh Gattis’ speed in space philosophy on display at spring game
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior quarterback Shea Patterson returns for his final season at Michigan after a year in which he threw 22 touchdowns.
I think the
game’s slowed
down a little
bit.