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Thursday, September 5, 2019 — 7

How Eubanks unlocks the offense

A spread offense, as with any 
other, is usually defined by its 
personnel. Philosophically, the 
idea of forcing opponents to 
defend all 53.5 yards of horizontal 
space on a football field translates 
to getting athletic guys to run 
routes 
and 
spreading 
them 
out. Usually, that means wide 
receivers.
The proliferation of the spread 
means that the three receiver, 
or 11 personnel (one back, one 
tight end) looks have fast become 
the norm. In the NFL last year, 
teams used it 64 percent of the 
time, per Football Outsiders’ 
Almanac. More traditional looks 
with two backs (21 personnel) 
or two tight ends (12 personnel) 
— the kind Michigan fans have 
become accustomed to under Jim 
Harbaugh — were used 7.3 and 16 
percent of the time, respectively.
More relevant, the last three 
offenses with Josh Gattis on staff 
have used 11 personnel 96, 94 
and 61 percent of the time, per 
Pro Football Focus. Hiring him 
with the promise of a pro-spread 
offense seemed to imply that the 
35 percent of the time Michigan 
spent in 11 last year would rocket 
upwards.
This did not account for Nick 
Eubanks.
Eubanks, a senior tight end, 
came to Michigan at 236 pounds. 
He checked in this year at 6-foot-
5, 256 pounds, or in other words, 
the same height and four pounds 
smaller than Travis Kelce of the 
NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. 
Athletically 
speaking, 
that 
means Eubanks can line up next 
to a tackle and block. It means he 
can split out wide and run a route. 
It means he’s probably bigger than 
most defensive backs and faster 
than most linebackers, which in 
turn means that when defensive 
coordinators prepare for the 
Wolverines, they need to spend 
time figuring out how to deal with 
Nick Eubanks.
Football is a never-ending game 
of chess where if you can force an 
opponent to react to what you’re 
doing, you’re probably winning. 
Eubanks can force a reaction.

“I think it really clicked at 
the end of the summer and then 
training camp it started to show 
up,” tight ends coach Sherrone 
Moore said. “Cause he was 
starting to make play after play 
after play, but that was not only in 
the passing game, it was in the run 
game.”
Even without a high volume 
— just 10 catches in three years — 
Eubanks’ ability had always been 
obvious. In those 10 catches, he 
went for 218 yards. This summer, 
he met with Moore as much as 
possible and put in extra work 
in the run game. Last Saturday 
in Michigan’s opener, the fruits 
of that labor started to become 
apparent.
The Wolverines, new offense 
and all, spent more time in 12 
personnel, with Eubanks and 
Sean McKeon at tight end, than 
in 11. On an early second quarter 
drive where two RPOs and a post 
route to Nico Collins resulted 
in a touchdown that seemed to 
personify Gattis’ speed in space 
philosophy, they were in 12 
personnel the whole time.
In 
an 
offense 
where 
the 
purpose of everything is to create 
conflict for the defense, Eubanks 
just raises more questions for 
opposing coordinators to try and 
solve.
On that Collins post route, 
Eubanks is lined up as the H 
receiver, a threat to either run 
block or run a route — conflict 
exacerbated by Michigan having 
run RPOs on the two previous 

plays. Eubanks runs a wheel route, 
taking two defenders including 
a safety with him and helping 
create a 1-on-1 for Collins.
Later in the game, this time 
as the lone tight end on the 
field, Eubanks lined up as the H 
receiver again on second-and-2. 
At any prior point in his career, 
that would have been a smoke 
signal telling the defense it’s 
going to be a pass. Instead, the 
Wolverines ran a split-zone read 
with Patterson keeping the ball 
as Eubanks arced around the 
formation as a lead blocker.
McKeon said Monday that part 
of the reason Michigan used so 
much 12 personnel was specific 
to the matchup against Middle 
Tennessee. “But I think Nick as 
the H tight end, he’s so versatile, 
he can line up as a receiver or come 
in and block,” McKeon said. “So 
really got to defend everything 
out of that personnel with us.”
The Wolverines aren’t about to 
take it out of their rotation, and 
the percentages are unlikely to 
dictate a more traditional spread. 
As long as they have Eubanks, 
they don’t need to.
“We can get in any formation 
we have in the offense in that 
personnel and do whatever we 
want,” Moore said. “We can use 
him as a fullback, we can use Sean 
as a fullback. We can use them 
both split out wide, as receivers. 
We can use them on the line. 
“So it’s just going to create 
problems for defenses.”

‘NASCAR’ package gives versatility

All 
offseason, 
the 
hype 
surrounding 
Michigan 
has 
been a product of its offensive 
promise. The phrase at the core 
of that hype, of course, has been 
Josh Gattis’ mantra of “speed in 
space.”
Saturday night against Middle 
Tennessee State, Don Brown 
made sure his defense didn’t get 
left behind, adding speed with 
regular NASCAR packages — 
looks with four defensive ends.
A year ago, the Wolverines 
never needed the look to generate 
pressure. Chase Winovich and 
Rashan Gary, with the occasional 
third-down 
appearance 
from 
Josh Uche, filled that task with 
ease.
But with Winovich and Gary 
gone, Michigan’s strength at 
defensive end lies in its depth. 
Sophomore Aidan Hutchinson 
and junior Kwity Paye are the 
starters, but Uche — typically 
a linebacker — can slot in as 
an edge rusher. Behind them, 
senior Michael Danna, a transfer 
from Central Michigan, brings 
a skillset that produced the 
nation’s second-highest success 
rate on pass rushes in 2018, 
according to Pro Football Focus.
So when Brown looked at the 
personnel in front of him, his 
solution became clear.

“When you realize you got 
guys you can run and you want 
all of them on the field, that’s 
when we’re like, ‘We got to 
get them on the field,’ ” said 
defensive line coach Shaun Nua. 
“So coach Brown does a great job 
of making sure that we identify 
good players, their strengths and 
design packages to get them on.”
Saturday, 
the 
look’s 
first 
appearance brought a mix of 
confusion and intrigue — the 
sight of Uche and Hutchinson’s 
speed on the interior makes 
that inevitable. On the MTSU 
offensive 
line, 
confusion 
prevailed, with a pulling guard 
leaving a gaping hole for fifth-
year senior linebacker Jordan 
Glasgow to blast through.
After one NASCAR package, 
MTSU’s statline against it: one 
sack, negative-eight yards.
The next time the Wolverines 
ran it, they nearly added a safety 
to the tally, as a potential hold 
on Uche in the end zone went 
uncalled. Midway through the 
third quarter — the package’s 
fifth usage — it forced MTSU 
quarterback Asher O’Hara into 
a lame-duck pass that senior 
cornerback Lavert Hill dropped 
with 20 yards of open field 
between him and the end zone.
Despite 
the 
miscues, 
Michigan’s final statline on its 
NASCAR packages that weren’t 
nullified by penalties: seven 

plays, one sack, 3-for-6 passing, 
10 yards.
“It just adds pressure to the 
quarterback and something for 
the other team to think about,” 
Glasgow said. “And when you 
think about it, we have a lot of 
other people that could fill the 
roles of everyone in that package, 
or anyone on the field at that 
time.”
For now, the package is largely 
constrained 
to 
3rd-and-long 
situations because of the speed 
the defensive ends provide, but 
when asked about the possibility 
of using it on other downs and 
distances, Nua said: “Coach 
Brown likes to call it whenever, 
we just got to be ready.”
The one time Michigan used 
it in another situation Saturday 
— 2nd-and-9 at midfield — Uche 
and Paye jumped offside, all 
the defensive ends stopped and 
MTSU picked up an easy first 
down. Those are the unavoidable 
miscues that will take more than 
a week to iron out.
But the tape is resoundingly 
positive. And this week, the 
assessment 
at 
Schembechler 
Hall has followed suit.
“It’s great cause it’s a lot of 
quickness and speed on that 
front so we can attack every 
position on the offensive line,” 
Danna said. “And we got a whole 
lot more of that coming this 
season, so I’m excited.”

ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor

THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Editor

Robinson, Pertofsky prove versatile enough to support new system

In Friday morning’s season 
opener, the Michigan volleyball 
team’s two class of 2019 early 
signees flashed more than just 
potential.
In their debuts, freshmen Jess 
Robinson and May Pertofsky 
were 
the 
driving 
offensive 
forces 
in 
the 
15th-ranked 
Wolverines’ sweep of Oakland. 
The duo maintained the two 
highest attack efficiencies on 
the team, even while leading 
the offense in total volume. 
Pertofsky 
and 
Robinson 
finished 
with 
nine 
and 
eight 
kills, 
respectively, 
on 
just 
22 
combined 
swings.
While 
most 
freshmen 
are 
prone 
to 
mistakes, 
the 
two committed 
just 
three 
hitting errors in total — good for 
a collective hitting percentage 
of .636. For reference, roughly 
.250 is considered the average 
for a pin hitter. It’s only August, 
and the program’s two blue chip 
recruits are already posting 
encouraging numbers.
Take one play in the second 
set, for example. With Michigan 
up 17-10, Robinson’s eyes lit 
up as an errant Golden Grizzly 
forearm pass began a trajectory 
across the net. She took a half-
step backward, loaded up and 
leapt almost immediately. She 
seemingly levitated and, soon 
after, celebrated after burying 
the overpass with ease.
“When she jumped, we all 
thought she jumped early,” said 
Michigan coach Mark Rosen. 
“But she kept going up and the 
next thing we knew, she was 
perfectly on time. With things 
like that, you don’t know them 
real well yet so you see those 
things and they’re exciting.

“… There’s still tons to learn 
for them. They’re good learners 
and they’re super competitive, 
and I think they did a really nice 
job coming out of the gates.”
Expectations for Robinson 
— the nation’s No. 8 recruit, 
according to Prep Volleyball — 
were particularly high over the 
summer. After finding herself 
in the middle of a four-horse 
race for two middle blocker 
jobs, 
the 
6-foot-2 
in-state 
product’s 
debut 
will 
only 
keep the hype train rolling. 
Pertofsky, 
meanwhile, 
hails 
from Los Angeles, where she 
racked up three All-League 
Gold Coast MVP 
awards 
during 
her high school 
career.
Though 
both 
of 
them 
are 
natural 
outside 
hitters, 
they’ve 
been seeing the 
most court time 
at opposite and 
middle blocker in 
what Rosen calls 
his “three middle offense.”
With 
four 
legitimate 
candidates for just two starting 
middle blocker spots, Rosen got 
creative. In order to preserve 
the 6-2 system — a volleyball 
notation that translates to six 
eligible hitters and two setters 
— the Wolverines are able to 
keep Pertofsky and Robinson 
at the right side pin. Fifth-year 
senior middle blocker Cori 
Crocker and sophomore middle 
blocker Kayla Bair both perform 
best with attackers on each side 
of them, and Rosen is able to 
sandwich them between two 
other eligible hitters by keeping 
his two prized freshmen at 
the right pin. Bair opened the 
season sidelined with an injury, 
but it’ll be a sustainable system 
even when she returns.
It’s the best way to keep 
each weapon involved without 
sacrificing one of senior setter 
MacKenzi 
Welsh’s 
options, 
but the option wouldn’t even 

be on the table if Robinson and 
Pertofsky 
weren’t 
versatile 
enough to handle it. Thanks 
to their experience as outside 
hitters, adjusting to the new 
system didn’t take long for the 
newcomers.
“It allows us to put (Bair and 
Crocker) in a position where 

they can play straight up middle 
and never have to worry about 
being in a 5-1, but you have to 
have versatile players to do it,” 
Rosen said. “When Jess and May 
came in, we could see they can 
hit second tempo balls, they can 
block on the right, they can hit in 
transition and they can hit out of 

system. So we started cooking up 
this system because it allows us 
to hide some of our weaknesses 
while maximizing our strengths.”
Friday morning wasn’t a sign 
of what Robinson and Pertofsky 
can do in this system down the 
road, it was a sign of how they can 
help take the Wolverines back to 

the Sweet 16 — if not deeper into 
the NCAA Tournament — sooner 
rather than later.
“We’re 
excited 
about 
(the 
system),” Rosen said. “It gives us 
the best chance to be competitive 
at a high level. We’ve still got 
a lot of work to do, but they’ll 
get there.”

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior tight end Nick Eubanks has worked on his run-blocking ability leading 
up to this season in order to complement his receiving ability.

DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan coach Mark Rosen noted the value of two new freshmen — Jess Robinson and May Petrofsky — in their successful debuts with the volleyball team.

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is one of the four defensive ends who frequently plays in the package.

They’re good 
learners and 
they’re super 
competitive.

