4B — September 30, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday

For offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, a necessary step forward

Josh Gattis paced near the 
30-yard 
line 
shortly 
before 
kickoff, 
embracing 
players 
scattered about. He walked up 
to midfield, then back again. 
Safeties coach Chris Partridge 
approached 
and 
offered 
an 
emphatic hug.
As Gattis walked toward the 
middle of the offensive huddle, 
ready to address his beleaguered 
unit before taking the field 
against Rutgers, one could only 
imagine the thoughts going 
through his head.
Since the moment he got 
the job, the spotlight of this 
Michigan football season has 
concentrated on him, and on 
his promise of change. Through 
three weeks, that promised 
growth has been noticeably 
absent. 
For Saturday’s bout, Gattis 
decided 
to 
change 
course. 
Instead of sitting in the press 
box directing the offense, he 
decided to run the offense from 
the sideline. Spearheading a unit 
in search of an identity, Gattis 
felt his presence on the field 
could centralize that quest.
“I think this group really 
leans on leadership and they 
need it,” Gattis said on the 
pregame radio show. “To be on 
the field, to be able to provide 
that leadership, in good and bad 
times, it’s something I think that 
I want to encourage out of our 
guys. … Slept on it all week long, 
going through my mind, and 
it’s about what these kids need 
most. It’s not about what I need, 
it’s not about anything else. 
“It’s about what the kids need. 
And they need it.”
It’s difficult to say what 
tangible impact his move had 
on Michigan’s 52-0 demolition 
over Rutgers — though it’s hard 
to imagine anything altering the 
outcome. But the importance of 
such a move was not lost on his 
players.
“All week, he emphasized 

believing in his players, and we 
just have to believe in him,” said 
junior running back Christian 
Turner. “I think him being on 
the sideline just emphasized that 
even more.”
For Michigan 
coach 
Jim 
Harbaugh, 
Gattis’ presence 
on the sideline 
also 
clarified 
some 
of 
the 
intricacies 
underlying many 
of the questions 
about 
this 
offense.
“For Josh to 
be there as the plays are being 
formulated, he can react to the 
kind of subs he wants in the 
game, who he wants running a 

particular route or play. It flowed 
much better today,” Harbaugh 
said. “It could still be better, the 
operation and mechanics of it. 
But I thought it took a big leap 
today.”
Between 
plays, he’d hold 
up a hand signal, 
frequently 
a 
number, 
which 
would then be 
mimicked by two 
offensive staffers 
by 
his 
side. 
Staffers 
would 
hold 
up 
two 
signs behind him 
with an image — 
anything from a military tank 
to bug spray, pairs of leggings 
to a Detroit Red Wings logo. 
From there, Gattis would often 

bark marching orders to certain 
players, specifically receivers 
who looked back at him for last-
second instructions.
All 
the 
while 
Harbaugh 
stood nearby, though distant 
enough. When 
the 
offense 
necessitated 
a 
huddle, 
it 
was Gattis in 
the 
center, 
Harbaugh 
standing 
on 
the 
periphery. 
When confusion 
arose, 
it 
was 
up to Gattis to 
signal timeout. 
The two coaches sometimes 
conversed between plays, and 
regularly did so between drives. 
Sometimes, they’d turn to a 

whiteboard to demonstrate their 
ideas conceptually.
But there were no ambiguities. 
This was Gattis’ show, as it has 
been since the day he arrived.
“I thought (communication) 
was 
better,” 
Harbaugh 
said. 
“Everything 
was better face-
to-face 
— 
me 
communicating 
with 
him, 
him 
communicating 
with 
players, 
players hearing it 
from him and not 
going through the 
box. It was good. 
It was a good move. Glad we did 
it.”
At times, Gattis’ demeanor — 
branded as fiery and emotional 

— neared a boiling point. After 
an illegal motion penalty on 
freshman receiver Giles Jackson 
in the first quarter, Gattis 
furiously marched onto the edge 
of the field to substitute him off. 
At the next intermission, the 
two calmly talked it out. Not a 
voice through a radio. Person-
to-person.
At others, though, he opted 
for 
measured 
conversation. 
After Patterson’s interception on 
an under-thrown ball to junior 
Nico 
Collins, 
Gattis 
hardly 
appeared frustrated. He brought 
Patterson over, calmly pointed 
to the video screen, then made a 
hand gesture to suggest a tweak.
“I think coach Gattis is 
without a doubt kind of the 
leader of our offense,” Patterson 
said. “I think we all trust in him. 
Like I said, we see it every day in 
practice, so it was just a little bit 
more personal.”
Whether 
his 
presence 
on the field had any direct 
impact on play-calling or game 
management is only part and 
parcel 
to 
its 
intention. 
As 
Michigan’s new coach tries to 
forge a connection with his 
team, and with it something 
resemblant of an identity, his 
presence alone offers value. 
Maybe it was little more than 
a symbolic gesture, but when 
building trust, symbols matter.
“It’s a familiar face on the 
sideline with us,” Turner said. 
“Seeing his emotion after plays, 
whether good or bad, I think 
that definitely helped.”
As the score continued to 
widen and the starting unit took 
a breather, Gattis’ demeanor 
grew more relaxed. It was just 
a win, and one against a team 
destined for Big Ten bottom-
dwelling, but the sense of relief 
was palpable.
Slowly, time ticked away, and 
the loss at Wisconsin continued 
to fade from memory. The clock 
finally hit zero. Gattis unfolded 
his arms, embraced his team 
and, for the first time all year, 
took a confident stride forward.

MAX MARCOVITCH
Managing Sports Editor

RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis called plays from the sideline on Saturday, a marked shift from the first three games of the season when he was in the booth.

All week, he 
emphasized 
believing in his 
players.

Everything was 
better face-to-
face. ... Glad we 
did it.

Against Scarlet Knights, Wolverines get contributions from new faces 

Let’s cut right to the chase. On 
Saturday, the Michigan football 
team beat Rutgers, 52-0. It was 
such a bad performance for the 
Scarlet Knights that they fired their 
coach the next day.
So, for the Wolverines, that 
meant that most of the regular 
starters were out of the game by 
the third quarter and others had a 
chance to shine.
There were a lot of contributors 
you might not be familiar with, 
younger players who suddenly 
showed up and made an impact. 
The Daily introduces you to some 
of those players, what they did and 
what it could mean for the future:
Sophomore linebacker Cam 
McGrone
McGrone got the start at middle 
linebacker in place of Josh Ross, 
who was out with an injury. He 
made several eye-popping plays and 
was all over Rutgers quarterback 

Artur Sitkowski in blitz packages. 
Though he was credited with just 
one tackle and one quarterback 
hurry, it was clear that McGrone’s 
speed could be a difference-maker.
“If he keeps playing like this, 
he’s gonna be a star,” Michigan 
coach Jim Harbaugh said after the 
game. “The way he runs, again, he 
played really well last week, but 
his physicality is just really, every 
week, going higher and higher.”
McGrone has also proved to 
be a larger-than-life presence off 
the field, making the kinds of bold 
press conference proclamations 
that players like Chase Winovich 
used to have.
Most notably, McGrone offered 
up a prediction that Michigan 
would rebound from its early 
struggles.
“We know we’re gonna see 
(Wisconsin) again in Indy, my 
hometown, 
for 
the 
Big 
Ten 
Championship,” McGrone said. “ 
… I know when we see them again, 
we’re gonna smack them in the 

mouth.”
Though 
he 
drew 
some 
comparisons to Devin Bush with 
his 
sideline-to-sideline 
speed, 
McGrone isn’t going to be that 
guy right away. He’s still raw, 
and he showed that in the loss to 
Wisconsin, where he struggled as 
Ross’ replacement. But if McGrone 
adds a little more polish, the 
Wolverines might have another 
great linebacker on their hands.
Freshman safety Dax Hill
Early in the second quarter, 
Michigan stalled on an offensive 
drive for the first time all game. 
Will Hart’s punt wasn’t great — it 
traveled just 41 yards — but just 
as the Scarlet Knights’ returner 
caught the ball, Hill flew in his 
face, leveling him and preventing a 
return. As Hill walked off the field, 
he wagged his fingers, a warning to 
future kick returners everywhere.
“The punt coverage was such a 
big thing from last week to this. Last 
week he was a gunner and pretty 
much in that same similar position 

and was hesitant,” Harbaugh said. 
“And all you really had to do was 
just coach him on it and that’s what 
he did and no hesitation today, you 
saw him make one of those big-
time plays as a gunner.”
Hill — a five-star recruit — was 
expected to contribute right away, 
but he’s been largely absent in the 
first few games. Saturday, then, 
was somewhat of Hill’s coming-
out party. In addition to his 
contribution on special teams, Hill 
saw time at safety in the second 
half, finishing with four total 
tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss.
He, too, is a player who could 
make a difference on defense with 
his speed, and the coaching staff 
already seems to have seen enough 
to give him more of a look.
“He just keeps coming, keeps 
coming along and he’s growing as 
a football player very quickly and 
he’s so fast and that speed shows 
up,” Harbaugh said. “It shows up 
when it shows up and you see it, 
you see it with Dax Hill, you see it 
with Cam McGrone, you see the 
guys like that, so he’s come along. 
… I probably predict he’ll be getting 
more and more time.”
Redshirt 
freshman 
quarterback Joe Milton
In Madison, the Wolverines’ 
normal 
backup 
quarterback, 
redshirt 
sophomore 
Dylan 
McCaffrey, took a big hit and went 
down with a concussion. With that, 
Milton, usually the third-string, 
slotted into the backup role.

Though Milton has a cannon 
for an arm, he has struggled with 
accuracy in the past and is seen as 
turnover prone. But on Saturday, 
he came in during the third quarter 
with the game long over and 
provided about as good an audition 
as he could hope for against the 
hapless Scarlet Knights.
“He’s a leader,” said sophomore 
running back Christian Turner. 
“He doesn’t have the starting 
job right now, he knows that, but 
he doesn’t go out there and be 
lackadaisical or not being fully 
there. He knows what he’s doing. 
He’s just a good guy to have out 
there.”
The offense kept humming with 
Milton in the shotgun. He ran a 
bootleg for a touchdown early in 
the fourth quarter and later threw 
for another.
Milton won’t see the field 
much this year with two more 
experienced signal-callers in front 
of him, but he’s popular among his 
teammates and if he plays well in 
limited time, he could carve out a 
bigger role next year.
“I’ve been waiting for him to get 
his chance,” McGrone said. “Seeing 
him in the end zone, it warmed my 
heart a little bit, man. I’m pulling 
for that guy, man.”
Other skill-position players
Sophomore 
running 
back 
Hassan 
Haskins 
spent 
2018 
confined to special teams. He 
appeared at running back against 
Middle Tennessee and Wisconsin, 

but had just three combined 
attempts for negative-three yards.
On Saturday, Haskins got an 
extended look with the score out of 
hand and two of the Wolverines’ top 
three backs coming off of injuries. 
He was Michigan’s second-leading 
rusher on the day, gaining 45 yards 
on nine attempts, and had a game-
high 15-yard rush.
Haskins 
is 
blocked 
from 
extended playing time by Turner, 
senior Tru Wilson and freshman 
Zach Charbonnet, but Haskins 
seems to have secured himself 
as the No. 4 option and a capable 
replacement 
if 
Wilson 
and 
Charbonnet continue to struggle 
with injuries.
Freshman wide receiver Giles 
Jackson flashed some stuff with a 
23-yard touchdown from Milton 
in the fourth quarter. Though 
he is even more blocked than 
Haskins, with four older, mega-
talented receivers in front of 
him, Jackson has been given the 
chance to showcase his speed as 
Michigan’s primary kick returner 
— he returned one kick for 13 yards 
Saturday — and has stood out from 
the pack a little more than any of 
the Wolverines’ other freshman 
receivers.
“It’s the freshmen out there 
now and we’ll see what they can 
do,” Harbaugh said. “And they got 
valuable reps and they played well, 
they’ve been getting a lot of work. ... 
Good to see them execute the plays 
that were called.”

RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Sophomore linebacker Cam McGrone showed out in place of the injured Josh Ross in Saturday’s win over Rutgers.

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor

