8A — Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
The first sign that Michigan
might retool its offense came
months
before
Josh
Gattis
was hired to take over the
coordinator role.
Giles Jackson, then a four-
star whose position in college
was at question, committed
last September. His skillset,
based around speed, not size
or technique, didn’t seem to
fit into Jim Harbaugh and Pep
Hamilton’s offense. To succeed
as a receiver, Jackson would
need to be put into open space,
where he could make use of that
skill set and pick up yardage
after the catch.
Gattis, of course, has built
his offense around that very
concept.
Jackson hasn’t been much of
a factor in the receiving game
his freshman year with three
established starters atop the
depth chart. Still, he’s made
a name for himself as a kick
returner, and found the field on
offense when the Wolverines
see chances for him to stretch
the field on sweeps or end
arounds.
Technically speaking, it isn’t
the offense he signed up for
when he committed. But it’s one
that fits him.
“I think (my game) helps a
lot,” Jackson said. “Me and Mike
(Sainristil), we’re similar. We
both use that to our advantage
in our offense on like the swings
and bubbles, using our speed to
try to beat everybody out, and I
think that helps us a lot.”
Cornelius Johnson, another
freshman receiver who stepped
into
an
offense
that
was
perhaps different than what he
expected, was across the room
talking to media at the same
time as Jackson. A Connecticut
native, Johnson was recruited
by Gattis to play for Alabama,
but didn’t see him at Michigan
until the spring game.
There’s
a
stereotypical
adjustment
period
for
freshmen, at any position in
any sport that both Jackson and
Johnson
discussed.
Jackson
said
remembering
a
more
nuanced playbook took time;
Johnson
said
he
struggled
with the increased time on
the sideline between drives.
That
adjustment,
though,
came with the added layer of
the Wolverines’ new offense.
One that, as any onlooker
could plainly see, took time for
everyone to get comfortable in.
“I feel like all our receivers
can actually do it,” Jackson said.
“Like I said, little details matter
and that helps us a lot. Just
showing every step in a route.
We can’t take a play for granted.
We’re never going to get a play
back, so we just have to do every
play to our fullest ability.”
Keeping with the theme of
the last few weeks, Johnson
said the Wolverines haven’t
changed what they’re doing on
offense. Merely, the execution
has gotten to where it needs
to be. “Doing a terrific job,”
Harbaugh said Monday when
asked about Gattis. “I think we
talk pretty much every week
how I feel about the job that he’s
doing.”
Whether
anything
big-
picture
has
changed
with
Gattis is, in a sense, moot. The
Wolverines are moving the
ball with far more ease, and
that’s what matters. At the tail
end of Saturday’s 44-10 win
over Michigan State, Johnson
entered the game due to the
lopsided score. Patterson faked
a handoff and rolled out, causing
a defender to overcommit and
giving Johnson 30 yards of open
field to work with. It ended in a
pitch-and-catch touchdown.
“I was not surprised at how
open I was, cause that was the
designed play,” Johnson said.
“I was definitely expecting the
ball on that play.”
Tangibly, that play is the
biggest impact either he or
Jackson have had on the offense
this year. But they both know
what they can do in the offense.
And they want this year to be
just the beginning.
“Sometimes,
me,
Mike,
(Cornelius Johnson), George
(Johnson), we’ll all talk about
how n=ext year, as time goes
on, we’ll be the big receivers on
campus,” Jackson said. “Just
got to keep grinding, one day
we’ll get to it.”
Shea
Patterson
faked
the
handoff, rolled to his left and
threw to tight end Sean McKeon
in the flat. Ahead of McKeon
was sophomore wide receiver
Ronnie Bell, who plowed into an
unsuspecting defensive back and
knocked him down. With mostly
open space ahead of him, McKeon
gained an easy 19 yards.
Bell’s
block
was
perhaps
the best example of improved
blocking from Michigan’s wide
receivers over the past month or
so. While blocking isn’t nearly as
glamorous as catching passes or
scoring touchdowns, it’s equally
important, and the Wolverines’
receiver room has taken that
message to heart.
“That’s been a really good thing
for our team,” said Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh on Monday.
“I’d say probably four or five
weeks ago, it just — we were at a
point early where it wasn’t that
good and that’s an area we really
value. Really gotten better. Really
improved steadily and it was at its
best in the past game. That’s been
a real focus for us and how to get
yards after contact, tackles will
get guys blocked. If you don’t have
the ball, to me you’re a blocker on a
down or play and that was big this
week.”
When Bell was young and still
learning the game, his dad gave
him a word of advice: If you can’t
block, you can’t play. So Bell has
made blocking into something
personal, and the message has
spread.
“Every receiver’s just blocked
their tail off this year,” Bell said.
“And it’s been a lot of fun to watch
it on film.”
Johnson on his first touchdown
With 2:33 left in the Wolverines’
44-10 win over Michigan State on
Saturday, freshman wide receiver
Cornelius Johnson found himself
wide open.
Like, wide open.
As Patterson took the snap,
Johnson bluffed a block, pursuing
his man briefly before breaking
free downfield. Patterson found
him around the 25-yard line
and, with no one in front of him,
Johnson coasted into the end zone.
“I was not surprised how open
I was because that was the design
of the play,” Johnson said Tuesday.
“So I was definitely expecting the
ball on that play. That was the
playcall.”
In the moment, Johnson wasn’t
thinking about the rivalry or the
hundreds of thousands of fans
in the stadium. All he focused on
was the ball, and it paid off. The
39-yard reception was Michigan’s
second-longest of the day.
“I was just like, ‘Now’s my
opportunity,’ ” Johnson said.
“I knew what I was doing, I’d
practiced it so many times and
everything.
Just,
now’s
my
opportunity and you gotta focus.”
Bell still seeking first score
This season, Bell leads the
team with 621 yards on 37 catches,
but he still hasn’t found the end
zone despite several close calls —
including one on Saturday when
he was tackled at the 3-yard line.
After Saturday’s game, Johnson
joked around with Bell, asking,
“Who’s got more touchdowns?”
Of course, it was all in good
fun. Whether or not he has a
touchdown to his name, Bell
has been one of the Wolverines’
most productive receivers. Still,
the numbers don’t lie, and Bell
admitted: “He got me.”
“I thought that was funny,”
Johnson said. “It was like my
fourth catch. Ever.”
Bell’s teammates haven’t lost
any trust after Bell dropped the
potential game-tying reception
at Penn State last month. In
that moment, Bell felt he had let
everybody down. But the team
lifted him up and made it clear that
he wasn’t the reason they lost the
game. After being limited against
Notre Dame and Maryland due to
injury, Bell continued his status
as
Patterson’s
favorite
target
Saturday, with nine receptions for
150 yards.
Now, the Wolverines have truly
hit their stride on offense, scoring
30 or more points in the three
games since, and Bell has been as
big a part of that as anyone.
“It was just funny cause
technically
I
got
more
touchdowns, but obviously he has
like the most yards and catches
on the team,” Johnson said. “I’m
happy for Ronnie. He’s gonna push
it. He’ll get tons of touchdowns for
sure.”
Cruise control
With emerging weapons on offense and a steady defense, the Michigan football team is feeling good ahead of Saturday
A transition in transition: Analyzing Isaiah Livers’ success on the break
When
Juwan
Howard
returned to Ann Arbor, it was
a
foregone
conclusion
that
he’d bring his wealth of NBA
experience with him.
Now in his first year as the
coach of the Michigan men’s
basketball
team,
Howard’s
experience as an NBA player
and coach is shining through.
The area of the game in which
it’s most obvious, though, is in
transition offense. As a result,
the Wolverines are humming
along in an up-tempo offense
that’s seemingly starting to
become second nature.
Under former coach John
Beilein,
Michigan’s
offense
finished 341st in the nation
in possessions per game last
season. While the Wolverines
averaged just under 57 shots per
game in 2018, they’ve eclipsed
that mark in three of their first
four contests this season.
Thus
far,
the
biggest
beneficiary of the stark change
is junior forward Isaiah Livers.
To shed light on Livers’ success,
The Daily broke down the film:
First and foremost, Livers’
most impactful strength is his
combination of athleticism and
ability to beat the defense to
the rim. Because Michigan’s
frontcourt presents so much
size, Livers is afforded the
liberty of leaking out if his
defensive assignment is away
from the rim.
At 6-foot-7, his long strides
allow him to cover the court
quickly. That much was apparent
against Saginaw Valley State,
particularly in the early going.
Just three minutes into the
exhibition, senior point guard
Zavier Simpson found Livers
lurking behind the defense after
the Wolverines secured a loose
ball.
From just in front of the logo,
Simpson lobbed a pass over the
lone defender standing between
him and Livers. The defender
made
an
effort
to
contest
Livers, but stood no chance as
he barreled to the rim. Livers’
sheer athleticism allowed him
to elevate over his defender as
he flushed home Simpson’s feed
with two hands.
On the very next possession,
Livers’ speed in the open floor
allowed him to get to the rim
for another dunk. When senior
center Jon Teske pulled down
the rebound, Livers was the
furthest player from the basket.
With a Cardinals player on his
hip and the other four defenders
standing between him and the
rim, Livers took off in a full
sprint, out-running two of them.
When he saw the fourth
defender stop the ball and the
fifth bolt towards junior guard
Eli Brooks in the corner, he
angled
himself
toward
the
basket. Livers then kicked his
speed into top gear, reeling
in a chest pass from Simpson
in stride, reaching the paint
without putting the ball on the
deck.
Against
Creighton,
Livers
showed no hesitation in running
alongside Brooks following his
steal.
Seeing
that
Brooks
was
drifting
towards
the
opposite
wing,
Livers correctly
filled the lane,
creating an angle
that made it easy
for
Brooks
to
float
an
alley-
oop pass. When
both
defenders
committed to Brooks, Livers was
left all alone for the two-handed
slam.
With the NBA’s emerging
emphasis
on
transition
3-pointers
in
recent
years,
Howard has given his team the
green light to let uncontested
looks fly. Livers, in particular,
has taken advantage. Even when
Simpson slows down the pace in
transition, Livers still hunts for
his own shot.
While
the
thunderous
dunks
against
Saginaw
Valley
State stand out,
Livers was just as
effective at slower
speeds.
When
the
ball
began
ahead of him, he
often hung back
and
read
the
defense. If the Cardinals failed to
communicate, which happened
twice, he’d find an open spot
along the arc and make them pay.
Delaying his transition from
offense to defense until the ball
crossed
halfcourt
forced the
opposing defense to communicate
as Simpson brought the ball up.
Twice, miscommunitcation led to
two defenders guarding the same
player, leaving Livers open for a
walk-up triple.
In the instances in which Livers
doesn’t beat the defense to the rim
or no passing angle presents itself,
he still keeps himself in the play.
About midway through the second
half against Saginaw Valley State,
two
defenders
converged
on
Simpson at halfcourt as Livers
sprinted ahead of him. Simpson
couldn’t find an angle to get him
the ball, and with sophomore
forwards Brandon Johns Jr. and
Colin Castleton trailing a few
steps behind him, Livers filled out
to the corner.
The decision not only cleared
some of the paint congestion for
the driving Simpson and trailing
forwards, but also created a new
passing window for him to get
the ball. When Livers’ defender
remained in the paint to help stop
Simpson, Livers was left alone
in the corner for an uncontested
3-pointer. Simpson, a creative
passer, made the mid-air hook
pass to the corner look easy and
Livers canned the triple.
Altogether, Livers’ ability to
beat defenders down the floor,
finish at the rim and knock
down the long ball add value
to a Michigan offense that lost
its three leading scorers from a
season ago. With prized freshman
wing
Franz
Wagner
still
recovering from a fractured wrist,
the Wolverines will continue to
lean on Livers in transition.
As the schedule gets tougher
over the next few weeks, Livers’
ability to score in transition
may be the difference in a
number of potential signature
wins.
ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor
ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Sophomore receiver Ronnie Bell leads the team with 621 receiving yards.
NATALIE STEPHENS/Daily
Junior forward Isaiah Livers has shown a propensity to get out in transition under new coach Juwan Howard, who has emphasized a more NBA-style pace compared to his predecessor, John Beilein.
DANIEL DASH
Daily Sports Writer
Against
Creighton,
Livers showed
no hesitation...