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...