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Let’s Get Moving Again, Together!
For the Michigan football program, the
start of fall camp in 2021 carries a different
tone than it has in years past.
The general mood, of course, remains
the same: optimistic. With the blank slate
of a new season comes new visions and
new possibilities. The shortcomings of
the previous campaign are distant enough
in the past — and the threat of Ohio State
distant enough in the future — to believe
they’ve been potentially fixed enough for
the Wolverines to take a step forward in
the new year.
But for 2021, that step forward comes
from unfamiliar territory. Whereas in
Harbaugh’s previous campaigns, Michi-
gan hoped to finally bridge the gap with
the nation’s elite (and, to an extent, some
level of success felt certain), the vast disap-
pointment of 2020 means this season’s fall
camp carries more tempered expectations.
Whether or not the coaches want to admit
it, the Wolverines aren’t destined for a con-
ference title in 2021. Mostly, they’ll just be
looking to compete.
A lot of that improvement will have to
start in the run game. Last season, Michi-
gan mustered just 131.5 rushing yards per
game, good for 95th in the country and 11th
in the Big Ten. Even worse, the Wolverines
put up those numbers with a running-back
room that was, by all accounts, fairly deep.
From there, the run game becomes a ques-
tion of coaching and offensive line play.
“I think we were productive at times,”
offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said. “The
issue is, we didn’t run the ball enough. …
We just had two or three games where we
had under 20 carries a game, and so your
numbers, comparatively, when you look at
them at the end of the season, they’re gonna
be low.”
Gattis is correct that there were two
games in 2020 — against Indiana and
Wisconsin — where Michigan ran the ball
fewer than 20 times. But looking at the
numbers, choosing to throw the ball more
at the time made sense, as the Wolver-
ines averaged 0.7 and 2.5 yards per carry
against the Hoosiers and Badgers, respec-
tively. They finished both of those games
with under 50 yards on the ground, but
even if they had run it more, that wouldn’t
have made any difference in the offense’s
success.
Realistically, growth will have to come
on the offensive line, and although there’s
a decent amount of depth in that position
group, the most talented players remain
young and unproven. Some, like current
sophomore Zak Zinter, whom Gattis has
anointed as potentially being Michigan’s
best offensive player, were thrown into the
fire last season after injuries derailed the
starting lineup, while others, like junior
Trente Jones, have yet to see significant
playing time. Their development will be
crucial to any growth in the run game in
2021.
“Our depth at the offensive line position,
I think that’s a strength,” Gattis said. “… We
feel like we’ve got almost eight guys that
can compete for a starting job, and obvious-
ly we’ve got some high-level players there.”
There’s also, of course, Sherrone Moore’s
move to coaching the offensive line. His
predecessor — Ed Warinner, now the run-
game coordinator at Florida Atlantic — was
generally well-respected in college football
as a skilled tactician, so Moore does have
some pretty big shoes to fill. Still, at just 35
years old and as a former offensive lineman
himself, he brings a different perspective to
his unit that could help with player devel-
opment.
“I think the younger guys really appre-
ciate it,” fifth-year senior offensive line-
man Andrew Stueber said in March. “It’s
become a more open-room environment,
you can ask a lot more questions, and he
knows from experience, too. I think also
the older guys are liking the new kind of
energy and vibe he’s bringing to the room,
the practice field, and just his overall ener-
gy.”
Whether that translates into success,
though, is yet to be seen. Even if the Wol-
verines aren’t expected to compete for a
national championship in 2021, the run
game cannot remain stagnant. That could
be complicated by injuries and youth
on the offensive line, but sooner or later,
that unit will need to find something that
works.
“The 2020 offense is gonna look dif-
ferent than the 2021 offense,” Gattis said.
“Because you have to shape that to the
identity of your team.”
One way or another, that identity will be
forged in the trenches.
Gattis, Wolverines look to build
run game in the trenches
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Editor
Following last season’s heart-
breaking overtime loss in the
National Championship Game to
North Carolina, the No. 2 Michigan
field hockey team entered this week-
end’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge with a
chip on its shoulder.
This time, the matchup against
the Tarheels would end differently.
Strong defense and precise goal-
keeping put the Wolverines in the
driver’s seat for much of its 3-2 victo-
ry over No. 1 North Carolina on Fri-
day. That same aggressive defense
helped Michigan blank No. 11 Wake
Forest 2-0 on Sunday.
Against the Tarheels, familiar
foes felt each other out as the game
began, and it seemed like both
teams waited for an opportunity
to strike. Michigan found one first
when freshman midfielder Alana
Richardson chipped in a rebound
from senior forward Tina D’Anjolell
shortly before the first period
expired.
D’Anjolell added her own tally
around ten minutes later, and she
notched a goal and an assist against
the Demon Deacons on Sunday.
However, it wasn’t just her ability to
score that helped her team capture
difficult wins.
“She’s very fast, and she’s a senior
so she’s very experienced,” Michi-
gan coach Marcia Pankratz said. “…
She set the tone on defense because
she can close them down, which
helps our defense create turnovers.”
Much of D’Anjolell’s success came
from overwhelming opponents with
quick passes and unpredictable foot-
work. Each time a defender shifted
their positioning and prepared to
stymy a Michigan threat, she — and
the rest of the team — changed on
the fly to create shots. Time after
time, opposing defenders came up
with no answer.
This game plan originated largely
from Michigan’s energy. The Wol-
verines used speed and aggression
to control the game, frustrating
opposing forwards.
“Our team embraces that type of
play,” Pankratz said. “… We know if
we get the other team’s head down,
that they’re not going to be able to
perform the tactics that they want
because we put them under so much
pressure.”
Early on, the defense was able to
keep up with opposing threats and
get the ball out of their zone. But, by
the third and fourth quarters, North
Carolina and Wake Forest main-
tained possession for longer, stretch-
ing out Michigan’s defenders and
looking for seams in tight coverage.
The Wolverines started falling a step
behind attackers and struggled to
make clean exits from their 25-yard
zone.
Michigan had to lean on the depth
of its defenders to overcome this,
shifting to a more reserved style
against later possessions. Junior mid-
fielder Nina Apoola and sophomore
back Serena Brimacombe both used
their positioning to slash the angles
that opposing forwards could choose.
This overall defensive structure
complemented transitions back to
the Wolverines’ normal, aggres-
sive play. As the team collapsed into
tighter zones, both the Tarheels’ and
Demon Deacons’ explosive offenses
came up empty-handed on chance
after chance, and the Wolverines
started playing tighter coverage as
the opponents tired.
This wasn’t just the Wolverines
showing off their offseason train-
ing; this showed targeted growth
of their defensive capabilities. They
scored the same amount of goals this
time against North Carolina as they
did last season, but they slashed their
goals-against in half.
“… Even if the ball does get
through the forward line, I know
I can trust my midfielders enough
for them to step up,” D’Anjolell said.
“And then we can counterattack and
score the goals that we need.”
Perhaps the greatest indicator of
this was Michigan’s containment of
two-time NFHCA National Player
of the Year Erin Matson. The for-
ward scored two goals in last year’s
championship game — including the
game winner. This time around, the
defense stopped her from putting a
shot on net.
For the opponents who managed
to squeeze off shots, senior goal-
keeper Anna Spieker stood like a
brick wall, challenging forwards as
they came into her zone all weekend.
This brazen strategy forced many
high shots that soared over the net.
Michigan’s performance wasn’t
all perfection, as the Tarheels were
able to score goals by pinning the
Wolverines twice and pouncing on
minor positioning mistakes, includ-
ing a close call as time expired
against North Carolina.
These proved to be the exception,
not the rule. Momentum swayed
back toward the Wolverines after
each goal, and a loss seemed surpris-
ingly out of the question against two
of the best teams in the country.
For Michigan, this weekend
wasn’t about proving it can handle
the nation’s best, nor was it about
simply establishing a good start to
the season. It was about proving that
the Wolverines were a new team on
both sides of the field.
And Michigan’s performance
shouted that message.
Michigan makes statement in Big
Ten/ACC Challenge sweep
CONNOR EAREGOOD
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
The Michigan Field Hockey team avenged last year’s championship game loss to North
Carolina, one of two wins this weekend.
12 — Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com